ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2026

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A t the University of Virginia’s Center for Public Safety and Justice , leaders recognize that this public safety communi ty demands continuous innovation. By uniting world-class edu cation with applied, practitioner-focused data-driven research, the Center equips public safety stakeholders to lead and tackle the realities facing modern agencies. ADAPTING TO LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL RULINGS Recent Supreme Court decisions warrant an immediate review of foundational directives. In May 2025, the ruling in Barnes v. Felix altered the review of excessive force claims under the Fourth Amendment; the doctrine shifted from a "moment of-threat" standard to a "totality of circumstance" framework. Practically, this reality demands updated use-of-force protocols. Leaders are now tasked with ensuring investigating personnel receive proper training to analyze use of force incidents through this broader context. Similarly, the July 2025 decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson affirmed that prohibiting public sleeping or camping aligns with the Eighth Amendment. As such, managing the involuntary detention of unhoused individuals calls for a strategic approach. Effective management hinges on partnering with mental health and housing organizations, followed by the implementation of co-responder programs linked to substance abuse treatment to address street-level disorder. FORTIFYING THE WORKFORCE Unfortunately, the national decline in qualified law enforce ment applicants remains a pressing vulnerability. "Harder" recruitment isn’t enough to combat this matter. Combating this shortage calls for tech-enabled, efficient hiring processes that allow agencies to meet new generations where they are and recruit with agility. Furthermore, building a competitive workforce depends on flexible career pathways and restructured shift structures. For ex ample, the Anne Arundel County Police Department in Maryland effectively reduced scheduled workdays and gave officers time off every other Friday through Sunday. Retaining top talent also dictates providing expanded roles for professional staff, along side robust childcare, wellness resources, and legal support. Further, Michigan State University researcher Dr. Jeremy Wilson has studied the effectiveness of financial and other incentives to recruit and retain law enforcement officers. All these matters unfold in an arena that has grown in creasingly hostile for public servants. Consider the heightened anti-law enforcement rhetoric and doxing. Protecting our com munities also requires finding the capacity to investigate threats against public officials. This is no simple task: it requires rigorous physical security assessments and robust personal security mea sures for public safety personnel. MASTERING THE TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIER Today’s law enforcement agencies have been integrating the advances that technology makes possible. To wit, officers are already utilizing generative AI for report writing, facial recogni tion and predictive policing. That said, allowing technology to outpace policy poses a severe risk. Already, we have seen how new developments in this field can fuel new kinds of crime. Cybercrime units need to develop clear safety governance and digital forensics expertise to combat deepfake blackmail, syn thetic identity fraud and AI-enabled voice cloning schemes.

At the same time, we face a proliferation of public safety sys tems that can overwhelm officers and introduce risks. The best way to handle these matters? All technology should come with clear use cases and simplified interfaces – like hands-free and voice options – that can reduce the cognitive load on our personnel. NAVIGATING COMPLEX OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS Our tactical scope now reaches beyond traditional polic ing, and managing the growing footprint of non-local forces demands deliberate coordination. The surge of federal law enforcement in local areas dictates issuing strong guidance to officers, guidance that defines exactly when to coordinate and when to maintain neutrality. Likewise, as the private security sector grows to nearly 2 million personnel, leaders are compelled to align training requirements and build oversight mechanisms. These steps ensure that private entities augment, rather than complicate, community protection. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The Center for Public Safety and Justice functions as a hub for mastering these emerging frontiers: it bridges the gap be tween theory and practical application. Whether you’re looking to advance command capabilities through the Master of Public Safety degree or the National Criminal Justice Command College, or your department is seeking to pioneer new strategies using in novative research, the Center stands at the forefront of the field. Expand your network, and collaborate with the Center to build safer, more resilient communities today. The University of Virginia’s Center for Public Safety and Justice. About the Author: Ben Haiman serves as an assistant professor and the executive director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Virginia, alongside roles as a visiting fellow and research scholar at Rutgers University. His academic credentials include a master’s degree in management from Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa, and executive leadership train ing from the Naval Postgraduate School. Recognized as a 2020 International Association of Chiefs of Police 40 Under 40 honoree and a recipient of the Police Execu tive Research Forum's Gary P. Hayes Award, Haiman also maintains active service as a reserve police officer in Washington, D.C., where he resides with his family. From 2021 to 2024, Haiman directed daily operations and strategic objectives as chief of staff for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington. He previ ously spent four years as the executive director of the department's Professional Development Bureau, where he successfully restructured the sworn hiring process to accelerate candidate processing and elevate recruit quality. His earlier tenure included managing IT operations, training and volunteer coordination. Beyond his municipal service, Haiman served as director for the Homeland Security Advisory Council at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he established critical national task forces addressing foreign fighters and law enforcement integrity.

FBINAA.ORG | Q3 2026

Josh Katz is a Senior Associate in the Communications department of UVA’s School of Continuing and Profes sional Studies. He has over fifteen years in education and has been a writer and critic for more than twenty years, contributing to such outlets as the Portland Press Herald and the Richmond Times Dispatch.

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