The University of Nottingham is set to lead a two year project that aims to improve policing.
The contract, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council and the College of Policing, will be delivered to 13 police forces and police crime commissioners nationally.
It is hoped that the project will build the sustained capability to understand, critique, and use research evidence to advance public safety.
The project forms part of the ‘Better Policing Collaborative’ (BPC) led by the Centre for Health and Justice at the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Mental Health.
“The Better Policing Collaborative will help us find innovative solutions to some of the major problems being faced by the UK police today”
The University will provide expertise in areas such as mental health, safety, risk and harm reduction, child sexual exploitation, cybercrime, and domestic abuse.
Professor Eddie Kane from the Centre for Health and Justice in the Institue of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham, said: “I am confident that the Better Policing Collaborative will help us to find innovative solutions to some of the major problems being faced by the UK police today”.
The BPC consists of several universities, including: Birmingham, Derby, Liverpool, and Manchester Business School, and is led by the University of Nottingham.
“Winning such a high-profile national project and leading the Better Policing Collaborative is a great honour”
Dr George Baxter, Director of Business Engagement and Innovation Services at The University of Nottingham, said: “Winning such a high-profile national project and leading the Better Policing Collaborative is a great honour for the University”.
He added: “We have a tremendous wealth of expertise across the criminal justice spectrum and I hope that this is just the start of a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the College of Policing”.
The College of Policing, HEFCE, and the Home Office launched the £10m Police Knowledge Fund earlier this year to encourage collaboration between academia and police forces.
The value of the Better Policing Collaboration fund secured for the project is £1.1m.
Tamsin Parnell
Image: West Midlands Police via Flickr
