Welcome

The Universities’ Police Science Institute (UPSI) has achieved international renown for its innovative and ground-breaking research on policing. Based upon a unique partnership between Cardiff University, South Wales Police and the University of Glamorgan, UPSI was established to enhance the quantity and quality of research evidence for policing, and to use results from academic studies to improve police policy, practice and training. The research conducted by UPSI spans theoretical, methodological and applied themes. Our work in the following areas has been particularly influential at national and international levels:

• Radicalisation and Preventing Violent Extremism: An empirical study commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers was a key influence upon the UK government’s recent reconfiguration of the ‘prevent’ strand of the cross-government Contest strategy (Read coverage of this research in The Sunday Telegraph).
• Reassurance and Neighbourhood Policing: The UPSI team achieved international recognition for their work in developing Reassurance Policing and thus providing the intellectual architecture for the development of Neighbourhood Policing
• Community Engagement for Community Intelligence: UPSI has been working with a number of partners nationally and internationally (including Lancashire Constabulary, the London Borough of Sutton, Victoria Police – Australia, and the Police College of the Netherlands) to develop and test an innovative community engagement methodology, that supplies community intelligence about what problems function as the key drivers of insecurity across different neighbourhoods. Thereby, facilitating improved forms of accountability between the police and the public.

In addition to these areas we also have particular expertise in the following areas, where there are also ongoing programmes of research:

• Police homicide investigations, cold case reviews and the impacts upon communities of major crime events such as murders;
• The police role in counter-terrorism;
• Policing domestic violence and child protection;
• Gun crime in the United Kingdom and elsewhere;
• Violent youth gangs and crime in inner-city areas;
• Spatial analysis of crime data.

Further information about what we do can be found on the pages of this web-site. Alternatively, please contact us at upsi@cardiff.ac.uk or on 02920 875440.