It was a pleasure to attend my first Scottish International Policing Conference last month, in my role as Chair of the Authority. The annual conference, delivered by the Scottish Institute of Policing Research (SIPR), focused on police academic partnerships.

The role of our academic partners in supporting evidence informed practice cannot be underestimated. The collaboration between the policing system and researchers ensures that policy direction and practice are shaped by evidence and innovation around what works, and what doesn’t.

This year the conference aligned with the international summer school for policing scholars, supported by SIPR along with international colleagues from North America, Australia, and Scandinavia, providing a wonderful opportunity for early career researchers and PhD candidates to share their thinking as part of the conference. I particularly enjoyed the poster display of ongoing research areas of focus and look forward to seeing the outcomes and impact of this work.

I was delighted to participate in the opening panel of the conference along with colleagues from Police Scotland, HMICS and the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit. We were given the opportunity to set the scene for the day, talking about what policing academic partnerships bring to our respective organisations.

Keynote speakers for the day, Professor Cynthia Lum of George Mason university and visiting Professor Gary Ritchie (former ACC in Police Scotland), got us thinking about how practice-based research can generate impact and how we approach policing research through a public health lens.

Six breakout sessions over the course of the day ensured all delegates were able to learn and network across new areas of focus such as external stakeholders, translating evidence into practice, sustaining relationships, and navigating differing cultures. The global delegate list and speaker cohort ensured we were considering suitable broad horizons.

The day ended on a final panel reflecting on lessons from the day, and from the wider week of international summer school activity. All delegates left the conference full of energy and enthusiasm for the future – clear on how significant an impact robust evidence can have on outcomes for the people, places and communities of Scotland.