Squaring the circles: research, evidence, policy‐making, and police improvement in England and Wales

Abstract

The paper will explore both evidence‐based policing and the policy process around policing in England and Wales, using the case studies of an attempted restructuring of forces, the introduction of neighborhood policing, and the creation of a national improvement strategy. It will examine the issues through the lens of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), which is responsible for the development of the national strategy for improvement. The approach taken will be to seek to locate the NPIA’s strategy development within a discussion of evidence‐based policing and policy‐making in policing.

Keywords:

• policing
• research
• policy
• science
• improvement
• NPIA

Notes

1. The NPIA is a ‘non‐departmental public body’ or agency of the Home Office, created by the Police and Justice Act, 2006. The agency was created through a merger of two former agencies, parts of the Home Office and a number of major national programs. The agency has a budget of around £700 million and just over 2000 staff, who are made up of police officers, police staff, public servants, and contractors. The agency is responsible for all the major national operational services such as the Police National Computer and for a national portfolio of programs. The agency’s website address is www.npia.police.uk

2. See http://www.nice.org.uk

3. ACPO represents the 200 or so Chief Officers of Assistant Chief Constable, Deputy, and Chief. See www.acpo.police.uk