Scottish International Policing Conference

Published On Thu 16 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill

Researchers from universities across Scotland will next week meet with colleagues from the UK and US to explore the relationship between technology, policing and criminal justice

The Fourth Annual Scottish International Policing Conference, being held at the University of Edinburgh on Wednesday, 22nd October, will focus on Technology, Policing and Criminal Justice. The programme has been organised by Professor Nick Fyfe, Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) and a researcher at the University of Dundee.

The conference is supported by the Scottish Government and three major companies involved in developing technologies for use in policing, security and criminal justice. It will provide a forum for police practitioners, policy makers, industry experts and researchers to discuss how to maximise the impact of new policing technologies for the benefit of local communities.

Professor Fyfe said, “From enhancing crime control to improving communication with the public, enhances in technology have always played a key role in influencing the development of policing. But if technologies are to be developed effectively, we must have a clear understanding of the problems they aim to address and the context in which they will be used.”

SIPR is a consortium of Abertay Dundee, Dundee, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Robert Gordon, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and the West of Scotland universities, and is supported by investment from Police Scotland.

The conference will be Chaired by Paddy Tomkins, former Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, and will comprise a series of workshop on information and automation, communications, analytics and identification, and sensors and surveillance each led by industry experts from the companies Finmeccanica - Selex ES, CGI and Airwave.

This is the culminations of a three-day programme which will see over 200 leading American and UK researchers and police practitioners also gathering to discuss the relationships between deterrence, fairness and effectiveness in policing and crime prevention.

Delegates presenting at the conference include Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill MSP, Chair of the Scottish Police Authority, Vic Emery OBE, and the Chief Constable of Scotland, Sir Stephen House QPM. In addition, Professor Cynthia Lum, Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Crime Policy at George Mason University, Washington, will deliver the James Smart Memorial Lecture on ‘The Impact of Technology on Modern Policing’.  

A former Baltimore City police officer and detective, Professor Lum researches policing interventions for crime prevention effectiveness, examining place-based determinates of street-level police decision-making, and understanding counterterrorism efforts by state and local law enforcement. 

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