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Understanding the status of evidence in policing research: reflections from a study of policing domestic abuse

Davies, P.; Rowe, M.; Brown, D.M.; Biddle, P.

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Authors

P. Davies

M. Rowe

P. Biddle



Abstract

Experimentation, innovation, and evaluation are key elements of Evidence Based Policing (EBP), itself often aligned to wider efforts to improve police professionalism. Producing new evidence of ‘what works’ is an important part of the challenge of developing more effective policing responses to complex demands in a period of limited resources. Drawing on our experience of understanding successful innovations in policing domestic abuse, we reflect on the quality and status of research evidence in policing and the implications that these might have in terms of informing good practice. We worked in collaboration with police staff to identify areas in which innovation in policing domestic abuse has been successful. Selected projects were required to meet the criteria of having been developed from an evidence base (broadly defined to include professional expertise, scientific research and guidance from authoritative bodies), subject to evaluation and as having had a demonstrable positive impact. Our collaborative work identified some interesting variations in terms of understandings of these three criteria in the context of innovations in policing domestic abuse. Here we reflect on what passes as evidence and evaluation and more broadly what counts as research which helps determine what works, all as part of our project to build capacity through collaborative partnership policing.

Citation

Davies, P., Rowe, M., Brown, D., & Biddle, P. (2021). Understanding the status of evidence in policing research: reflections from a study of policing domestic abuse. Policing and Society, 31(6), 687-701. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2020.1762598

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 27, 2020
Online Publication Date May 7, 2020
Publication Date 2021
Deposit Date May 26, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Policing and Society
Print ISSN 1043-9463
Electronic ISSN 1477-2728
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 31
Issue 6
Pages 687-701
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2020.1762598

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