Michael Erp
Room 403D, Academic Center
Phone: 509.358.7951
Fax: 509.358.7933
E-mail: erpmj@wsu.edu
Profile
Mr. Erp is the Executive Director of the Washington State Institute for Community Oriented Policing (WSICOP) and community policing specialist at WSU Spokane, and Assistant Director of the Division of Governmental Studies and Services, WSU.
He currently holds faculty appointments in criminal justice and university extension, and is an affiliate of the Child and Family Research Unit at Washington State University. He holds a Master of Arts in Political Science/Public Administration from WSU and had an extensive career as police officer and police chief before coming to WSU.
Mr. Erp also serves as a co-principal investigator for the Western Regional Institute for Community Oriented Public Safety (WRICOPS), a Regional Center for Public Safety Innovation which serves as a resource for law enforcement agencies in the states of Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. Mr. Erp's work at WRICOPS includes instruction in community policing, providing technical assistance to law enforcement agencies, and serving as a team leader conducting on-site assessments of state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and their communities.
Mike is the principal investigator and research partner for Project Safe Neighborhoods, a gun violence prevention and intervention project for the United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington, funded by the U.S. DOJ. He is also a co-principal investigator for the Spokane Safe Start Initiative, a five-year project funded by the U.S. DOJ designed to provide care for children, birth to six years old, who are exposed to violence in Spokane County. Additionally he serves as co-principal investigator in a three year workplace intimate partner violence prevention and intervention initiative funded by the NIH Centers for Disease Control.
Mr. Erp received the 1993 V. A. Leonard Distinguished Alumnus in Criminal Justice Award from WSU for his extensive work in community policing. He teaches courses on policing innovations, community policing and problem solving, and the physical environment and crime.
He was awarded the City of Spokane and Spokane Police Department’s “Outstanding Service Award,” December 2000, the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Council “2002 Community Service Award,” the Mayor’s “Citizen Service Award” from the City of Spokane, Washington, December 2004, “Award of Excellence” from the Western U.S. Cooperative Extension Directors July, 2005, and is a member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Academy of Criminal Justice Scientists, the American Police Futurists, and the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals.
Areas of Research Interest
Community Policing
Violence Prevention
Evaluation Research
Research Spotlight
In affiliation with the DGSS and WRICOPS, WSICOP has recently delivered presentations pertaining to the community policing implications of their joint “Lessons from Katrina” project to administrators of the US Department of Justice: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in Washington, D.C. and to attendees of the National Native American Law Enforcement Association’s Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In March, we will present a roundtable discussion at the Annual Conference of the American Academy of Criminal Justice Scientists in Seattle, WA.