Annual conference OU Centre for Policing

The Centre for Policing Research and Learning held its annual conference October 9th & 10th.  It was open to all police forces/agencies, with preferential booking for Centre policing partners.  Contributions came from both academics and police practitioners, with the aim of exploring new research findings, discussing their relevance to policy and practice, and share good ideas across policing.  

The theme this year was Learning from success, near miss and failure.  Mistakes, errors and failures - whatever language is used, are often treated as problematic in policing, with expectations that blame, investigation and sanction may closely follow.  But does that have to be the default position?  A number of forces and some regulatory bodies are recognising that failure can have different value, so that individual fault and blame is not the only response.  Furthermore, academic research shows that failures can be intelligent, and even necessary in particular contexts; with a spectrum of handling failure from “blameworthy” to “praiseworthy”. 

The conference had an excellent line-up of authorative speakers - below are some very short clips from them, followed by their Powerpoint slide decks and some further comments on the conference from them:

Dame Stella Manzie, Visiting Fellow at The Open University and former Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council:

Elements of Organisational Success

Slidedeck here  

“We used to be so good.” Where things go wrong and how to prevent it

 Dr Steven Chase, Chair of CPRL and Director of People, Thames Valley Police: 

A Thirst for Learning

Slidedeck here   

When our bodies and minds rebel: personal reflections

Professor Bart Rienties, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University : 

The Complexity of Learning from Incidents 

Slidedeck here    

The power of learning analytics to visualise evidence of learning.

Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director of NHS Scotland:  

Creating Learning Systems from 'Bright Spots' 

Slidedeck here   

Learning from failure and also from bright spots.

Martin Hewitt, Chair, National Police Chiefs’ Council:

Learning Lessons in Policing at a National Level  

Slidedeck here 

"We will learn the lessons"

Professor Jason Roach, University of Huddersfield: 

Encouraging Sharing Good Ideas  

Slidedeck here  

Nudging down crime: How to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater? 

 Dr Paul Walley CPRL and Superintendent Gareth Morris, Gloucestershire Constabulary;

The Impact of Reducing Failure Demand  

Slidedeck here 

Success and failure in managing demand.

Professor Denise Martin and Richard Harding CPRL: 

Organisational Learning and the Systems that Support It

Slidedeck here 

Map in hand, destination in mind - where is the journey heading in police learning and development?

Dr Loua Khalil, CPRL:

Slidedeck here ​  Learning to exercise leadership in hostile contexts.

Professor Laurence Alison, Forensic and Investigative Psychology, University of Liverpool 

Decision inertia and failures to act.

Jonathan Green, Deputy Director-General Operations, Independent Office of Police Conduct , and Stephen Oakley, Head of Policy and Public Affairs (also IOPC):

Slidedeck here  Balancing accountability with maximising learning​

Laurence Knell, Open University:

Slidedeck here   When does failure fuel success and innovation? Insights and implications for policing

Dr Ian Hesketh, College of Policing:

Slidedeck here    Blue box thinking: Politics, procurement and Policing. The creation of the National Police Wellbeing Service.

Professor Jean Hartley, CPRL:

Slidedeck here  Innovation and exnovation in public services

Dr Leah Tomkins, CPRL 

The ethics of evidence: Learning from heart as well as head

Professor Jean Hartley and Dr Zoe Walkington 

Conference wrap up