Research in the Area of Policing and Security is broad. It encompasses phenomena and issues within states as well as internationally. Criminology is the study of crime and criminal behaviour. Researchers in this area usually work with criminological theories regarding the impact of environment, situation, routine activity, rational choice, recidivism, repeat victimization, offender and geographical profiling, and crime pattern theory, to name just a few. Research in the discipline of Crime Prevention and Reduction is multifaceted and includes both quantitative and qualitative examination of how places, victims and offenders coincide to create opportunities, or pinch points for criminal behaviour. Crime science has a strong emphasis on examining quantitative data such as that generated from police recorded crimes and incident reports. With an enhanced focus on innovation, crime science is often at the forefront of developing new methodologies to conduct research that enable those at the cutting edge to conduct studies that draw upon large data sets from a cross section of agencies, using data sources to create statistically robust deductions. Researchers in the field of child and adult safeguarding focus their attention on methods to identify vulnerability to harm at the earliest stages. Police, security, health and educational agencies work with third sector organizations to use the research in this area to provide interventions to address associative trauma and improve future life outcomes. And finally, questions concerning the relationship between international law and domestic law, the interaction of domestic legal orders of different countries, the exchange of legal ideas between cultures as part of legal reforms in the area of policing and security are some of the issues subject to research in the area of International Law and Criminal Justice.
Research outcomes produced as part of this research area are directly relevant to the work of diverse actors in the area of policing and security. They inform policy makers and practitioners about ‘what works’ so that this information can be shared across the policing and security society to develop effective policies and to create safe communities for all.
