| Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being (2026) 11(s1), S14–S15. | https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.552 |
Niche Technology Inc.∗
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being (JCSWB), we at Niche Technology are reflecting on the impact the journal has made on the policies and activities of police agencies.
We have been proud to serve as a JCSWB mission sponsor for the past 6 years. Our support is rooted in four key areas that align with our own priorities within the industry: collaboration, access, community, and credibility. Over the past decade, these foundational pillars have helped to position the journal not only as a repository of research, but as a leader in the evolving conversation around community safety and well-being.
A broadening set of disciplines has become evident among contributors over the past 10 years. This shift validates the growing emphasis and the practical need for multi-jurisdiction and multi-agency collaboration as a key component of modern policing. Niche has always believed in the power of working together. The development of our NicheRMS365 platform is driven by a desire to work together better.
By creating space for voices across policing, public health, academia, and community organizations, the journal reflects the reality that modern safety challenges cannot be addressed in isolation. The diversity of contributors reinforces the need for shared frameworks and coordinated action.
JCSWB operates under the Diamond Open Access (Diamond OA) model, which mandates that neither authors nor readers pay to publish or access scholarly research. By removing financial barriers, equity and inclusion are promoted, and knowledge becomes freely available regardless of geographic or economic status.
Unlike models that rely on article processing charges, Diamond OA ensures that financial barriers do not determine who can contribute to or benefit from scholarly dialogue. This commitment strengthens the practical reach of research.
By choosing Diamond OA, the journal enables greater equity in knowledge sharing. Content is accessible beyond academia, creating real-world impact in health, safety, education, and justice. The journal is accessed in over 150 countries and referenced by more than 270 different institutions.
Barrier-free access allows educators, practitioners, and policymakers to engage with research immediately, without institutional restrictions. This accessibility reinforces the link between scholarship and applied practice across sectors and jurisdictions.
Peer review strengthens industry credibility by ensuring research is independently evaluated before it informs policy or practice. For both scholars and practitioners, it signals that the evidence has been critically examined and validated by qualified experts in the field.
In a field where policy decisions carry significant social impact, rigorous peer review helps ensure that published findings are innovative, responsibly developed, and defensible within professional and academic standards.
The journey we have been on with JCSWB since becoming a mission sponsor has been one of remarkable momentum. During our partnership, the journal has reached a number of notable milestones.
Since 2020, JCSWB has published over 250 submissions. At the same time, we have witnessed the growth of the journal’s digital presence, which amplifies those voices. Followers on X (formerly Twitter) have doubled, a LinkedIn presence has grown to the same level of followers, and JCSWB’s new Instagram account has been building engagement over the past 18 months.
JCSWB is now part of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), an extensive global index committed to quality content. Acceptance into the DOAJ is a significant achievement. It affirms that JCSWB adheres to the principles of transparency and best practice while actively publishing scholarly research for an audience of researchers and practitioners.
The Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) is a not-for-profit, membership-based international organization dedicated to advancing collaboration between the law enforcement and public health sectors.
GLEPHA organizes the Law Enforcement & Public Health (LEPH) international conference series, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policy leaders from multiple countries and disciplines to explore collaborative approaches to community safety and well-being.
JCSWB contributes to this global effort by publishing research and papers arising from the LEPH conference series, including special issues that highlight emerging themes within the field, such as global efforts to promote first responder wellness. Between 2021 and 2025, the journal published 38 articles associated with LEPH conferences.
Our support for JCSWB is grounded by a shared vision for the evolution of public safety. We believe the future of policing must be focused on community safety and well-being. That is why our mission includes supporting the research necessary to enable multiple sectors and disciplines to move in that direction.
Niche operates not just as a vendor, but as a partner. Many of our employees come from law enforcement backgrounds, both sworn and civilian members, which informs our commitment to research that is validated by peers and encourages dialogue on best practices.
JCSWB aligns with our belief that the most effective way to support community safety is through vast and true data, supported by the best information management tools for operational policing. NicheRMS365 is purpose-built with information-sharing at its core. As a police RMS provider, we are passionate about quality data and tools that equip our customers for modern policing strategy and policy.
As was once written in the pages of JCSWB:
“Intersectoral action must take a systems approach, connecting various levels to identify tangible actions and achieve transformative, population-level impacts on public safety and well-being, social outcomes, and economic vitality goals within communities. There is a pressing need to foster a funded system (or network of systems) to support the intersectoral coordination and collaboration required for ongoing cultivation and maintenance of an effective municipal community safety and well-being policy.” (Nykiforuk et al., 2025, p. 168)
Public safety is no longer only about traditional arrests but requires multiple resources and social agencies to work together. This shift affects the technologies these agencies use and rely on.
Niche’s partnering agencies are global leaders in the design and implementation of risk-based intervention strategies throughout Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. Naturally, we have a deep interest in understanding the challenges of the changing policing landscape.
We look forward to continued collaboration with JCSWB as we continue to work toward our shared goals of improving safety and well-being for both officers and the citizens they serve.
The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
∗Niche Technology Inc., Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Nykiforuk, C. I. J., Nieuwendyk, L., Belon, A. P., Scott, L. A., Teare, G., & Morrison, V. (2025). Municipal community safety and well-being policies: Intersectoral action as social innovation. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 10(3), 168. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.477
Correspondence to: Niche Technology Inc., 629 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3A 1P6, Canada. E-mail: Lisa.VanBrunt@NicheRMS.com
This work is distributed under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. For commercial re-use, please contact sales@sgpublishing.ca.
Journal of CSWB, VOLUME 11, NUMBER S1, May 2026