What is evidence-based policing and how can it help me? Those were questions for a University of Leicester conference of more than 100 people. Presentations were made by academics and police officers on subject areas including:
• how data from previous crimes can be used to predict future demand
• how effective sport is in reducing youth crime and antisocial behaviour
• techniques the police can use to increase public engagement via social media
• the impact of body-worn video on domestic abuse outcomes
• how using mental health triage could benefit Leicestershire Police
• using evidence-based policing to tackle shoplifting
Prof Lawrence Sherman, Director of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge and Chief Executive of the Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing, rounded off the day with a presentation on the how using the approach is aiding criminal investigations.
Assistant Chief Constable Phil Kay of Leicestershire Police said: “Having Professor Sherman with us today to tell us about the advances in evidence-based policing and its contribution to reducing and solving crime has been of real benefit to the force. These are exciting times in policing as technology and academia combine with traditional approaches to help us to plan and deliver services which reduce harm and make our communities safer.”
And Prof Sherman said: “Evidence-based policing finds ways to avoid wasted resources, to do more with less. Leicestershire Police is treating crime strategically on the basis of crime harm, rather than as if all crimes are created equal. They have made major strides in predicting domestic homicides based on ‘big data’. They provide national leadership as early adopters of the Crime Harm index, ahead of the Office of National Statistics. It is an honour for me to support their important work at this major conference.”
Also attending the conference were representatives from the College of Policing and the East Midlands Police Academic Collaboration (EMPAC).
