The Professional Policing Curriculum in Practice is a new series of books that match the requirements of the new pre-join policing qualifications. The texts reflect modern policing, are up-to-date and relevant, and grounded in practice. They reflect the challenges faced by new students, linking theory to real-life operational practice, while addressing critical thinking and other academic skills needed for degree-level study. Evidence-based policing is a core part of the National Policing Curriculum but policing students and new officers often feel daunted by the prospect of understanding research and how to use it to inform decision making in practice. This text helps readers develop a sound understanding of evidence-based practice in policing and contextualises the research process by explaining how it supports practice within the workplace. It clearly relates research to the investigative process, combining academic theory and operational understanding using relevant case studies and scenarios, and identifies the main approaches employed. It explores how evidence from research can be used to inform and develop critical arguments central to policing practice and signposts students to key sources of information.

The volume aims to increase knowledge and understanding of how evidence-based policing is being adopted and implemented by police agencies in the United States and whether it is affecting the agencies' processes, strategies, community relationships and delivery of community-oriented policing services. This exploration is based on data drawn from the literature, interviews and extensive field research that resulted in the case studies presented and discussed in the book. The goal of this text will be to provide the reader with a thorough analysis of the concepts, arguments and challenges facing evidence-based policing. The history of evidence-based policing, how evidence-based practices are used in the health and social sectors, and in the United Kingdom will be examined. In addition, reasonable options for improving the use of evidence-based policing will be proposed. Overall, very practical policy implications will be outlined by a highly recognized professional who has considerable experience in policing and related research.

The evidence-based policing (EBP) movement has intensified in many countries around the world in recent years, resulting in a proliferation of policies and infrastructure to support such a transformation. This movement has come to be associated with particular methods of evaluation and systematic review, which have been drawn from what is assumed to prevail in medicine. Given the credibility EBP is currently enjoying with both practitioners and government, it is timely to subject its underpinning logic to thoughtful scrutiny. This involves deliberating upon the meaning of evidence and what different models of knowledge accumulation and research methods have to offer in realising the aims of EBP. The communication and presentation of evidence to practitioner audiences is another important aspect of EBP, as are collaborative efforts to ‘co-produce’ new knowledge on police practice. This is the first book that takes a kaleidoscopic approach to depict what EBP presently is and how it could develop. The chapters individually and collectively challenge the underlying logic to the mainstream EBP position, and the book concludes with an agenda for a more inclusive conceptualisation of evidence and EBP for the future. It is aimed at students and academics who are interested in being part of this movement, as well as policymakers and practitioners interested in integrating EBP principles into their practices.

This book provides an overview of where evidence-based policing is today and how it is likely to develop.

Over the past ten years, the field of evidence-based policing (EBP) has grown substantially, evolving from a novel idea at the fringes of policing to an increasingly core component of contemporary policing research and practice. Examining what makes something evidence-based and not merely evidence-informed, this book unifies the voices of police practitioners, academics, and pracademics. It provides real world examples of evidence-based police practices and how police research can be created and applied in the field. Includes contributions from leading international EBP researchers and practitioners such as Larry Sherman, University of Cambridge, Lorraine Mazerrolle, University of Queensland, Anthony Braga, Northeastern and Craig Bennell, Carelton University.

When it comes to adopting evidence-based approaches, does the size of an organization really matter? This practical guide brings leading police and sociology experts together to demonstrate how police forces of all sizes can successfully embed evidence-based methods by using their strengths and limitations to their advantage. Drawing on experiences of policing in North America, it proposes new ways of strategizing and harnessing the talents of ‘change champions’. Building on the authors’ widely adopted first book on evidence-based policing, this is essential reading for practitioners, aspiring leaders, students and policy-makers.

Evidence-based policing is based on the straightforward, but powerful, idea that crime prevention and crime control policy should be based on what works best in promoting public safety, as determined by the best available scientific evidence. Bringing together leading academics and practitioners, this book explores a wide range of case studies from around the world that best exemplify the integration of scientific evidence in contemporary policing processes. Chapters explore the transfer of scientific knowledge to the practice community, the role of officers in conducting police-led science, connection of work between police researchers and practitioners, and how evidence-based policing can be incorporated in daily police functions. The Globalization of Evidence-Based Policing is written for both researchers and practitioners interested in ensuring that scientific research is at center stage in policing. Agencies (including law enforcement agencies, research centers, and institutions of higher learning) can look to these case studies as road maps to better foster an evidence-based approach to crime prevention and crime control. Those already committed to evidence-based policing can look to these chapters to ensure that evidence-based policing is firmly institutionalized within their agencies. Accessible and compelling, this book is essential reading for all those interested in learning more about and doing more to bring about evidence-based policing.

Public police forces are a regular phenomenon in most jurisdictions around the world, yet their highly divergent legal context draws surprisingly little attention. Bringing together a wide range of police experts from all around the world, this book provides an overview of traditional and emerging fields of public policing, New material and findings are presented with an international-comparative perspective, it is a must-read for students of policing, security and law and professionals in related fields.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) has over the last decade made an increasing mark in several fields, notably health and medicine, education and social welfare. In recent years it has begun to make its mark in criminal justice. As engagement with EBP has spread, it has begun to evolve from what might be regarded as a somewhat narrow doctrine and orthodoxy to something more complex and various. Often criminological research has been at odds with the assumptions, conventions and methodologies associated with first generation EBP. In that context EBP poses a challenge to the research community and existing evidence base and is, accordingly, hotly controversial. This book is a welcome and timely contribution to current debates on evidence-based practice in policing. With a sharp conceptual focus, the chapters provide a critical examination of the recent history of EBP in academic, policy and practitioner communities, evaluate key dimensions of its application to policing, challenge established understandings and pave the way for a much needed change in how research ‘evidence’ is perceived, generated, transferred, implemented and evaluated.

Remarkably little has been written about the theory and practice of applied police research, despite growing demand for evidence in crime prevention. Designed to fill this gap, this book offers a valuable new resource. It contains a carefully curated selection of contributions from some of the world's leading applied police researchers. Together, the authors have almost 300 years of relevant experience across three continents. The volume contains both practical everyday advice and calls for more fundamental change in how police research is created, consumed and applied. It covers diverse topics, including the art of effective collaborations, the interaction between policing, academia and policy, the interplay between theory and practice and managing ethical dilemmas. This book will interest a broad and international audience from academics and students, to police management, officers and trainees, to policymakers and research funders.