Fleming, Jenny (2018) How do the Police Respond to Evidence Based Policing? In, Rhodes, Rod (ed.) Narrative Policy Analysis: Cases in Decentred Policy. Basingstoke. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 221-239.
Abstract
The What Works concept in the UK is a national approach to prioritising the use of evidence in policy decision-making. The initiative aims to improve the way government and its agencies create, share and use high-quality evidence. What Works is based on the principle that good decision-making should be informed by the best available evidence. The What Works Centre for Crime Reduction (WWCR) is part of the ‘What Works’ network led by the College of Policing (COP). In outlining the benefits of the WWCR Centre, the COP anticipates that ‘evidence will be translated into practical insights that the police service and their partners can easily use’ and ‘will be provided on the most effective approaches that can help prevent crime’. The chapter discusses police officers’ response to this evidence-based agenda. It discusses officers’ concerns about their perceived ability to work effectively with an evidence base. These concerns are linked to officers’ perceptions about ‘permission to fail’, organisational constraints, management buy-in and appetite for innovation. Officers agree that evidence-based policing is a positive thing overall but question its viability in practice. The chapter draws on data from all ranks, across four police organisations in the UK.
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