The Scottish Police Authority (SPA), working with the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) and Police Scotland, have joined together to fund a range of 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 for a variety reasons, including race, religion, sexuality, disability, and age, as well as communities isolated through geography or economic disadvantage.
A total of fifteen applications were received and considered by a panel representing SIPR, the SPA and Police Scotland. Five applications have been awarded for the relevance of their focus; innovative approaches; and robust methodologies.
These five projects will received a share of £62,000 to support innovation and learning, maintaining and developing our focus on policing in the public interest.
Awards have been granted to:
- Dr John Mendel (University of Dundee) who will lead the project “Inquiring together: Collaborative Research with BAME communities and serving officers” which aims to support police officers to engage, with refugees, migrants and those from BAME communities in Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeenshire to support development of policing guidelines.
- 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” which aims to utilise creative methods to engage young people in an area of significant economic disadvantage to 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 to develop an intersectional good practice tool kit by which Police Scotland can better engage with seldom heard communities.
- 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”. This research will explore the experiences of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and 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 aims to build an understanding of the quantity and quality of refugees’ social networks and their role in influencing engagement with the police.
Article initially published 2 September 2021