LJMU signs policing partnership with Spain

LJMU has signed an agreement to work with Spain’s most valued national institution.

In the last year, several forensic psychologists from LJMU have collaborated on research projects with the Guardia Civil, one of the largest and oldest police forces in Europe, which currently has 80,000 members.

Now both parties have decided to consolidate this relationship through a teaching and research agreement between the School of Psychology and the University Center of the Guardia Civil, which offers higher education to the commanders of the force up to the doctoral level.

With a duration initially set for four years, the agreement opens up possibilities for the exchange of faculty and students, joint training activities, and cooperation on research projects.

The agreement was formally signed by the Director of the CUGC, Lieutenant General Francisco Diaz Alcantud, and the Director of LJMU’s School of Psychology, Professor Helen Poole.

Lieutenant General Diaz Alcantud said: “Both institutions are committed to increasing internationalisation and collaboration between law enforcement and world-renowned academics, with the shared objective of benefiting the wider community. This agreement is a magnificent first step in this regard and opens up many promising possibilities for cooperation."

Professor Helen Poole said: “We are excited to be working with such an historic and important institution.

“We have extensive expertise and experience of helping organisations understand areas like decision-making, personality traits and support for health and wellbeing.”

The promoter of the agreement is Dr Ricardo Tejeiro, Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology, with over a decade of experience working with police forces in a dozen countries.

Dr Tejeiro said: "Thanks to research with the Civil Guard, we are making significant advances that will allow us to improve police decision-making in situations of time pressure and high stakes. These investigations are translating into a series of high-level publications that place LJMU at the forefront of this area of research."

IMAGE: Lieutenant Colonel Blas Guillamon, Director of Research at CUGC with Lieutenant General Francisco Diaz Alcantud, Professor Helen Poole and Dr Ricardo Tejeiro in the LJMU Faculty of Health.