Criminology for the Police

The delivery of policing in any democratic society presents a critical test of those democratic systems and civic institutions that seek to provide security for citizens and to protect those who are vulnerable or marginalised. Criminology for the Police is the first book to interrogate this enduring tension and competing interpretations of the relationship between crime and policing in the context of the College of Policing's Police Education Qualifications Framework. The book introduces key ideas and concepts that underpin our understanding of crime as well as the design and delivery of twenty-first century policing and assesses their implications for those tasked with front-line policing. The book also outlines the growing importance of data and knowledge generation to the contemporary policing landscape and introduces readers to the basic skills required to use research and data to understand dynamic and complex challenges and improve the delivery of policing.

Baroness Helena Kennedy

The relationship between academic and policing is not new, but the introduction of the PEQF is a game changer and thousands of new recruits into the police are already finding themselves engaged in academic studies of policing that they might not have expected to be part of their role. This book helps these officers navigate their way through various theories and concepts by drawing out the different ways in which criminology informs our understanding of policing. Importantly, the authors remind us that criminology encompasses a diverse range of perspectives, and they focus on making the appropriate links between different criminological voices and the relevant aspects of policing.

Dominic Wood Head of the School of Law, Policing and Social Sciences at Canterbury Christchurch University