The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has chosen Lancaster University as one of nine Policing Academic Centres of Excellence (P-ACEs) sharing a total of £4.5 million.
The three-year award will go to a multidisciplinary team at Lancaster University including Mark Levine, David Neequaye, Heather Shaw, Richard Philpot, Sophie Nightingale (Psychology); John McDaniel, Lena Podoletz (Law) and Camilla De Camargo (Criminology).
Working closely with police forces, the P-ACEs will drive collaboration among academia and policing. They will ensure that policing is shaped by the latest and best scientific expertise, and that the UK's leading researchers are able to challenge and innovate in partnership with policing as together we strive to improve public safety.
The Lancaster Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (L-PACE) will create a step-change in the ability of Lancaster's social and behavioural sciences to have a practical and operational impact on policing Areas of Research Interests (ARI).
Professor Mark Levine said: "Lancaster University's recognition as a Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (L-PACE) is based on its world leading reputation for the application of social and behavioural sciences to enduring and emerging policing challenges. We are extremely grateful to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and UKRI. The P-ACE award will allow us to build on our work with local and national police forces, as well as commercial and community partners. L-PACE will showcase Lancaster's multidisciplinary excellence in computational social science, psychology, linguistics, law, criminology and sociology. Our vision is to grow our networks and influence beyond the policing collaborations we already have in place."
Lancaster's Head of Partnerships & Engagement for Cyber Security Colin McLaughlin said: "Lancaster University is honoured to be a Policing Academic Centre of Excellence. The mission to protect and keep safe the citizens of the UK through our research is a great privilege. The mission outlined by the NPCC "to engage widely, evolve strategically, and embed the best Science & Technology in a way that is trusted by the public" resonates very strongly to our approach and we look forward to supporting the NPCC mission over the coming years."
Each Policing Academic Centre of Excellence will be promoted across the policing sector as an accessible source of leading academic experts aligned with Policing's Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) and evidence needs. The P-ACEs will support policing with adopting new technologies, developing new tools and techniques, improving training and skills, and increasing public safety.
Professor Paul Taylor, Police Chief Scientific Adviser, said: "Academia and policing have a long history of collaborative working on issues as diverse as forensic science, crime prevention, and analytical technologies. The P-ACEs will fortify this connection, providing a focal point for research and knowledge exchange.
"I'm particularly excited about what the P-ACEs can bring to early career scientists who are interested in tackling the complex challenge of keeping the UK public safe. The P-ACE community will, I hope, provide them more opportunities and greater support as we look to forge deep and lasting partnerships over the next decade."
Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), said: "The Policing Academic Centres of Excellence will forge closer relationships between police forces and researchers, providing the police with data and evidence to make the justice system work better. By bringing experts in policing practice together with social scientists and data scientists across the country, the centres will provide knowledge and insights to drive service improvement. These centres of excellence demonstrate our commitment to reducing crime and making Britain a safer place."
The two key functions of the P-ACEs are to:
· mobilise, showcase and make accessible to policing key insights, findings and outputs from their work
· respond to the evidence needs, questions and problems raised by policing and work with policing to co-develop new research and knowledge exchange activities
For detailed information about the expertise each P-ACE can offer visit science.police.uk.
