EMPAC is all about improving policing through collaboration and the co-production of knowledge. The interface between academic research and professional application is termed ‘impact’ – and for that reason EMPAC is now working in partnership with the UK’s biggest selling policing publication – Police Professional.
A new bi-monthly release will showcase policing research in a user-friendly style, with mini-interviews with each featured author to explore just what difference does the research make – the ‘so what?’ question!
The new series is called The Research Inspector.
EMPAC will also continue to explore the potential for expanding its digital platform to reach policing practitioners and spread the useful application of research through multi-media. We know from feedback that policing professionals appreciate succinct overviews and short videos that explain key information. This is because the operational environment is very busy, with competing demands on professionals’ time. We known extended chunks of time to focus on research developments are a luxury – so EMPAC hopes to cut through the huge amount of information and bring the salient points to busy practitioners.
More proactively, EMPAC is also trying to affect long term change in how much applied and useful policing research is produced in order to help improve policing. The EMPAC Impact Capacity Rating, as a model, explains how research can be designed with impact in mind from the outset, as well as assessed for progress and ultimately evaluated. EMPAC takes the view that ‘impact’ should be regarded as something that is put into practice, because the vital job of policing – protecting the vulnerable and attacking criminality – is just too important not to have all the benefits that applied research offers.
EMPAC encourages other policing collaboration networks and inspection bodies to use the Impact Capacity Rating to grow that focus on impact in policing. You can find the Impact model here:- https://empac.org.uk/importance-impact-policing-research/