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Professor Patricia Lundy's research, which began in 2005 and continues today, has:
1) Directly led to the Minister of Justice commissioning HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to investigate the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Historical Enquiries Team (PSNI/HET).
2) Directly led to the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) holding the PSNI to account; and a reassessment of the Board's own procedures.
3) Directly led to the resignation of HET's Director and Deputy Director, suspension of all military case-reviews, complete overhaul of HET, and policy changes in how PSNI/HET investigates historic crimes.
4) Directly led to Committee of Ministers holding the UK government to account with regards to fulfilment of its obligations deriving from European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgements and HET Article-2 compliance.
5) Directly led to reopening inquests, legal proceedings and informing stakeholders.
6) Directly created critical public debate about the future of the HET and policy more generally around addressing the legacy of NI conflict.
This case study concerns the research of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies relating to both individual and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) victims of fraud. It highlights how the underpinning research has influenced major national policy changes, such as the formation of Action Fraud and the services they and other bodies, such as the National Fraud Authority (NFA), Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Office of Fair Trading (OFT), provide to support victims. It also demonstrates how the research has informed policy-makers of the significant impact of fraud on victims, stimulating changes in the services offered; with the Sentencing Council conducting a review of sentencing for fraud related offences.
Online dating scams have claimed an estimated 230,000 victims in the UK. This study demonstrates how research by the Unit has substantially increased understanding and public awareness of this relatively new and under-reported crime, and helped the police and the online dating industry to address it more effectively. The major beneficiaries of the research, which has attracted international attention, have been:
- the police, nationally and internationally, through assistance, training and advice received on combating the crime and supporting victims;
- the victims, through improvement in the quality of support available to them;
- the public generally, through heightened awareness of the scam.
Pioneering research by the Universities' Police Science Institute (UPSI) has made police more effective at understanding and responding to crime and disorder. UPSI's work has provided an evidence base about how to engage effectively with communities so that policing interventions target those issues influencing how people think, feel and act about their safety. Key impacts have been: changing Home Office policy for the policing of antisocial behaviour across England and Wales; informing the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy for the UK and overseas and improving the outcomes of South Wales Police's Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
This project had a direct impact on practitioners and services, influencing police practice, police training, and judicial cases involving a relatively new and under-reported crime: The Online Dating Romance Scam. It also impacted on society, culture and creativity by stimulating public debate via extensive media coverage. The research established that prevalence was much higher than previously believed, and that existing ideas about typical victim profiles were incorrect. It shed light on psychological risk factors, the processes underlying the scam, and effects on victims. Documenting the emotional effects led to changes in how victims are treated by law enforcement.
This case study is based on the use of storytelling research developed in Sunderland, to develop professional practice, management development, and interviewing approaches within the police. The research and subsequent impact developed from the convergence of three separate streams of work: The exploration of storytelling as a means to management and organisational development (the work of Reissner and Du Toit), use of storytelling as a research method (Sanders and Lawson) and a stream exploring investigative interviewing techniques. Application of the approaches developed at Sunderland within the police force regionally and nationally has led to evidenced impact at several levels: individual officers, force development and national policy on interviewing practice.
The University of Portsmouth research into effective use of the Cognitive Interview (CI) by police forces in the UK and overseas has led to recommendations for changes to training of police officers in this field throughout their careers being adopted in several countries across the world. The work, led by Dr Becky Milne, has also been used to inform the decision making processes of a variety of national policy reviews and professional bodies. Research has improved the standard of interviewing, particularly for sensitive investigations such as rape and child abuse.
Safety and liberty — public goods delivered by the police — are important to every individual and essential to a civilised society. Professor Bowling has led a programme of theoretical and empirical research on the police power to stop and search people in public places, an important but controversial aspect of law enforcement. His research has clarified the meaning of fair and effective policing, and provided solutions to identified problems of disproportionality and transparency. Through his engagement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), police forces, civil liberties groups and communities, Professor Bowling's research has informed public understanding, enhanced police accountability and contributed directly to the improvement in police stop and search practices, thereby enhancing community safety and protecting fundamental human rights and civil liberties in the UK.
Fair and effective complaints procedures are essential to maintaining public trust and confidence in the police, protecting against cultures of impunity and establishing accountability. Research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has formulated a regulatory approach to police complaints determination that is fair, effective and human rights compliant. The research has two strands. Firstly, considering complaints law and practice across Europe, via engagement with the Council of Europe (COE) Commissioner for Human Rights (CHR). Secondly, an assessment of internal misconduct investigations, focusing specifically on Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Work undertaken with the CHR, notably the generation of an Opinion `Concerning Independent and Effective Determination of Complaints against the Police' has been picked up and utilised internationally by a range of governmental and non-governmental bodies, and is being used within a raft of training engagements. The report `Disproportionality in Police Professional Standards' has formed the basis for both ongoing internal discussion, and wider considerations concerning the issue of disproportionality within the professions.
The Unit's Criminal Justice group has carried out a significant body of research relating to youth disaffection, anti-social behaviour and policing. This led to Professor Tim Newburn being approached by The Guardian to establish a joint research project following the 2011 riots in England. The ensuing research achieved very wide reach via conventional print and other media, informing public understanding of the riots and challenging conventional wisdom about their causes. A wide range of public figures reacted to the research and the Home Secretary's response included the announcement of a formal review of police `stop and search' practice. This was published in July 2013, and in a parliamentary statement the Home Secretary said she anticipated significant reform of the use of these powers.