The President’s 21st Century Policing Task Force Final Report (hereafter “the 21CP Task Force Report”) brought attention to pertinent aspects of policing that are beyond its traditional crime control function, advocating for the need to build and maintain the public’s trust, legitimacy, and cooperation in order to effectively function in the 21st Century. The 21CP Task Force Report synthesized an established multidisciplinary body of literature to provide a blueprint of recommendations, setting standards related to procedural justice, the use of technology, and community policing.

Indeed, the task force work, grounded in evidence, provides the theoretical underpinning for a number of key concepts for 21st century policing. In the following sections, we will review the relevant literature reflecting on the past 5 years since the Report’s publication, including discussion of the state of affairs regarding the Report’s key concepts, its impact, and limitations. This review of the literature is organized by the Report’s pillars and draws both from articles that mention the Report as well as those that add to the literature on the Report’s central concepts. We also highlight key areas in need for further empirical examination.