Police Professionalisation - comparative study of police professionalisation through academic education and partnership in Scotland and at least one other Western European nation

Project Ref: PHDMCS1704. The proposed research involves a comparative study of police professionalisation through academic education and partnership in Scotland and at least one other Western European nation. Currently, the ways in which police officers are educated/trained is rapidly changing across the UK, including in Scotland. It is argued that the benefits of academic education to Policing include the development of a more knowledgeable and highly skilled workforce which in turn can improve service quality and understanding of the complexities of contemporary police work. In addition, it is believed to have the added benefit of providing individuals with a better sense of job satisfaction and social/cultural capital and improving diversity of the workforce which can help provide better understanding of multi-cultural communities. Despite these benefits, critics argue that there is a gulf between the academic and police worlds, with concerns that knowledge provided through academic study fails to capture the tacit knowledge and ‘craft’ skills gained through on the job learning.

Other Western European nations that are similar to Scotland are also in the process of changing the shape of police education (Iceland), with evidence elsewhere of the value of an established police/academic education model (Norway). Drawing on literature and theory from the sociology of professions and police studies the aim of this project is to critically evaluate different models of police/academic education and partnership, identifying the implications for policing as a profession and, as a consequence, for those who are policed. The project is supported by the Scottish Institute for Police Research (SIPR), a consortium of 13 universities in Scotland. SIPR maintains well-established links to a number of European policing and academic partners (including in Iceland and Norway). This project complements a broader research agenda examining the changing nature of academic education, partnerships and police professionalisation by members of the supervisory team.