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The �������� has launched a new Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (P-ACE), as part of a £4.5 million national programme funded by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). 

Academics from the �������� Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (UoP P-ACE) attended the national launch of the P-ACE programme earlier this month, held in the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham. 

At the launch, representatives from each P-ACE shared their plans and engaged with Research and Innovation leads from police forces. 

The three-year funded initiative aims to create a central gateway between policing and academia, fostering collaboration to produce insights that inform policing practice.  

Building on the University’s long-standing collaboration with policing, the Centre will also prioritise developing essential future skills for both police officers, police staff and researchers and activity will focus on six areas of research interest: crime prevention, analytics, building and maintaining public trust, personal safety, surveillance and sensing, and identification and tracking.   

Professor Sarah Charman, from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the �������� and co-director of the University's P-ACE, said: “Our new status as a Policing Academic Centre of Excellence enables the �������� to utilise its broad research expertise to help meet the complex challenges facing modern policing.  

“By working closely with police forces and partners, we can ensure that our research makes a genuine difference and that we can develop the confidence and skills of future researchers and practitioners.” 

One of the key themes driving the work of ��������’s P-ACE is the importance of forging a network of policing related research and researchers spanning the whole university.  

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s and the recently published underline the vast range of disciplines that can contribute to improving policing, including specialisms within technology, engineering, psychology, computing, data science and many more.   

To build the cross-faculty networks that will drive achievement, the University’s P-ACE has reinvigorated the Forensic, Investigation, Security and Policing (FISP) forum, which provides a means of pooling knowledge and expertise, and for academics to find out about upcoming P-ACE small funding opportunities. 

Professor Paul Smith, from the ��������’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and co-director of the University's P-ACE, said: "We have enjoyed a fruitful and longstanding collaboration with our regional policing partners for over 10 years, through the Forensic Innovation Centre (FIC). This has seen significant improvements in our police related research, innovation and education.  

“We are very proud to be awarded the P-ACE status. It is not only recognition of many years of hard work but strengthens the reputation of our infrastructure to continue to grow our collaborative partnership at a regional, national and international level.” 

The �������� delivers high-quality policing education through its College of Policing-accredited BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree, designed to meet the demands of modern law enforcement.  

With cutting-edge facilities like the crime scene simulation spaces and strong partnerships with regional police forces, the University offers a blend of academic rigour and practical training. Its Police Education Team plays a key role in preparing new officers, supporting national efforts to raise policing standards. 

Members of the centre are also encouraged to share their expertise and research, with the cybersecurity research team invited to present at the in The Hague next week. Professor Stavros Shiaeles and Dr Katerina Kanta will showcase DeepGuard, outlining its recent developments since the project’s launch, and introduce the AI-driven Cyber Range, which will be piloted this year within the Ethical Hacking module. 

For detailed information about the expertise each P-ACE can offer, please visit: science.police.uk