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Reposted by Rylan Simpson

Simon Fraser University @sfu.ca · 06/10/2026

SFU professor Rylan Simpson walks the beat to improve policing in our communities. For the controversial nature of this work, Simpson has been awarded SFU's 2026 Sterling Prize.

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

‼️ Call for submissions ‼️ On behalf of ASC’s DEC and DOP, we invite submissions for a SI of the Journal of Experimental Criminology dedicated to Experiments in Policing and Public Safety. Abstracts due: Mar 6, 2026 Full call: link.springer.com/journal/1129... Contact: Rylan Simpson & Justin Nix

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Officers perceived the helicopter unit favorably and equated its work to multiple ground-level officers at a call. Some nuance emerged among questions and groups of officers. I discuss results re: policing research and practice. Full article available for free via doi.org/10.1093/poli.... 3/3

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Police officers’ perceptions of helicopter units: ground-level attitudes toward an eye in the sky

Abstract. As an operational specialty unit, helicopter units are used by the police to respond to calls for service, assist ground-level officers, and prov

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

I surveyed officers from 2 police agencies in USA that employ helicopter units. 🚁 I asked officers about their perceptions of purpose, utility, deterrence, benefits, and personal impacts of helicopter unit. I then analyzed responses, incl by police agency and unit assignment, via quant means. 2/3

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

Helicopter units = common among large police agencies in USA and CAN. Goal of these units = help officers on the ground. But, what do ground-level officers actually think about helicopter units? In my new PJPP article, I surveyed officers about their attitudes: doi.org/10.1093/poli... A 🧵: 1/3

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

We discuss the results from our researcher-practitioner collaboration with respect to policing research & practice. We are especially excited about this project because it included participation from 3 PDs in 3 provinces of Canada. Full article available for free via doi.org/10.1016/j.jc.... 4/4

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Redirecting

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Our analyses revealed little effect of the presence of police cars on calls at malls, with possible effects observed at only one mall. However, our analyses revealed effects for police visibility: with variation in reported sightings of police cars by mall patrons across the study period. 3/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

As part of study, we parked police cars (of different designs as randomly assigned) daily outside of malls at conspicuous locations in 3 Canadian cities. We then compared the number of calls along with public sightings of police cars at malls during intervention period to weeks before/after. 2/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Shopping malls = sites of many people, social activities & crimes. Demand for police is especially high at malls during the holiday shopping season (HSS). In new article, we parked police cars at malls during the HSS to assess their effects on calls & visibility: doi.org/10.1016/j.jc... A 🧵: 1/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Teaching and mentorship rest at the root of nearly everything that I do as a scholar, educator, and researcher. I feel incredibly honoured to receive this award from the American Society of Criminology's Division of Policing.

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

We discuss our findings in the context of policing research and practice, including as it relates to social media and community policing. I am very proud of Janine for this work and excited to celebrate her first publication. 👏 For more information, please see: doi.org/10.1108/PIJP.... 4/4

doi.org

From the beat to the tweet: the use of Twitter (X) by police officers

Purpose. The police regularly incorporate social media into their outreach portfolios. Although much social media is handled at the organizational-level, some police officers also use social media in ...

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Consistent with organizational-level findings, we found that officers frequently employed the push strategy when tweeting. Nonetheless, some variation in engagement style and posting practices emerged by officer characteristics, including officer gender, officer rank, and frequency of posting. 3/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

We created a dataset of officers who use Twitter (X) in a professional capacity and then analyzed their characteristics and tweets. This resulted in a sample of 66 officers and thousands of tweets. We coded all tweets for content using a detailed codebook. 2/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

🚨 Social media is everywhere, including in policing. 👮 In new article, led by my SFU graduate student, Janine Namoro, we examined how officers use Twitter (X) at an individual-level in a professional capacity. 📊 We find many interesting findings: doi.org/10.1108/PIJP... A thread: 1/4

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

I discuss what my results might mean for how police agencies design and deploy their police vehicles. I also highlight the implications of police vehicle designs for research regarding police interventions. The full article is now available for download via doi.org/10.1007/s112.... 5/5

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

My results revealed greater detection accuracy when the police vehicle was marked versus unmarked, with increases in accuracy as visual salience increased. Under low visibility conditions, my results also revealed greater detection accuracy of marked vehicles when they had a B&W color scheme. 4/5

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

I strategically manipulated the design of the police vehicle in the images: sometimes it was marked (either with a B&W or all-white color scheme) whereas other times it was unmarked. I also varied how visually salient the police vehicle was in the image: ranging from low to high. 3/5

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

As part of my experiment, I tested if police vehicle designs impact public detection of police vehicle presence. I presented randomly assigned images to participants under the guise of a visual detection study and asked them to indicate if/where a police vehicle was located. 2/5

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

🚨 Police visibility = important metric for many policing activities. It’s often assumed that physical presence of police equates to public sightings of police. But do ppl always see police when they're present? In my new JOEX article, I find the answer is *no*: doi.org/10.1007/s112.... A 🧵: 1/5

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Reposted by Rylan Simpson

SFU Criminology @sfucriminology.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

Assistant professor Rylan Simpson has been awarded an Arnold Ventures Criminal Justice Research Grant to explore the effects of Live 911 technology on a variety of policing outcomes. Congratulations to Rylan for this well-deserved recognition! buff.ly/ahzhKzb #SFUCriminology #Policing #Research

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

With award season in full swing, it's time to nominate your students, colleagues, and mentors for DEC/AEC awards! All nominations must be submitted via email by July 18, 2025. For more info re: awards, please visit our awards page: expcrim.org/call-for-awa.... Please repost & share widely!

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

It is with great excitement and tremendous pride that I share that I have been awarded tenure and promotion in the School of Criminology at SFU. To my students, colleagues, mentors, and role models: thank you for inspiring me and helping me to get to where I am today!

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Given the longstanding debate in policing regarding crewed status, this was an especially insightful project for me! 🚔 🚨 Open access brief: doi.org/10.22215/apb... 🚨 Open access article: doi.org/10.1016/j.jc... 🚨 Thread: 👇

doi.org

Applied Police Briefings: Accessible Policing Research

Simplifying policing research for law enforcement professionals. Discover actionable insights from our briefings.

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I feel incredibly honoured to receive this award from SFU. Thank you to all who have supported me in this journey and to my students who continue to inspire me to do this important work!

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

It has been a pleasure to work with, teach & supervise Janine. I am very proud of all of her accomplishments, and I look forward to her continued journey in our MA program!

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Last night I hosted 4 officers from 3 different agencies/detachments as part of my @sfucriminology.bsky.social CRIM 251 panel on frontline policing. 🚔 Thx to Coquitlam RCMP's Cpl. Hejazi & Cst. Wong, Ridge Meadows RCMP's Cst. Twa & Vancouver PD's Cst. Tan for sharing your experience w/ my students!

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Rylan Simpson @rylansimpson.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Kicked off my SFU CRIM 251 panel series with an important discussion about police leadership. Thanks to DPD's Chief Sidhu, Burnaby RCMP's Insp. Hartwig & Ridge Meadows RCMP's Insp. Gander for participating & sharing your insights with my @sfucriminology.bsky.social students! 🚔

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