Lorenzo M. Boyd, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized leader in police-community relations and a scholar on urban policing and criminal justice systems. In 2022, Dr. Boyd helped the University of New Haven secure a $1 million grant from the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) supporting a de-escalation training program that will be offered for police departments across the Northeast. The University is one of only six regional de-escalation training centers across the country that provides law enforcement training that is approved by the Department of Justice. Lorenzo Boyd is the author and principal investigator on our current gun violence reduction grant.