The best police force in the world Learning at all cost… Edinburgh, September 2nd 2008

Scottish whisky? Tartan army? Golf courses? Cuisine? is/ are considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant

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Twente has the best police force of the Netherlands, is the conclusion of the Interior Minister, based on a comparison of the results of the Dutch 26 police forces. Twente police scored 68 out of a total of 80 possible points for matters such as “satisfaction amongst the population”, number of arrests and speed of working The Netherlands

Obstacles to knowledge development Impractical research far removed from daily practice. No real input or involvement from within police forces. Idea “with us, it’s different” Idea that thinking and reflection undermine hierarchy or discipline Idea that thinking and reflection undermine the need for action Idea that spending time on knowledge is not “real work.” More comfortable to hold on to a cherished opinion Lack of time, opportunities and resources

Dealing with conflict situations

From “Omgaan met conflicten”, in coop with Nicolien Kop, Henk Ferwerda,Johan Heijnemans, Wilfried Olde Nordkamp, Peter de Paauw & Kees van Woerkom Use of “goal – approach analysis” (N = 64 ) Request assistance Request additional information Communicate about plan Formulate plan Verify possibilities Verify authority Estimate risks Formulate goal Before During

The split-second syndrome (Fyfe, 1998) No two situations are alike: there are no general principles for the way in which dangerous situations should be dealt with. The only way to manage dangerous situations is to train officers to react as quickly as possible to emergency situations and to think up solutions as quickly as possible.

“What works” (Sherman e.a., 1997) 1.correlational research 2.pre- and post measurement without control group 3.quasi-experimental design with control group 4.experiments where other variables are controlled 5.randomized experiments

Euro 2004: Stott & AdangEuro 2000: Adang & Cuvelier

Points of departure Wherever possible: direct observations of what happens in real police practice Involvement of police researchers, police teachers, police students and police practitioners Co-operation No borders Utilisation focused Comparative approach: not just focusing on incidents

What do you mean quiet?!

New Year’s Eve Increase in annoyance, arson, vandalism, violence compared to an average day Annoyance3,95,12,31,0 Arson3,617,014,22,7 Vandalism1,33,14,83,4 Violence1,0 2,81,0

Research, practice and education Agenda setting Inventory of good practices Number of recommendations Direct input for practice: –Exchange between (and within) police forces –Preparation for next New Year’s Eve Input for education (involvement of teachers and students) Interior minister appoints dedicated task force

The best police force in the world