2026: A Year to Be Proactive, Strategic, and Realistic

As we head into 2026, it’s a good time for law enforcement and community partners to reflect on how we approach public safety.

The profession has always been strong at responding to crime, investigating incidents, and making arrests. Those responsibilities remain critical. But if we want safer communities and better working conditions for officers, reaction alone cannot be the goal.

This year, let’s make a conscious effort to be more proactive, evidence-based, and problem-oriented.

That means identifying chronic problem places and people, using data and analysis to guide decisions, and addressing the underlying issues that keep driving the same calls for service. It also means working with crime analysts, with communities, and with service providers to create lasting solutions.

It also means being smarter about technology. Technology can help address, deter, prevent, and investigate crime — but only when it’s part of a long-term, sustainable strategy. Simply buying tools and hoping they work is not enough.

And yes — budget and manpower constraints are real. But they don’t prevent proactive policing. Agencies of all sizes can proactively address crime. Many simply haven’t been shown how to do it effectively with the resources they already have.

Proactive strategies don’t require more officers or bigger budgets — they require better focus, smarter deployment, and guidance rooted in evidence.

When agencies take this approach, we see fewer repeat calls, reduced chronic crime, stronger trust, and safer, more sustainable working environments for officers. Officer wellness matters, and prevention plays a role in that.

Law enforcement cannot arrest its way out of crime. Long-term solutions require long-term thinking.

If you’re interested in a practical introduction to proactive crime prevention strategies, my book Proactive Crime Prevention: A Practical Understanding of What, Why, and How offers a simple, real-world foundation. (https://a.co/d/6obOhBa)

And if your agency or community is ready to move beyond reaction — regardless of size or staffing — I’m here to help you better understand proactive approaches and get started down a more sustainable path.

Let’s make 2026 the year we stop chasing problems — and start preventing them.