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The problem of how to combat terrorism while respecting fundamental values has become increasingly acute. The research has addressed this problem by influencing the formation, design, development, and governance of counter-terrorism laws through recommendations for legal and policy reform directed at promoting and strengthening key values which cohere around the concept of `constitutionalism' (defined in 2 below). The recommendations have been endorsed by policy reviewers primarily in the UK but also in Australia.
Research into the history of British policing overseas, conducted at the Open University's International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice, resulted in Dr Georgina Sinclair acting as academic advisor to the Association of Chief Police Officers (International Affairs), the International Policing Assistance Board, and the Ministry of Defence Police.
As a result of the transfer of historical research findings and methodological expertise, the various agencies deploying police officers overseas now coordinate more effectively via an improved communications and media strategy. In addition a new set of principles and guidance for overseas deployments has been developed, with Sinclair serving as the sole academic member of the working group preparing this document.
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 case describes research by Professor Mike Hough and Dr Mai Sato into public trust in the police and courts across Europe. The research has aimed to persuade policy makers and other stakeholders that fairness is not simply a desirable feature of justice systems, but a precondition for effective justice, and that institutional legitimacy is key to justice policy. It has influenced the operational strategies of the Metropolitan Police; and been disseminated by invitation to senior staff from Cabinet Office, Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Office of National Statistics (ONS). It has also featured in the broadcast media and the national press.
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.
Brookman's research has produced new insights into the nature and circumstances of homicide and homicide investigation. The first four pages on the Murder Investigation Manual, commonly viewed as the definitive guide on homicide investigation in Britain, are based on Brookman's research on the characteristics of homicide. The directives of the International Association of Chiefs of Police based in the United States (US) devote one or their top ten directives to Brookman's proposals on broadening outcome assessments. The Prince George's County Police Department in the US is currently considering implementing Brookman's proposals to include Family Liaison Officers as part of their process of homicide investigation.
1,754 people were killed on Great Britain's roads in 2012, down from 1,901 in 2011 (a reduction of 8%). Law "Enforcement" is one of the three E's used to try to increase road safety. Professor Sally Cunningham has been recognised by those within road safety circles as the foremost legal academic in this area, assisting the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in developing their road policing policy. In particular, she acted as a "critical friend" to ACPO in drafting a new five-year road policing strategy and she, alongside Sgt Alan Jones, developed one of the three strategic goals of the new strategy: "habitual compliance".
Improvements in the organisation and delivery of community safety by police and local authority-led partnerships have resulted from inter-related research studies conducted by a team at the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies. Research findings have significantly influenced national policy and professional policing and community safety practices. The research led to improvements in how important new reforms to policing powers and personnel have been implemented and in community safety delivered through partnerships. It also increased understanding of the benefits and limitations of policing partnerships, powers designed to tackle anti-social behaviour and the role of police community support officers in fostering safer communities.
The case study examines the far-reaching impact of David Mead's research over the past ten years, all undertaken while at UEA, into the law that regulates and guarantees peaceful protest and into the policing of demonstrations. His research has informed public policy in the UK and in Europe (Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)), been relied on by practitioners before the courts up to and including the Supreme Court (in both the UK and New Zealand), been cited by the European Court of Human Rights, led to providing expert evidence before the High Court and assisted NGOs (such as Greenpeace).