A new centre in Yorkshire will embed university researchers directly into police operations, giving officers access to the latest evidence on crime prevention, public trust, data analytics, and climate change. The problem is that policing has historically relied on tradition and reactive tactics rather than rigorous evidence. This centre aims to close that gap by making frontline decisions—from neighbourhood patrols to emergency response—more informed by social science. It will synthesise existing research and conduct new studies on what actually works to reduce victimisation, cut reoffending, and build public confidence. If successful, the centre could shift policing culture toward prevention and problem-solving, reducing demand on emergency services and improving community safety. It will produce practical tools, training programmes, and evidence briefs for police forces across the UK. The work also addresses an often-overlooked system: the relationship between citizens and the institutions meant to protect them, which quietly underpins social stability and trust in justice.
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The Yorkshire Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence (TYP-ACE) will mobilise the best research and innovation evidence across the universities of Leeds and York to improve public trust and confidence in policing, enhance community safety and reduce harm. It aims to equip police and partners with the science and innovation insights and knowledge to drive forward a culture change in policing, whereby preventative and problem-solving approaches are embedded as central to the police mission. TYP-ACE will build upon the expertise, engagement platforms and existing partnerships with policing stakeholders within the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre (hosted by Leeds and York). Additionally, it will harness rigorous research evidence, as well as methodological and analytical capabilities of both universities. It will provide national and international leadership in crime prevention, public trust in policing, analytics and climate change. In these fields, it will play a decisive role in advancing and improving policing by generating, synthesising and making accessible the best evidence available. Leeds and York are global research-intensive institutions with considerable relevant specialist expertise. TYP-ACE will provide national leadership in research and innovation on: crime prevention - by understanding the value of prevention initiatives and fostering safe public spaces; public trust - by exploring the forces that influence trust and confidence in policing; analytics - by considering the opportunities and challenges of administrative and other large datasets for policing; and climate change - by understanding the impacts of climate change on policing and community safety as well as the role of police in climate mitigation and adaptation. TYP-ACE will enable policing to build resilience and prepare for future challenges, including workforce and training needs, and advance understanding of what works, where, for whom, and under what circumstances by drawing upon a variety of high-quality social science and data analytic methods. TYP-ACE will foster ways in which science, technology and innovation can be mobilised to address the drivers and vulnerabilities associated with victimisation, reduce offending, and lessen demands for policing through evidence-based, whole-system approaches. It will pay particular attention to understanding public perceptions, beliefs and concerns about the application of science and technology and the extent to which innovations and technologies are considered legitimate, fair and ethical. Improving public awareness and understanding of science and innovation will be central to the work of TYP-ACE, in that public trust and confidence is fundamental to effective policing. Through engagement with policing partners and national networks, TYP-ACE will synthesise research evidence to draw accessible insights that can lead to actionable knowledge and change at scale. TYP-ACE will adopt a values-led approach to policing-academic engagement that revolves around core principles of integrity, inclusivity, collaboration, openness, solution-focus, responsible innovation, independence and reciprocity. It will foreground co-production, interdisciplinarity and impact with an emphasis on generating, translating and applying knowledge to transform frontline policing in ways that enhance community safety. It will deploy its resources and flexible fund to support the following activities: engagement workshops; new research projects; evidence syntheses; tool development and testing; knowledge exchange workshops; people mobility and exchange; and PhD placements. Each activity will bring policing stakeholders together with academics both with subject matter expertise and with appropriate methodological and analytic skills to co-design the questions, approach and desired outcomes. Collectively, they will deliver new tools, applications and tangible benefits for policing and crime prevention.
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