Abstract:This paper critically reflects on human-centred aspects of policing and crime prevention. Research suggests that 'social work' is an increasing part of the UK police officer role (Charman, 2018) — often challenging new recruits' preconceptions of what it means to be a police officer. This widening of the role of the police in the UK has been fuelled by cuts in public and social care budgets. Approaches like community policing are key to addressing a number of public safety and security issues, but has been significantly impacted by police budget cuts. Community policing is about fostering trust, confidence and legitimacy— goals that are long term, important and strategic. Community policing traditionally involves providing a visible police presence, as well as actively engaging with local citizens and addressing their concerns. Such concerns cover a range of issues from fear of victimisation to problems of anti-social behaviour and incivility. Because it is human-centred, community policing is also expected to support the prevention of radicalisation, with the police often being the first contact point with radicalised youth (Cherney, 2016). However, this strategic value is overlooked, and cuts to community policing may undermine efforts to tackle radicalisation. Strategies to promote and value human-centred approaches core to policing and crime prevention will be discussed.
Vita:Dr Caroline L. Davey and Andrew B. Wootton are Directors of the Design Against Crime Solution Centre at the University of Salford. Dr Davey is a qualified Organisational Psychologist and Reader in Design, Innovation & Society. She has led major UK and European funded projects on social responsibility since 1998. Andrew Wootton is Senior Research Fellow and has 15 years experience in design research. Davey and Wootton have published books, academic articles and design guidelines on the role of design within crime prevention, and the use of holistic, human-centred ‘design thinking’ to improve quality of life. They have delivered European-funded projects on Design Against Crime, and initiated a major UK consortium project on sustainability in urban design decision-making—VivaCity2020. Solution Centre projects include: City Centre Crime; National Police Crime Prevention Service (NPCPS); Planning Urban Security (PLuS)—an EU funded project led by LKA Niedersachsen; Youth Design Against Crime to engage disadvantaged young people; SecurePART to engage civil society in European security research—funded by EU FP7 programme; and COST Action TU1203 Crime Prevention Through Urban Design and Planning (2013 – 16). In October 2018, they will commence a European consortium project on security and policing called 'Cutting Crime Impact: Practice-based innovation in preventing, investigating & mitigating high-impact petty crime.
