Joining forces: maximizing ways of making a difference in policing

Janet Foster is in the Department of Sociology at The London School of Economics. She directed the Diploma and Masters programme in Applied Criminology for senior police officers at Cambridge University in the 1990s, co-led the evaluation of the impact of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry on policing (Foster et al 2005), and has worked as an adviser on policing issues in Britain and Europe. Between 2006 and 2009, Janet was seconded to The Police Foundation—an independent charity dedicated to improving policing for the benefit of the public. Simon Bailey is Assistant Chief Constable in Norfolk Constabulary with responsibility for operational policing. Prior to his appointment in May 2009, he led the force modernization programme. In this article, the authors outline their experiences of working together on a major change programme in Norfolk Constabulary that required radical re-structuring and cultural change. They describe why police/academic collaborations are beneficial, the critical tensions inherent in such partnerships, and what they regard as the pre-requisites for academics and police successfully ‘joining forces’.