News & Blogs

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.

Building on the foundations laid by the Parental Pathways research, which is tackling systemic barriers to parenting within UK policing, lecturers Kendal Wright and Dr Keely Duddin, alongside colleagues Dr Wenjin Dai and Francesca Calo have received funding from the Open Societal Challenges Programme. The support enables the team to scale up the Mumentum campaign and deepen its national reach.

We’re delighted to announce that our pan-university scholarship proposal, Exploring Blurred Boundaries Between Work and Learning, has been successfully funded. Led by Abigail Salter (FBL Policing), Sarah Bloomfield (FBL Business), and Evelyn Mooney (WELS), this cross-faculty project builds on previous scholarship exploring the tripartite relationship in degree apprenticeships.

On 09 April, Kendal Wright and Dr Keely Duddin from the policing team and co-leads on a Parental Pathways research project, presented at the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) conference.

Dr Paul Walley and Dr Helen Glasspoole-Bird have published an evaluation report entitled “An Evaluation of the Pilot Application of Artificial Intelligence to Witness Statement and Report Generation at Hertfordshire Constabulary”.  The work studies the outputs of version 1 of an AI application that takes audio from Rapid Video Response interviews with victims of domestic abuse and converts this into relevant summary documents including MG11 witness statements.

The States of Jersey Police recently completed a transformative Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme that is setting a new benchmark in investigative excellence and fostering increased public confidence in law enforcement. 

Designed and delivered by Ian McNeill, Senior Lecturer in CPD Development in Policing at the Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) at the Open University, the programme was developed in collaboration with the Operation Soteria Joint Unit and academics from across all six pillars of the Operation Soteria national programme.

The Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) is proud to launch our 2024 Annual Report, marking a decade of collaboration with policing that’s driven meaningful change and supported professional learning across the sector.

The Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL) is thrilled to welcome two distinguished new Visiting Fellows to its network of policing experts: Dr Iain Britton and Dr Anna Hopkins. Their appointment marks an exciting step forward in CPRL’s mission to bridge research, innovation, and practice across policing and public safety.

Findings from an evaluation of 'WeMove'; a pilot that was funded by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to support children and young people aged 12 to 18 years impacted by serious and violent crime, either as perpetrators or victims. Central to WeMove was one-to-one support by trained mentors.

At the Canterbury CC Policing Research Conference in January 2025, Dr Keely Duddin and Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie presented research on "Advancing Wellbeing in Policing by Addressing Perinatal Mental Health and Maternity Challenges" on behalf of the wider research team.