All evidence points to better policing

Study to improve GMP tactics

GREATER Manchester Police is to become the first force in the UK to use special clinical studies to scrutinise their crime-fighting tactics to see which ones are the most effective.

The unique scheme will see the force team up with the UK’s top criminologists, Cambridge University from the National Policing Team (NPIA) to become the equivalent of a ‘research hospital’ to study what officers do to tackle crime across the region.

Day-to-day operations will be scrutinised and the evidence will allow the force to deploy better and more cost-effective tactics in future to put criminals behind bars and keep the streets safe.

GMP is now hoping that other forces across the country will follow their lead.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “It is crucial to reassure the people of Greater Manchester that we are subject to independent oversight, and that our theories, operations and tactics are both value for money and effective in reducing crime.

“That is why I am pleased GMP is the first force in the UK to adopt these methods.

“This programme of field-testing will give us concrete evidence of what works and what doesn’t, so we can improve our decision-making.

“We should have nothing to fear from greater openness and accountability as this leads to greater public confidence in us having the tools we need to prevent crime and make the place safer.

“The medical profession has broken startling ground through clinical trials at universities and institutes, and if policing can be improved by following suit, then it will only benefit the communities we serve.”

Lawrence Sherman, director of the Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology at Cambridge, said: “No police department in the world has ever committed itself to following the clinical research model of a teaching hospital.

“This programme will rapidly produce essential randomised controlled trials that have never been conducted in UK policing.”

NPIA Chief Constable Peter Neyroud added: “This is a prime example of how each local police agency can provide national leadership by contributing to a global knowledge base with the highest standards of reliable evidence.”