From Professor Andrew R W Jackson

Arguably, an evidence-based revolution is underway in British Policing and you could be part of it.

This blog outlines:

• the basis of this revolution;
• a briefing founded in this revolution that I co-presented last week to senior leaders of Policing in Staffordshire;
• opportunities for our students that arise from this revolution.

What is the revolution?

 Police use the following as engines of progress:

• democratic accountability;
• effective leadership;
• line management;
• post-operation debrief;
• challenge provided to senior officers by members of their teams;
• reviews and inspections.

To this list, they are increasingly adding research-informed knowledge of ‘what works best’. By doing this, they are able to engage in evidence-based practice. In my view, this is not just a new tool in the policing tool-kit, it is revolutionary.

What was the briefing?

 On 4 April, myself and a colleague from Keele University gave a briefing to Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and Staffordshire’s Chief Constable, and their senior staff. This informed them about the £290,541 project work that we have been undertaking for the Police Knowledge Fund. This work is aimed at enabling police to better engage with knowledge production and exchange, empowering them to identify and use ‘what works best’ and to adopt evidence-based practice.

What are the opportunities?

 Amongst the opportunities that this work has identified are projects that are highly suitable for students to become involved with. Indeed, three of our current students have already started on such projects. There are concerned with:

• an evaluation of the predictive abilities of a risk management tool used by the police in cases of domestic abuse;
• the development of a toolkit for the evaluation of the effectiveness of police training;
• improved methods of performance review.

The exciting thing about these projects is that they enable students to apply what they have learnt with us to real-life challenges faced in every-day policing. By studying at Staffordshire University, you too will have the opportunity, through project work like this, to be part of the evidence-based-policing revolution.