Policing and Citizenship: Resourcing a Better Understanding

Policing has a high visibility in the contemporary media, but often in a sensational fashion. This project aims to bring issues of policing in a democratic society down to an every-day, non-sensational level. It is based on a close working partnership between historians at the Open University well-known for their work on the history and development of policing and the staff of the Metropolitan Police Historical Collection. It will draw on the work of academics at the cutting edge of research into the history of policing, but will present that work in a format readily accessible to school students. It will deploy material from the archival holdings and artefacts in the keeping of the Metropolitan Police Historical Collection to present teaching packages and an exhibition both of which are designed to educate and to generate understanding and debate.

The main outputs of the research will be:

1. Eight teaching packs designed for students at different stages across the curriculum.
2. An exhibition relating to the history and development of policing in London, but with resonances across the UK.
3. A detailed thesaurus and route-guide for the Police Archive at the Open University.