Emma Bilsdon joins the CPRL on secondment from Hertfordshire Constabulary

"I joined the CPRL at the beginning of January as a senior practitioner fellow specifically to work with Dr Walley, who secured funding for this project though the Open Societal Challenges programme in collaboration with Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Prevention First Department.

I have been a police officer with Hertfordshire Constabulary for 21years, joining in 1999 after I graduated from the University of Surrey with a BSc in Sociology. I have always had an interest in people and what factors influence group behaviour. My policing career has been in uniform roles both on the frontline and in support departments such as the Force Communications Room and I am currently an Inspector in the Prevention First Department, which focuses on finding ways to prevent demand and problem-solving root causes of issues, using an evidence-based approach.

Hertfordshire Constabulary has strong links with the CPRL, and I was lucky enough to attend the 2022 Festival of Impact event which really opened my eyes to the role that academia has in providing the evidence base for so many areas of policing. I am keen to learn new skills in research and evaluation that I can take back to force and share with my team to strengthen our problem-solving competence"