The contemporary Defund the Police movement has renewed interest in social work’s role in public safety, leading some to call for increased police–social work collaborations. However, claims regarding the potential virtues and pitfalls of social work–police collaborations are largely ahistorical. To contextualize current debates, a systematic investigation into the evolution of social work and its relationship with law enforcement is necessary, particularly the impact that gender norms have had on this relationship. Drawing from the National Conference on Charities and Corrections proceedings, we examined how gendered underpinnings have shaped social work’s relationship to law enforcement and the understanding of social work’s role in public safety. During the Progressive Era, social workers acted as an intervention to reform police by infusing ‘rehabilitative’, ‘protective’, ‘preventative’, and ‘quarantining’ approaches in law enforcement. What emerges from the archives is a chronicle detailing how using social work as a gendered intervention for police reform during the Progressive Era fell short of addressing the root causes of carceral issues, drawing parallels between the Progressive Era reforms and today’s contemporary reforms.

Social work students often report a disconnect between social work practice and macro courses. However, because social workers are called to advocate for policy and legislative changes that promote social justice and improve social conditions, students must understand the factors influencing policymaking. Using a small qualitative study on local media coverage of criminal justice reform, this teaching note discusses the potential benefits of using the multiple streams framework (MSF) as a teaching tool to help social work students better understand policy change by embedding the components of the MSF. Two suggested activities are provided to illustrate how the MSF could be used in macro/policy courses. By incorporating the MSF into social work education, students can gain more targeted and successful advocacy skills, ultimately contributing to positive social change.