Police Knowledge Fund Awarded
The College of Policing, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Home Office launched the £10m Police Knowledge Fund earlier this year to encourage collaboration between academia and police forces in order to increase evidence-based knowledge, skills and problem solving approaches within policing.
Liverpool John Moores University will be working in partnership with Merseyside Police and the OPPC for Merseyside to deliver a programme entitled ‘Embedding evidence based practice in public protection and crime prevention: a multi-disciplinary partnership.’
This will run as part of the University’s new Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, due to be launched in September. The programme will focus on providing support for victims, protecting vulnerable people and maintaining public safety, with specialisms offered in child exploitation, effective crime prevention and hate crime. Research knowledge relating to cyber-crime, computer forensics and CCTV will be embedded in each of these specialisms. In addition to LJMU tutors, practitioners from Merseyside Police will be seconded on a part time basis to assist with the delivery of the 20-month-long programme.
Dr Joe Yates, Director of LJMU’s School of Humanities and Social Studies, who led the funding bid for the University, commented: “As a modern civic university, LJMU continuously strives to deliver research which has a demonstrable impact on society, and this funding, secured by working in partnership with OPCC and Merseyside Police, will enable us to collectively explore new and innovative ways to respond to challenges faced in policing today. While locally focussed, the collaboratively developed project is designed to have impact nationally and internationally. By further developing expertise in computer forensics, cyber-crime and CCTV, the project aims to enhance the evidence base from which the Police can draw on for effective crime prevention and to counteract child exploitation and hate crime. Over many years LJMU has worked with the Police to develop and deliver training programmes, and this new project, and the forthcoming launch of the Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, recognises the success of our working relationship, and gives us the opportunity to enhance it further.”
LJMU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nigel Weatherill, added: “This is an excellent example of the University working in partnership with leading organisations to address key challenges we face in society and we are delighted to have received the support of the College of Policing, HEFCE and the Home Office for this innovative project.”
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said: “I am delighted that out of 72 bids, the proposal jointly submitted by LJMU, Merseyside Police and my office was successful. Merseyside Police is always striving to improve and better the service it offers to the people of Merseyside, particularly to victims of crime and vulnerable people, and this partnership is yet another example of how we are leading the way in collaboration and innovation.
“The Force already has a close working relationship with LJMU, but with the help of this funding we will have the opportunity to further pool resources and knowledge in order to find new ways to prevent crime and protect our communities. This partnership will enable us to use evidence-based research to increase our knowledge and understanding of the issues our police service faces and improve our responses. I would like to congratulate everyone who worked on this bid and I look forward to seeing the results of this partnership working in the future.”
Read about the outcomes of the Police Knowledge Fund here
