NRiPN Director Ellen Reeves reflects on her first year in the role and shares plans for the future.

Back in January 2025, I was thrilled to step into the role of Director for the N8 PRP’s New Researchers in Policing Network (NRiPN), taking the reins from Dr. Eon Kim after her move to the Home Office.

Since then, we’ve welcomed over 60 new postgraduate and early career researchers into the NRiPN and hosted a series of skills-building events designed specifically for those of us doing and/or interested in policing research.

Navigating Ethics and Bridging Impact

Our Excellence in Policing Research Webinar series kicked off in March with an insightful session on navigating ethics when conducting research with the police. We had a fantastic panel featuring policing academics Professor Geoff Pearson (N8 PRP/University of Manchester), Associate Professor Charlotte Barlow (University of Leeds), and Professor Geetanjali Gangoli (Durham University) sharing their expertise. In April, we shifted gears to focus on impact. How do we bridge the conceptual gap between what academics consider ‘impact’ and what police partners need? This conversation featured Associate Professor Laura Bainbridge (University of Leeds), Dr. Antoinette Huber (University of Liverpool), and her police partner, DS Danny Gavin from Merseyside Police. We wrapped up the series in May by exploring the power of police-academic collaboration. Andrew Stafford (Office of the Chief Scientific Advisor), Dr. Matthew Bacon (University of Sheffield), and Ashley Rogers (South Yorkshire Police) gave attendees the insight into the value, challenges, and solutions for truly successful partnership research.

Spotlight on Neurodivergence

In June, NRiPN members were able to share their research at the N8 PRP Policing Innovation Forum, which was themed around neurodiversity and criminal justice. Our members presented some brilliant work in the poster session, and I’d like to offer congratulations to Darhyl Lewis who won first prize for her project ‘A toolkit to support neurodivergent young adults in the criminal justice system’ , and  and Tiegan Blackhurst who received an honourable mention for ‘More than meets the eye: Deceptive gaze in autistic and non-autistic adulthood’.

The ‘How-To’ of Policing Research

In July, we launched a new webinar series dedicated to diving deep into the how-to of policing research, the Policing Research Methodologies series. Our first session was all about police ethnography, offering members a chance to hear invaluable wisdom from two scholars with extensive experience in the field: Professor Geoff Pearson (N8 PRP/University of Manchester) and Dr. Bethan Loftus (Bangor University). Upcoming events in this series include: focus groups and interviews (7 November – register here!); creative methods (2 December – register here!) and analysing police data (February).

New Funding Awards

In August two NRiPN members were funded through the N8 PRP’s Agile Evidence Review programme to conduct systematic reviews that will directly inform future research for police forces. These vital reviews will focus on ‘measuring, tracking, and assessing cultural change’ and ‘suicide prevention measures for people arrested or under investigation for sexual offences’.

Building Collaboration

Finally, September saw us host a Research Away Day at the University of Sheffield. Co-hosted with North and South Yorkshire Police, this event was a chance for NRiPN members to get invaluable, practical advice straight from police representatives about the realities of conducting research with the police. You can read all about the key takeaways and how the event went here.

I’m looking forward to another year in the role, with plenty more great events in store for NRiPN members.

To learn more about NRiPN, and find out how to join, please visit the NRiPN webpage. 

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