Huddersfield researchers take part in Independent Commission
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 10:11:00 GMT
University's dual role in major policing probe 'Policing for a Better Britain'
TWO Huddersfield researchers played major roles in the publishing of the final report from Lord John Steven's Independent Commission on the Future of Policing entitled 'Policing for a Better Britain' recently.
Professor Alex Hirschfield (pictured), Director of the Applied Criminology Centre, who is a leading expert on crime prevention nationally and internationally, was appointed to the Commission's Academic Advisory Panel in 2012 and was involved throughout contributing to the Commission's deliberations, interviewing witnesses and producing a chapter in a book, “The Future of Policing” edited by Jennifer Brown and published by Routledge.
Project managing the work of the Commission was Ray Dance (pictured), the University's Programme Director for the forensics courses and former West Yorkshire police superintendent. His role ensured the success and smooth running of the different elements of the Commission's work by including witness hearings, one to one interviews and the 31 separate papers produced by 47 academics from 28 universities, both within the UK and overseas.
This wide-ranging, evidenced-based report, has looked at every aspect of policing from the underlying values and principles that define the very purpose of the police, to what the public expect of the police in a modern society, what its role, functions and responsibilities should be, police pay, management practices and morale and how far police officer recruitment should reflect the communities they serve. The report also considers democratic accountability and the future of elected Police and Crime Commissioners, raising standards, tackling misconduct and developing policing as a profession, police force re-organisation and how to get the most out of police spending.
In this series of videos Professor Hirschfield answers questions on his role and involvement with the Steven's report [top], the future of Police Crime Commissioners [second], what his views are on neighbourhood policing [third] and if the Steven's report should be independent or not [fourth].
Professor Hirschfield spoke about his experience “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on this Commission and to work on such an important study.”
He continued: “The Commission has, in my view, managed to bring together practice-based knowledge within policing, the criminal justice system and government, the views of the public and academic thinking to distil the essential ingredients for ensuring a fair, representative and effective police service for the future.”
Mr Dance, who has many years experience as a police officer, spoke about how an in-depth look at policing in this country has been overdue: “What we have here is the largest study into the future of policing since the Royal Commission into Policing in 1962. You could say that this is Royal Commission that we needed but never had.”
This ground breaking study will inform policy and debate in the years ahead and show how the police service can meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
