Call for Police Participants for Research on Harm Prevention, County Lines, and Uniforms

by Helen Gordon-Smith | Jul 3, 2024 | 0 comments

Three new projects at the University of Liverpool seek participants for research on police uniforms, harm prevention when policing illicit substances, and multiagency working in county lines policing.

Police Uniforms Survey

Is your uniform comfortable? Is it fit-for-purpose? Does wearing the uniform affect your mental or physical health? We want to know!

Lancaster University in collaboration with the Police Federation will be launching the first ever national police uniform and equipment survey on the 1st July, aimed at both staff and officers.

Dr Camilla De Camargo, a lecturer and police researcher at Lancaster University, conducted focus group research in five police forces to inform question design, and worked alongside PFEW and the National Uniform Portfolio as part of the NPCC, Home Office, UNISON, Lancaster University, The Open University, Superintendents Association, and Blue Light Commercial. The aim is to reach around 200,000 officers and staff and is an excellent opportunity for officers and staff to have their voices heard and provide decision makers at the highest level with the evidence they need to make meaningful change and directly impact uniform policies.

Complete the survey by 12 August 2024:

National Police Uniform and Equipment Survey [lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com]

For more information, please see the study details or contact Dr Camargo.

County Lines Policing: Strategies to Improve Multiagency Working

Interviewees sought to develop strategies mitigating the complexities of multiagency working for county lines.

Jenna Carr, former caseworker on the Home Office-funded County Lines Victim Support Service team, is conducting this research as part of a PhD at University of Liverpool.

Government policy on County Lines heavily recommends multiagency working to combat the issue, but pays little regard to the challenges involved in collaborative working. To address this, Jenna is investigating the reality of multiagency professionals working in the support team, including the police, to identify strategies to mitigate the complexities of multiagency working. The findings of this research will be reported to participants and to the National County Lines Coordination Centre with a view to informing policy responses.

Police with a role in county lines policing involved in multiagency work and information sharing are sought for interview. Interviews are already being conducted with representatives from other agencies.

Interviews will be online, semi structured, and will last between 45 minutes up to 1 hour.

Interviews will be fully anonymised. Interviewees are not expected to discuss individual cases; if the interviewee cites a case as an example no identifiable information will be recorded. Information about data protection, confidentiality and anonymity arrangements are on the participant information sheet and consent form that will be given to you prior to participating.

Discussions will be around your role in the police, how many years of service you have completed, and how drugs policing has (or has not) changed since county lines has been conceptualised. We will also discuss what is involved in police referral to safeguarding and how a county line can be defined as ‘closed’, whether a universal definition of county lines exists between the multiagency team, how different and potentially conflicting responsibilities and priorities are handled, and finally how you define vulnerability from a policing perspective.

Interview participants will be invited to contribute to a focus group later in the year.

To participate, contact Jenna Carr use the Microsoft Form link or QR code to leave your contact details and Jenna will be in touch.

Illicit Substances: Policing or Preventing?

Investigating the experiences of police officers in reducing drug harm whilst enforcing the law.

Public Health Registrar and University of Liverpool MSc candidate Chloe Taylor is conducting research to understand the experiences of members of the police force in providing harm reduction interventions while policing illicit substances. The aim of the study is to identify key themes to support police officers in delivering this dual role.

The research study aims to recruit 8-10 police officers of different levels seniority to participate in a 45 minute interview, to take place at a convenient time online. Participants should be:

Currently in an active role for >1 year.
Involved in community policing. This includes frontline service, team leaders or managerial roles.
In a role where illicit substances play a regular part of their professional activity.
Employed by a police force in the North West of England.

Participation is voluntary, information shared will be kept confidential and will be pseudonymised in the final report. Results will be reported in a final dissertation and will not include identifiable information but may make reference to generalised geographical regions, seniority but not specific job title or years of experience.

The study has received ethical approval by the University of Liverpool. For more information, and to participate as an interviewee, contact Chloe Taylor.