Evidence Based Policing (EBP)
Peter Martin APM, Ph.D.
Deputy Commissioner Adjunct Professor Chairperson
Queensland Police Service University of Queensland Australia & New Zealand
Australia Australia Society of Evidence Based Policing (ANZSEBP)
How did medicine get
to where it is today?
Policing – what is the
relationship
with science or evidence?
Complexity of today?
• Competing demands for resources
• Competing priorities
• Changes of policy direction
• Economic and social factors impacting
communities
• Technology investments
• Terrorism
• Organised crime
• Community demands
• Community engagement
• Political expectations……and more!
Questions
• What does it take for police organisations to be
evidence based?
• How do police organisations move from the
rhetoric of using evidence to guide practice to
inculcating this into the very DNA of the police
organisation?
• How much evidence is actually there? (the
paucity of evidence).
• Identify strategies to ‘fast track’ the research
agenda of policing?
EBP – some key success factors
• Dedicated funding
• Strong and effective strategic leadership
• Training & mentoring the next generation of
officers with a commitment and understanding
of science
• ……. and others
The role of police leaders in fostering evidence
based policing reform…..
1. Acknowledging the paucity of evidence
2. Allocation of sufficient discretionary budget to support
in-house evaluations
3. Training the next generation of staff to run in-house
evaluation
4. Conversations with Ministers/Government about
resource allocations
5. Moth-balling age old police practices that don’t work
6. Police leaders contributing to public discourse that
demands evidence
4 key activities for police leaders
• Knowledge and skill needs to be developed
• Opportunities need to be created for individuals to use new found
knowledge
• ‘early adopters’ will need to mentor those with developing
knowledge
• Leaders need to provide organisational support – recognition is
key for those integrating science into practice
Tools to use the existing evidence
• the Lum-Koper Matrix (http://cebcp.org/evidence-based-
policing/the-matrix/using-the-matrix/ ),
• the What Works for Crime Reduction Tool Kit
(http://whatworks.college.police.uk/toolkit/Pages/Toolkit.aspx),
• Crime Solutions in the US (see
http://www.crimesolutions.gov/) and the
• Global Policing Database (GPD) developed by the University
of Queensland (Higginson, Eggins, Mazerolle, & Stanko,
2015a) in partnership with Mayor’s Office for Policing and
Crime (MOPAC)
• the UK Policing College
(http://www.college.police.uk/Pages/Home.aspx ).
Goals of the society:
Aim One: Increased use of best available research evidence to
solve policing problems
Aim Two: The production of new research evidence by police
practitioners and researchers
Aim Three: Communication of research evidence to police
practitioners and the public
The 10 Point Plan
1. A service wide integrated strategy – focused on creating
and managing knowledge
2. EBP Unit with broad capabilities
3. Embedding criminology trained people into the EBP Unit
(perhaps even a Director of Criminology function)
4. Professional development of senior leaders to enlighten
them on EBP
5. Holding senior leaders accountable through
performance management and set KPI’s
The plan ….continued
6. Recruit training – building the next generation
7. Specific strategy for the middle level managers
8. Better utilisation and dissemination of existing research
to start with.
9. Funding – allocating a portion of discretionary budgets
10. Rewarding people for their achievements in this area.
Thank you
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