CEPOL Research & Science Conference 2022 MRU, Vilnius

Andy Higgins

Andy Higgins is the Research Director of the Police Foundation, the UK's leading, policing think tank. His research and writing covers crime reduction, problem-oriented policing, community policing, multi-agency working, police governance, public priorities and victim belief. He has served on College of Policing committees, given evidence to parliament select committees and presented at numerous conferences. Between 2019 and 2022 he was a key contributor to the Foundation's Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales. Prior to joining the Police Foundation, Andy worked in intelligence and analytical roles within London's Metropolitan Police Service, most latterly within it's Strategy Research and Analysis unit. He holds degrees from Oxford and the Open Universities.


Sessions

06-08
11:00
30min
Redesigning Policing and Public Safety for the Digital Age: An Example for Europe?
Andy Higgins

The world around policing is changing as radically as it was in 1828 when Sir Robert Peel – founder of London’s Metropolitan Police Service – argued that Britain had outgrown her policing institutions and required a fundamentally “new mode of protection”. Today, the digital revolution, together with environmental crisis and complex social change, is transforming society, crime, and public safety, and posing challenges for governments and police agencies that are at least as profound.
In March 2022 the Police Foundation, the UK’s leading, independent policing think tank, published the final report of its Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales, a two-year programme of work to consider the policing arrangements needed to meet the public safety challenges of the mid-21st century. In it, we argue that the challenge of capacity can only be met by creating an explicit public safety system, primarily focussed on prevention, that stretches well beyond traditional law enforcement, but within which police must play unique and vital role. We conclude that, to fulfil that role, policing needs to develop and maintain a set of core strategic capabilities: the ability to work co-operatively with the public, to make best use of technology, develop new skills and promote learning within its workforce, ensure its people are resilient and stay well, and demonstrate strong leadership. Finally, we consider the organisational platform best able to deliver these capabilities effectively and efficiently.
The keynote will:
• Introduce the Police Foundation and the Strategic Review, describing its objectives, remit, and methods.
• Describe how technological change and other forces are reshaping the public safety context in ways that demand a fundamental redesign of our policing arrangements.
• Make the case for a realignment towards a preventive public safety system, especially in relation to technologically enabled crimes, and consider the police role within it.
• Consider how police can secure legitimacy and public consent in the digital age.
• Focus on the technological capabilities and skills profile required in coming decades, and the shift to a learning culture needed to ensure these are continually developed.

• Open Corner: The Digital Age for Law Enforcement
Auditorium (Plenary) Room C-I-201