The COPP group was a principal outcome of an international workshop on British colonial policing held on 16 – 17 September 2009 at The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes. This was the first in a series of four workshops to be convened by the Open University and the GERN group in 2009 – 2011 which focus on the policing of the European colonial empires (initially Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal ) in response to the growing interest in and awareness of this field of enquiry.
COPP is an interdisciplinary group with members drawn from a range of backgrounds, both within and outside academia. It aims to promote research within the field of colonial and postcolonial policing: to further an understanding of connectivity, continuity and change of policing of empire and how that legacy connects to the study of international policing today.
COPP will promote its activities within the academic as well as public domains and will actively foster collaboration with the aim of opening up dialogue between the different communities. This will take the form of regular workshops and seminars, research activities and furthering links with outside institutions with an interest in this area.
