Society and Societal Work

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These free resources are organised into categories aligned to the College of Policing Curriculum and in agreement with police experts. You can study them at any time and anywhere.

Select the duration of study below and you will be taken to resources that match that duration

An hour or less of study	1-7 Hours of study	More than 7 hours of study

An hour or less of study

1-7 hours of study

More than 7 hours of study

An introduction to social work

Do you want to learn more about the social work role and develop your understanding of some of the theory associated with social work practice? This course begins by introducing key ideas, values, the social work process and the skills needed for social work practice. You will then move on to look at social work with individuals, and finally consider the benefits of reflective practice.

Type of activity: Course

Social problems: Who makes them?

Anti-social behaviour, homelessness, drugs, and mental illness: all problems in today's society. But what makes a problem social? This course will help you to discover how these issues are identified, defined, given meaning and acted upon. You will also look at the conflicts within social science in this area, through examples of inequalities that result from particular social constructions.

Type of activity: Course

Social science and participation

This course looks at how social science investigates participation, and uses this topic to look at how social science helps to enact social worlds. You will see that social science enactment of participation is related to social science descriptions of, for example, voting or other citizenly practices, and related also to social science understandings of, for example, how to define and evaluate poverty.

Type of activity: Course

News

What does the next decade of evidence-based policing look like? Join us for the CPRL Engagement Day on 21 January 2026

This event provides a collaborative and welcoming environment for shared practice, reflection, and strategic direction-setting. Together, we will explore how our partnership can drive forward the next generation of research, innovation, and professional learning across UK policing.

27th October 2025