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The killing of George Floyd in 2020 ignited an unprecedented outpouring of support for state investment in policing alternatives. In this presentation, Vargas will share findings from several papers in progress describing underestimated barriers to public safety innovation stemming from academia and philanthropy. Vargas will also share some preliminary results on the positive effects of social movement activity and policy learning networks for implementing policing alternatives like mental health crisis response teams and offices of violence prevention. This research agenda, which will eventually become a book, argues that the fields of science studies and political economy offer untapped ideas for improving public safety.