The United States Constitution is the foundation for fair and effective policing. The policies, procedures, and programs developed or shared by the Knowledge Lab support and advance the Constitution's principles, ideals, and requirements, as well as their intersection with 21st-century policing practice. It includes lessons identified from successful policing reform and improvement efforts. This includes programs and structural changes required through civil rights enforcement efforts and provides guidance on effective approaches to policing activities driven by Constitutional requirements and concerns (e.g., use of force, citizen stops, first amendment activities, etc.).

Community residents, businesses, service providers, and service consumers are necessary and essential co-producers of community safety. Knowledge Lab policies, procedures, and programs support authentic, meaningful, and sustainable community inclusion and empowerment in public safety and policing practice.

The Knowledge Lab collects and disseminates constitutionally-based policies, procedures, and programs informed by evidence-based research and practice-based evidence (approaches or innovations developed in the field that yield desired outcomes and show great promise yet currently lack formal scientific validation). Both types of evidence are valuable to those working in advancing community safety and will be included in the Knowledge Lab's resources and promoted practices.

The Knowledge Lab promotes community-based strategies which include a strategic focus on individuals and conditions that directly contribute to crime and violence. This strategic focus also includes carefully considering the potential disparate impact on specific communities and methods to mitigate any possible inequities. Most importantly, the Knowledge Lab promotes policing strategies incorporating robust community engagement, transparency, and accountability measures to ensure that enforcement efforts are consistent with constitutional principles and community expectations.

21st-century policing requires a commitment to ongoing, systematic, long-range organizational and individual performance improvement. The policies, procedures, and programs promoted by the Knowledge Lab must support this by providing information that informs the constitutionally based knowledge and practices of police personnel at all levels, from a chief, sheriff, or commissioner to a line officer. The Knowledge Lab accomplishes this by disseminating reliable information and guidance on improving innovation, efficiency, and professional development. This includes effective practices to increase diversity through improved recruitment and hiring systems, the transparent adoption of technology, evidence-informed officer training, and education, the enforcement of organizational accountability, and state-of-the-art leadership development.

The issue of transparency is central to building trust in any resource or organization. Therefore, the Knowledge Lab will share how it collects information, why we select issues to promote or address, and what information is used to inform its materials.