Policing and public health: Exploring new ways to unlock the social cure
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Security and Crime Science
Abstract
Police activity is disproportionately directed towards people on the margins of society. While many groups of people are likely to become the objects of police attention, the focus of this research will be on people with poor mental health who interact with police, as victims, witnesses, and offenders. On current estimates there has been a rise in mental-health related demand in recent years, and police now spend up to 40% of their time dealing, in some way, with people with mental health problems. Police are often the 'service of last resort', and have always been involved with people in various forms of mental health crisis. More broadly, the links between poverty, ill-health and crime mean that those who interact with officers - for whatever reason - are disproportionately likely to suffer from a wide range of mental (and physical) conditions. But austerity-driven cuts to health and other services have in many cases left police as a service of first resort, the only agency available to respond to calls for help from people in distress. Yet, little is known about whether police activity exacerbates or alleviates the mental health problems faced by the people that officers encounter. Moreover, how police activity affects the social and geographic spread of mental health problems has barely been considered.
Little is known about how police encounters influence well-being, particularly in the UK. This project will address this important gap in current understanding of police-public interactions by investigating the ways that policing can affect people's mental health. Drawing upon the social identity approach to health, theories of intergroup relations, and procedural justice theory (PJT), the three objectives of the research are (a) to investigate whether and why police activity is higher in areas where people face more mental health problems; (b) to work with client groups and the police to find out how the police respond to people's various mental health presentations and what the journey thereafter looks like; and (c) to feed into the design of an intervention that will focus on helping the police manage the interactions they have with people experiencing mental health problems and help them to reduce re-offending amongst this group. Ultimately, the end goal of the project is to mitigate harmful consequences of policing for - and by doing so, improve the mental well-being of - people who have high levels of contact with police.
The proposed project will take a multi-methods approach and involve both quantitative and qualitative strands of work, packaged into three work programs reflecting the three project objectives. By undertaking these WPs, the project will advance theoretical understanding of the processes through which police encounters influence well-being among those with poor mental health and 'difficult to reach' groups; theoretical knowledge that will provide applied benefit for a range of different stakeholders including the College of Policing, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS; and other police forces in the UK and overseas), the Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Little is known about how police encounters influence well-being, particularly in the UK. This project will address this important gap in current understanding of police-public interactions by investigating the ways that policing can affect people's mental health. Drawing upon the social identity approach to health, theories of intergroup relations, and procedural justice theory (PJT), the three objectives of the research are (a) to investigate whether and why police activity is higher in areas where people face more mental health problems; (b) to work with client groups and the police to find out how the police respond to people's various mental health presentations and what the journey thereafter looks like; and (c) to feed into the design of an intervention that will focus on helping the police manage the interactions they have with people experiencing mental health problems and help them to reduce re-offending amongst this group. Ultimately, the end goal of the project is to mitigate harmful consequences of policing for - and by doing so, improve the mental well-being of - people who have high levels of contact with police.
The proposed project will take a multi-methods approach and involve both quantitative and qualitative strands of work, packaged into three work programs reflecting the three project objectives. By undertaking these WPs, the project will advance theoretical understanding of the processes through which police encounters influence well-being among those with poor mental health and 'difficult to reach' groups; theoretical knowledge that will provide applied benefit for a range of different stakeholders including the College of Policing, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS; and other police forces in the UK and overseas), the Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
People |
ORCID iD |
Arabella Kyprianides (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Bradford B
(2023)
The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Law
Bradford B
Handbook of Cities and Crime
Kyprianides A
Rethinking the policing of homelessness: navigating the urban 'game' as social peacekeepers
in Policing and Society
Kyprianides A
Transforming Trauma into Trust: Integrating community trauma, reconciliation, and restorative practices in UK Policing
in Special issue for Political Quarterly
Kyprianides A
Intersections between policing and mental health at the neighbourhood level: evidence from England
in International Journal of Police Science and Management
Description | A case study of policing the homeless for MSc students (UCL) |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | Learning about how policing strategies should transition from enforcement-focused approaches, which exacerbate the challenges faced by homeless individuals, to a role of social peacekeeping that emphasizes partnership, support, and an ethics of care and recognition. |
Description | College of policing: Policing's Effect on Youth Offending, Schooling, and Health |
Organisation | College of Policing |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study on the impact of police stops on teenage offending, educational and (mental) health trajectories. |
Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual input on the analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study on the impact of police stops on teenage offending, educational and (mental) health trajectories. |
Impact | No outcomes yet - due in March 2024 |
Start Year | 2024 |
Description | Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre Research Affiliate |
Organisation | University of Leeds |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre Research Affiliate |
Collaborator Contribution | Research Affiliates to the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre are part of the Centre community. We have a professional interest in work aligned with its research agenda and help to take forward its mission, values and principles. |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | 'What influences public perceptions of the police?' - A summary review and practitioner guide for Police and Crime Commissioners |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We developed a short guide for Police and Crime Commissioners focused on what they could do to ensure high levels of satisfaction and confidence in policing are being delivered by their force. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Procedural justice, police legitimacy and neighbourhood policing: A professional Development Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | o The aim of the event is to help stimulate informed operationally relevant thinking and discussion about police legitimacy and ethnic disproportionality in the exercise of police powers. The conference will revolve around a series of inputs and facilitated discussion. On day one the event begins with sessions exploring the findings of the NPCC commissioned research on the drivers of ethnic disproportionality in police use of Taser. The conference will then move on to explore theoretical understanding of police citizen encounters, specifically the utility and limitations of procedural fairness as a vehicle for improving police legitimacy. Following a conference dinner, day two will begin by exploring and discussing the conclusions, recommendations, and implications of a recent Academic Panel report for the NPCC Legitimacy Working Group. In line with that report this event explores the potential of neighbourhood policing as the way forward for improving public perceptions of police legitimacy and effectiveness, but also highlights the challenges there might be in driving effective change in the ways that policing is delivered. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |