Policing and the police

Coordinated by Dr Reka Solymosi, who co-leads the Manchester Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (M-PACE), a partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University and part of the national PACE programme.

This group investigates the role, practice and legitimacy of policing in contemporary societies. It supports collaborative research between academics, practitioners and communities to enhance fairness, effectiveness and public trust in policing.

More information about this group can be found on the M-PACE website.

Areas covered

Police decision-making and discretion;
Evidence-based policing and police analytics;
Fairness, legitimacy and public confidence;
Data-driven policing and innovation;
Community engagement and co-production;
Policing policy and organisational reform.

Research-driven teaching

CRIM20051 Policing and the Police (BA Criminology).
Service Learning Dissertation: students choose topics that align with current policing areas of research interest and their dissertations are shared with relevant policing partners.

Societal and community impact

Working with practitioners: co-producing research with police forces, the NPCC and the College of Policing through M-PACE.
Informing policy and practice: Research has informed policy and policing practice in areas such as stop and search, police recording of rape allegations, intimate partner violence and stalking and domestic abuse.
Delivering training to police forces: Evidence-based policing training delivered in Denmark, Brazil and Spain.
Influencing national debates: Delivered evidence in parliamentary debates around security, safety and protest, and undertaken independent reviews of protest policing for various government bodies.
Media engagement: Media commentaries around football and protest policing, and the safety of women runners.

Members

PGR students

Nic Fox
Luis Sotomayor (Mathematics)