police

Climate crisis, Policing, and Public Safety Event, September 2026

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Please join us for our flagship event on Climate and Policing which will be in the Leeds playhouse, register for tickets on eventbrite – https://Climate-Policing-Safety.eventbrite.co.uk

This event on the climate crisis and its impacts on policing and public safety bringing together experts from Leeds (Priestley), York (YESI) and practitioner networks including representatives from LRFs and statutory agencies, with two underpinning themes:

  • Panel 1: The implications of climate change for operational policing, including future risks and demand in the context of preparedness, emergency response, resources, and workforce resilience.
  • Panel 2: The role of partnership working and whole-of-society approaches in building resilience to climate-related risks and emergencies.

Agenda will be shared in August, highlights will include:

  • Keynote on Climate projections in the UK
  • Expert Panel on the Climate crisis impacts on operational policing
  • Expert Panel on the role of multiagency partnerships & whole-of-society approaches to climate resilience

Training empowers park staff to tackle harassment

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Hundreds of park staff and volunteers across the UK have been trained in how to spot, safely challenge, and prevent harassment or behaviour which could stop women feeling safe in public places.

The ‘Stand Up Against Harassment’ training, delivered by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and tailored for parks staff by University of Leeds researchers, has seen more than 400 staff learn about the “5Ds” of bystander intervention, and the academics involved now want to see the programme rolled out to park workers across the country.

The School of Law’s Dr Anna Barker said: “We know that safer parks are not just about better lighting or design – they’re about people. This training gives staff and volunteers the confidence to act when they see or hear something that isn’t right. It empowers communities to look out for each other.”

A new report, Safer Parks: Fostering a Community of Active Bystanders for the UK’s Green Spaces, by Dr Barker and her colleague Dr Rebecca Brunk, includes evaluation of the training which shows:

94% of people who attended felt confident or empowered to act as bystanders
Confidence and skills to intervene significantly increased after training
Participants valued the opportunity to discuss and apply their learning through park-based scenarios based on real experiences of women and girls.
The report builds on researchers’ earlier findings showing that harassment in parks is a key factor affecting women’s and girls’ feelings of safety.

The report identifies active bystander training as a key gap among park workers and volunteers, calling for local councils and park managers to make it a compulsory part of staff induction and regular refresher training.

This training gives staff and volunteers the confidence to act when they see or hear something that isn’t right.
Dr Anna Barker, University of Leeds School of Law
The researchers found that almost two-thirds (65%) of park staff and volunteers had never received any sexual harassment training before taking part. Around a third (31%) had witnessed harassment, while 27% were unsure – suggesting that some may not recognise certain behaviours as harassment and reinforcing the need for clearer definitions and training.

Dr Barker said the need for such training is clear, with research by L’Oreal Paris showing that 80 percent of UK women have experienced public harassment, yet 75% report that no one stepped in.

The report was launched on Tuesday 25 November – the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – and at the beginning of the UNITE campaign’s 16 Days of Activism. To coincide with this campaign the Suzy Lamplugh Trust is offering free Stand Up Against Harassment bystander training to anyone working or volunteering in parks and green spaces.

Dr Anna Barker speaking at an event about Safer Parks in May 2023
Dr Anna Barker speaking at an event about Safer Parks in May 2023 – Mark Bickerdike/University of Leeds

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust’s Saskia Garner added: “Everyone deserves to feel safe enjoying our parks. Becoming an active bystander is something we can all do to help make that a reality.”

The training was offered to parks staff and volunteers in Cardiff, Wigan, Doncaster, London, Hartlepool and Rugby between October 2024 and September 2025, with a total of 245 people taking part across the six regions. It followed an earlier pilot scheme in West Yorkshire in 2024, when around 180 people took part.

The bespoke half-day sessions were designed using real world situations to give attendees a better idea of women’s experiences using parks.

Everyone deserves to feel safe enjoying our parks. Becoming an active bystander is something we can all do to help make that a reality.
Saskia Garner, Suzy Lamplugh Trust
The report also offers a series of policy and practice recommendations, from quick wins to longer-term strategic changes.

In a foreword to the report, Paul Todd, Green Flag Award accreditation manager, added: “We strongly encourage the parks and green space sector to empower staff with the ability and confidence to take action to make our parks safer for women and girls by completing the training and becoming active bystanders.”

Further information
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact University of Leeds media officer Victoria Prest via email on [email protected]
The full report Safer Parks: Fostering a Community of Active Bystanders for the UK’s Green Spaces is available to download. DOI: 10.48785/100%2F368
Sign up to take free Stand Up Against Harassment bystander training with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
Visit the campaign webpage for further information and resources.
Main image: University of Leeds/ Mark Bickerdike

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.