Loughborough is part of a major consortium of East Midlands based universities, police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners that has been awarded funding to carry out policing-related research.

The East Midlands Policing Academic Collaboration (EMPAC) has received £862,620 from the College of Policing and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Police Knowledge Fund.

The money will be used to implement a regional programme of policing-related research and to strengthen relationships across universities and police forces in the East Midlands.  It will help improve the understanding of crime and policing issues, develop new ways of policing and innovatively translate research findings into practice.

Loughborough’s Dr Karen Lumsden is the academic lead for the Victims, Witnesses and Public Protection Network at EMPAC.  The Senior Lecturer is also Director of the University’s new Policing Research Group, which has been established to work in partnership with the region’s police forces and help inform the way they work.

Speaking about the funding for EMPAC Dr Lumsden said: “I am delighted that the collaboration has received this funding.  It will enable us to all work closely together to make a real positive difference to policing in the region.”

Lead Police Force spokesperson for EMPAC, Leicestershire Constabulary’s Assistant Chief Constable Phil Kay commented: “This is an exciting partnership between the regional universities and police forces. The funding will enable the collaboration to build upon the great work it has already done to date. It will also have a direct impact upon policing policy and practice.”

The consortium universities are Loughborough, Northampton, De Montfort, Nottingham Trent, Derby, Leicester and Lincoln.

EMPAC will work closely with existing regional policing organisations and the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR).