Examining police officer definitions of evidence-based policing: are we speaking the same language?

Understanding the status of evidence in policing research: reflections from a study of policing domestic abuse

“…This suggests a further challenge in the development of cross-sector partnerships that can engage in the co-production of knowledge. As is noted elsewhere, academic researchers and police colleagues are hampered by different expectations, organisation, and cultural practices (Telep and Somers 2017). Our reflections suggest that when pushed police who are engaged as respondents in research and evaluations of initiatives, will interpret robust research as research which is akin to what they typically understand as evidence.…”

Assessing Transmission and Translation of Learning about Evidence-Based Policing by Graduate Trainee Police Officers

“…Also encouraging was that the use in practice of the concepts identified by Telep and Somers (2017) appeared greater than the apparent understanding exhibited by their US sample pool when simply defining EBP.…”

“…Sherman (1998) design. EBP has since taken on momentum as a worldwide movement (Telep and Somers, 2017) and is clearly influenced by medical notions of what constitutes 'good evidence' although evidence-based medicine itself is not without critics (e.g. Mykhalovsky and Weir, 2004).…”

“…About threequarters of the officers had not heard of the term EBP, or of the major academic journals reporting police research indicating an overall lack of awareness. Telep and Somers (2017) also tackled the issue of practitioner knowledge of EBP by analysing survey data with police officers from the United States asking "how would you define the term evidence-based policing?" They developed a coding frame to analyse the given definitions (adapted for the present study).…”

“…The presentations were coded as present or absent according to seven definitional criteria adapted from Telep and Somers (2017) into behavioural indicators summarised in Table two. These overlap with but offer a more refined coding than Sherman's targeting, testing and tracking criteria adapted by in their study.…”