In March 2022, Policing in Wales and the Wales Innovation Network formally agreed a collaborative arrangement for policing research in Wales, with a view to establishing a broader evidence base for policing in Wales and to replicate similar successful arrangements in other parts of the UK.
Whilst local arrangements exist across Wales between police forces and universities and collaborative criminal justice agreements with universities, there is an opportunity to build upon this success through a more formal arrangement, bringing together the four Welsh police forces and the universities through the Wales Innovation Network (WIN).
The aim of the collaboration is to facilitate effective engagement between the Welsh police forces and universities in Wales to undertake research that improves the lives of people in Wales:
- Forging equitable partnerships for collaborative working at an ‘All-Wales’ level between the police and academic sectors.
- Enabling ‘All-Wales’ partnerships to create larger, collaborative bids, to capture external grant funding at an ‘All-Wales’ level.
- Working in partnership to create research impact, benefit police policy and to share best practice across Wales.
- Raising awareness of the collaborative policing research being carried out across Wales.
Members of the steering group chose to focus on the following strategic intentions for year one and two; the priority aligns with the violence against women and girls agenda.
- Vulnerability: domestic abuse, stalking and harassment
- Violence against women and girls
- Increasing public confidence and trust in policing
- Forging new partnerships to positively influence and inform UK Policing policies and doctrine
The collaboration is overseen by a steering group that has representatives from each of the universities in Wales, the four Welsh police forces and the four Office for Police and Crime Commissioners. The steering group is co-chaired by Professor Deborah Jones of Swansea University and Superintendent Ross Evans of Dyfed-Powys police force.