Episode: 00326 Released on July 6, 2026 Description:  Kristi Barletta has built a career around understanding the why behind crime, policing, and organizational decision-making. With 17 years in law enforcement and 12 years in law enforcement analysis, Kristi has progressed from intern to analyst, director, and member of police command staff. In this episode, Kristi shares how experiences in accreditation, dispatch, criminal investigations, and executive administration prepared her to build an analyst position from the ground up. She discusses leading without authority, earning credibility within a police department, and why analysts should have a voice in operational and strategic decisions.

Kristi also takes listeners inside her work addressing gun violence through social network analysis, focused deterrence, impact players, custom notifications, and cross-jurisdictional collaboration. She explains how strong data practices, relationships, and consistent processes helped reduce shootings and prevent retaliation. The conversation also explores implementing data-driven policing strategies, introducing change without overwhelming officers, reducing traffic crashes, the importance of professional staff in command-level discussions, and why analysts need to get out from behind their computers to better understand the communities represented in their data. 🎧 Listen, share, and keep talking! [Note:  Description produced by ChatGPT.]

00:00:25 - Introducing Kristi