funding

First Flexible Funding Awards

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Following the first round of applications to the TYP-ACE flexible fund call, we are pleased to announce the award of two Collaborative Research Awards.

Both projects are working in partnership with Yorkshire-based police forces, focusing on the priority areas of crime prevention and building public trust (ARIs). We look forward to seeing the positive outcomes and impact of these projects over the coming months

Funded Projects

The use of GenAI by police call handlers to identify self-harm and suicidal ideation in the context of domestic abuse: An exploratory study

Dr Sam Lewis – School of Law, University of Leeds

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has long been a feature of policing. For example, the use of Machine Learning to support predictive analytics (e.g., identifying crime ‘hot spots’), administrative tasks (e.g., automated call transcription), and complex data analysis is well established. The advent of generative AI (GenAI), however, is said to have brought policing to ‘the brink of a once-in-a-generation reform’ (NPCC 2026). Plans to embed AI across policing include a £115m national centre for AI in Policing (Policing.AI), due to launch in 2026, that will ‘centralise and streamline the development, evaluation and rollout of AI tools’ (NPCC 2026).

Forces at the forefront of these developments are already exploring the strategic use of AI in priority areas. At a time when domestic abuse victim suicides outnumber domestic abuse-related homicides (NPCC 2025), West Yorkshire Police is exploring the use of AI to support early identification of self-harm (SH) and suicidal ideation (SI) among victims of domestic abuse. This could enable faster referrals to life-saving services and reveal the prevalence of SH and SI among DA victims known to police – an ongoing knowledge gap. This collaborative research project will compare the identification of SH and SI amongst DA victims who come to West Yorkshire Police’s attention over a four-month period, by call handlers and an AI model.

Mapping the incidence and impact of digitally-enabled coercive control in York and North Yorkshire

Dr Susan Watson – School for Business and Society, University of York

This project investigates digitally enabled coercive control in York and North Yorkshire (YNY) by analysing qualitative data gathered from North Yorkshire Police, Victim Support, and other stakeholders. Despite the rising use of surveillance technologies (e.g. doorbell cameras, GPS tracking devices, and location-sharing tools) for digitally enabled coercive control, academic research utilising such evidence from both law enforcement and survivors remains limited. This project addresses this critical knowledge gap.

Working alongside regional partners and practitioners, the research pursues five strategic objectives:

  1. Scale: How many offences over a defined period include an element of digitally‑enabled coercive control?
  2. Nature: What commonalities exist across cases reported to police?
  3. Training and support: What knowledge gaps do police officers identify, what obstacles arise from these gaps, and what training or resources would improve investigative practice?
  4. Securing future dissemination of best practice: How can best practice from other forces be rapidly shared with frontline officer
  5. Improvements: How can support for victim‑survivors be strengthened? Insights from individuals with lived experience and organisations working in this area will inform recommendations for improved service provision.

By mapping the experiences of survivors and practitioners, this study aims to refine local responses, ensuring that policing policy and responses on the ground keep pace with the rapidly evolving technological landscape of domestic abuse.

If you are interested in applying for funding for a policing related project, see details of our next calls on our webpage – TYP-ACE Flexible fund

Researchers to lead prestigious Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence

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Professors Dan Birks and Adam Crawford to lead new Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence working to harness and maximise the impact of research excellence across the Universities of Leeds and York.

The Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence (P-ACE) will combine multi-disciplinary research and innovation from the Universities of Leeds and York to equip police and partners with the best research evidence available.

The P-ACE based at Leeds and York is one of nine Policing-Academic Centres of Excellence (P-ACEs) funded by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). As well as Professor Birks and Professor Crawford, Dr Anna Barker (Leeds), Dr Toby Davies (Leeds), Dr Nadia Jessop (York) and Dr Ali Malik (Leeds) join the P-ACE as co-investigators.

Working closely with UK policing stakeholders, the P-ACEs will drive collaboration among academia and policing. They will ensure that policing is shaped by the most up to date scientific evidence, and that leading researchers nationwide are able to challenge and innovate in partnership with policing as they strive to improve public safety.

Professor Dan Birks said:

We are delighted with this investment by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, which builds on a strong foundation of interdisciplinary policing research at Leeds and York, including the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre and the N8 Policing Research Partnership.
“The Centre of Excellence will bring together complementary strengths from both universities, offering extensive expertise in four key areas of modern policing: crime prevention, public trust, data analytics, and climate change. It will also oversee a fund to support research and evidence synthesis aligned with these policing priorities.

“The P-ACE team looks forward to collaborating with colleagues across disciplines at both institutions along with policing partners to apply existing research knowledge, generate new insights, challenge assumptions, and support evidence-informed approaches to some of the most pressing challenges facing policing today.”

Professor Adam Crawford said: “Our new Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence will harness and magnify key research findings emerging from the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre’s programme, including work on public trust and confidence in policing and our comprehensive data analytics programme. In addition, it will build upon internationally renowned existing centres of research excellence from across both institutions with relevance for the future of policing, including the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics and Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at Leeds and the York Environmental Sustainability Institute and Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at York.”

Through this work, we hope that this collaborative investment will enable policing to build resilience, prepare for future challenges and advance a better understanding of what works.
Professor Nick Plant, Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds, said:

This prestigious recognition underscores the significant impact of our collaborative research efforts, particularly with our esteemed colleagues at the University of York.
“We are confident that this initiative will not only advance our understanding of critical issues but also contribute to the development of strategies that promote a safer society for all.”

Areas of research interest
Each Policing Academic Centre of Excellence will be promoted across the policing sector as an accessible source of leading academic experts aligned with Policing’s Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) and evidence needs.

The P-ACEs will support policing to adopt new technologies, develop new tools and techniques, improve training and skills, and increase public safety.

The Policing-Academic Centre of Excellence based at the Universities of Leeds and York will provide expertise in the following key areas of research interest:

Crime Prevention – led by Dr Anna Barker: county lines; online child sexual exploitation; domestic abuse; modern slavery, mental health; violence against women and girls; knife crime; domestic violence; child-to-parent violence; youth crime, anti-social behaviour and early intervention.

Public Trust – led by Dr Nadia Jessop: public perceptions; police legitimacy; minimum policing standards; procedural justice; trust and confidence among minoritised and marginalised communities.

Data Analytics – led by Dr Toby Davies: spatio-temporal concentrations of crime; public-service data linkage; crime risk forecasting; AI-driven analyses of unstructured police data; police demand modelling; risk assessment tools.

Climate Change – led by Dr Ali Malik: responding to global warming; scenario planning; climate adaptation; climate mitigation and sustainable policing futures; partnership working and community resilience; net zero challenges.

Professor Paul Taylor, Police Chief Scientific Adviser, said:

Academia and policing have a long history of collaborative working on issues as diverse as forensic science, crime prevention, and analytical technologies. The P-ACEs will fortify this connection, providing a focal point for research and knowledge exchange.
“I’m particularly excited about what the P-ACEs can bring to early career scientists who are interested in tackling the complex challenge of keeping the UK public safe. The P-ACE community will, I hope, provide them more opportunities and greater support as we look to forge deep and lasting partnerships over the next decade.”

Further information
For media enquiries please contact University of Leeds press officer Morgan Buswell via email on [email protected] or by phone on 0113 3438059.

Further details of the Policing Academic Centres can be found here.

Read the NPCC announcement here.