Research suggests vanguard initiative helped people previously unreached by services
A study led by the Scottish Centre for Policing & Public Health at Edinburgh Napier University has found a collaborative initiative between emergency services in a disadvantaged community had a potentially ‘ground-breaking’ impact.
Researchers conducted an exploratory evaluation of a Strategic Delivery Partnership ‘vanguard initiative’, which saw public service agencies Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service establish a ‘team around the community’ model of cross-service response.
The report published today found the initiative transformed traditional practice and helped to address several problems faced by people who found it hard to engage with services. Officers worked full-time in a community hub in the area’s primary school and pro-actively established trusting relationships with people to identify problems, provide solutions and protect people in crisis.
The study made seventeen recommendations, such as the need for more robust evidence on the vanguard initiative, resolving tension between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ operational working and carefully selecting the officers involved, while retaining the ones who helped to build trusting relationships.
Professor Nadine Dougall of Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Health and Social Care said: “This research could act as a model for providing crucial public services in disadvantaged communities across the country.
“Although more work needs to be done to establish the full effectiveness of the vanguard initiative, these findings suggest this model of connective working managed to reach people who were previously either unable or reluctant to get support from emergency services.
“Issues which are common in disadvantaged communities, like drug supply, anti-social behaviour, and personal safety, appear to be much better addressed by this public health and trauma-informed approach to reduce inequalities and enhance community resilience.”
The rapid research evaluation and case study assessment the vanguard initiative was based on a community in Scotland identified as being in the top 1% of most deprived Scottish areas.
It has the highest number of alcohol and other drugs admissions in the local authority area, a high prevalence of violence, and its most common crimes relate to substance use and vandalism.
The study, funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, and supported by the Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, was conducted between March and June 2022, using in-depth interviews with the services involved.
The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), Police Scotland, and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), have joined together to provide £62,000 to fund projects which will support the police to improve engagement with seldom heard communities.
The term ‘seldom-heard’ refers to communities which are historically under-represented and may be less likely to engage with police for a variety reasons (including race, religion, sexuality, disability, and age, as well as communities isolated through geography or economic disadvantage).
Dr Megan O’Neill, SIPR Associate Director and Lead for the Police-Community Relations network said: “The focus of these grants is to understand seldom heard communities and emphasise the role of police, researchers, and policy makers in building effective and meaningful connections.
“Many of these communities feel they are not being listened to, and we have an important role to play in support research which will ensure their voices are heard; their needs are met; and their perspectives are understood.”
Following a successful public event in May 2021, which saw almost 200 attendees come together to explore public confidence in Police Scotland for seldom heard communities, SIPR, Police Scotland and the SPA launched the ‘Seldom Heard Community Grants’ and invited all interested parties to apply for funding for projects which would support Police Scotland to further enhance its support to these communities.
Fifteen applications were received from UK-based researchers and were subject to a rigorous assessment via an award panel which consisted of senior Scottish academics, senior police officers and staff, and senior representatives from the Scottish Police Authority.
The field was highly competitive; however, it was agreed that five applications selected stood out for the relevance of their focus; innovative approaches; and robust methodologies.
Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins, who led this work for Police Scotland said: “It is really positive to have received so many applications of such good quality and of varying subject matters to assist Police Scotland in improving engagement with seldom heard communities.
“This is an extremely important area of work for Police Scotland, and I look forward to receiving the outcomes from the research.”
Amanda Coulthard, Head of Strategy & Performance at Scottish Police Authority, said: “We were delighted with the range of applications received for this fund, which focuses on improving engagement with groups who may be seldom heard.
“The SPA commitment to policing in the public interest means it is critical we work to understand any possible barriers to engagement from seldom heard groups, and seek to evolve practice”.
Our congratulations go to:
Dr John Mendel (University of Dundee) who will lead the project ‘Inquiring together: Collaborative Research with BAME communities and serving officers’.
Dr Mendel will work with Dundee City and Aberdeenshire Councils, as well as the Scottish Refugee Councilto support police officers to engage, as co-inquirers (utilising action research), with people who are seldom heard: refugees, migrants and those from BAME communities in Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeenshire.
This will allow a set of policing guidelines to be developed by the community of police officers and the BAME and migrants working together.
Dr Andrew Williams (St Andrew’s University) as Principal Investigator for the research project ‘To be seen and heard: developing photovoice as a method for the police to engage with young people in underserved communities”.
Working with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, the Wallacetown Strategic Community Partnership, and the University of Exeter Relational Health Group, this project aims to support the police in adopting creative methods to engage young people in an area of significant economic disadvantage and understand the places and people that matter to them.
Dr Julie Berg (University of Glasgow) who will head up the project“Accounting for Complexities: an Intersectional Approach to Enhancing Police Practitioner Accountability, Legitimacy & Sustainable Reform” which aims todevelop an intersectional good practice tool kit through which Police Scotland can better engage with seldom heard communities in order to underpin sustainable reform and improved accountability mechanisms.
Professor Jim Moir (Abertay University) who will lead the project ‘Hearing seldom heard groups: Policing with empathy in conversation with LGBT and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds’.
Delivered in collaboration with the Articulate Cultural Trust (a charity which supports young people to enable creativity) and Dundee City Council, this research aims to not only explore the experiences of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds where there may also be intersectional aspects at play (e.g., (LGBT-Q identifications) in encounters with the police, but also to examine the extent to which empathy and understanding of different seldom heard voices is apparent in Police Scotland.
Dr Nicole Vidal (Queen Margaret University) as Principal Investigator for ‘Refugee and asylum-seeker experiences, trust and confidence with Police Scotland’ which will collaborate with third sector organisations that provide psychological support to refugees and asylum seekers with the aim of building an understanding of the quantity and quality of refugees’ social networks and their role in influencing engagement with the police.
Dr Liz Aston,Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, which will administer these grants, said:“The projects funded through the Seldom Heard Community scheme will explore some of the most pressing issues facing police-community relationships today.
“While the research will explore Scottish experiences and examples, they represent challenges being faced globally within policing. There is enormous potential for these projects to impact current policing policies and practices, and SIPR is looking forward to working with all five teams to support this wherever possible.”
For more information on these grants, or about the work of SIPR, please visit our website at sipr.ac.uk
