Research at the Norwegian Police University College Slemdalsveien 5 Postboks 2109, Vika 0125 Oslo Tlf: 23 19 99 00 [email protected] www.phs.no 2018 © Politihøgskolen, Oslo 2019 Translation: Kirsti Spaven Layout: Eileen Schreiner Berglie Print: Staples Research at the Norwegian Police University College 2018 2016 and 2017 were reco- funded by the EU. In addition, active groups. One of the aims of rd years for the Norwegian there were twelve projects fun- these groups is to strengthen the Police University College ded by other external sources, academic environment at the (PHS) in terms of the and ten projects funded by PHS college across the various depart- number of publications with a collaborating partner. ments and locations. The groups and publication points These numbers show an increase are working on topics covering achieved. In 2018, however, the in the number of projects with different professional challenges number of published articles in external funding. for the police: organisation and professional journals was halved, This year’s introductory article management, education and trai- and the number of publication “Research into police reform and ning, and research methods. STRATEGI 2017-2021 points subsequently reduced. On the elephants in the room” uses as Relevant research and know- the other hand there was a doub- its starting point the book Politire- ledge development is vital for the ling in the number of monographs former: Idealer, realiteter, reto- Norwegian police and the judicia- from 2017 to 2018, so colleagues rikk og praksis (concerning the ry. This is of particular importan- have been actively participating ideals, the reality, the rhetoric and ce during the current times of 2017 was the first year in the new strategic period 2017-2021. Four in the public debate! the practical aspects of police change. It is the job of PHS to con- major areas are emphasized as being special focus areas in the new 2018 also saw a high number reform), which was published in tribute towards ensur ing that of reported articles and chapters December 2018. The book is edi- police work is know ledge-based at strategy: from PHS as joint publications – ted by Vanja L. Sørli and Paul all levels and in all types of this is a positive development Larsson, and contains several assignments. We are laying the • Educating a knowledgeable police service because it demonstrates that staff chapters written by PHS and groundwork for this by multi - • Educating a police service that are in the forefront at PHS are collaborating widely other police staff. The article pre- channel research dissemination, with regard to developments in society and with colleagues at other educati- sents central questions and topics as well as through the Bachelor onal and research institutions at which are discussed in the book. and MA courses and other post- criminality home and abroad. Sørli and Larsson point out that graduate courses and further trai- • Educating a police that prevent and fight crime in In the last few years PHS has several of the questions found by ning. The academic staff at PHS a digitalized society been focussing on the develop- researchers to be relevant to the contribute towards making the ment of applications to the Nor- on-going police reform are not rai- college an exciting and professio- • Be a leading environment within police research wegian Research Council and the sed in the debates on the reform. nally go-ahead workplace. Thank EU’s Framework Programme. At Perhaps they ought to be? you to the academic staff who, the end of 2018, PHS had partici- The research groups at PHS every day, work to make PHS a pated in five projects funded by are now well established, and leading centre for police research. the Research Council and one there are currently nine such Content Research into Police Reform and the Elephants in the Room 7 Increasing and Retaining the Proportion of Academic Staff with Research Competence 65 Dissemination 15 The R&D committee 65 Police Research – from irrelevant to a part of everyday life? 15 Research groups 66 Has anyone done any Research on that? A Systematic Qualifying groups 71 Literature Search may give you the Answer 22 The projects “FIKS” and “FIKS ferdig?” 71 Further Development of The Professorship Qualifying Groups 72 Police Science and an Increase in the Share of Externally Funded Research 25 The Docent Group 75 Increasing the National and International Research & The PhD Group and their Doctoral Projects 75 Development Collaboration 25 Being a clear and active communicator of knowledge in Research Projects in 2018 32 academia and the police/judiciary, and an active EU-funded Projects 32 participant in social debate 89 Projects Funded by the Norwegian Research Council 33 Academic and professional lectures 89 Projects Funded by the Ministry of Justice and Public Academic and profes sional publications 91 Security and/or the Publication points 92 Norwegian National Police Directorate 39 Open access to research 94 Projects funded by Nordforsk 41 Rapporterte publikasjoner 95 Projects funded by the Rapporterte konferansebidrag, Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) 43 faglige presentasjoner og mediebidrag 105 Projects funded by other external collaboration partners 43 List of abbreviations (in alphabetical order) 117 Projects funded by PHS and collaboration partners 46 Projects Funded by PHS 50 Research into Police Reform and the Elephants in the Room The book Politireformer: Idealer, policing, with a uniform that police reforms – from now on realiteter, retorikk og praksis was distinctly unmilitary, a referred to as “the elephants in (hereinafter called Politirefor­ decentralised structure and a the room”. mer) was published in December modicum of independence from 2018. The book comprises an the governing power”. The tradi- Focus of the research eclectic mix of contributions tion is compared in NOU 2017: 9 The contributors to Politireformer which all deal with different (p. 28) with a “constrained are important police researchers. aspects of police reforms in the police tradition”. The role of the They are from the PHS, from the Nordic countries, England and police in these countries has police and from many of the uni- Wales, Scotland and the Nether- certain common features, which versities and colleges in the abo- lands. Police organisations in means that the experiences in ve-mentioned countries, and they these countries are often charac- different countries can be have different academic backgro- terised as representative of the successfully compared. unds. So even if the anthology Anglo-Saxon police tradition, Below we will expand a little can be described as police scien- which is usually contrasted with on some of the central themes in tific, it is also interdisciplinary. A the police traditions on the con- the book. We will also touch on tangible consequence of this is tinent. ‘Anglo-Saxon police tra- the under-exposed questions that the interpretation of police dition’ is defined by Caless and which the research has revealed reforms in the countries mentio- Tong (2015, p. 38) as “civilian exist in the debates around ned has differing academic star- 7 ting points and perspectives, One chapter deals with the (Chapter 12), and discuss why against police reforms as such. only a limited chance of reaching privatisation and cen- taken from management and significance of the report of the 22 there is such widespread scepti- The problem today is rather that their goals are initiated, is a time- tralisation, regardless police science, legal, historic, July Commission as terms of refe- cism of the Community Police the reforms appear strangely ly one. Why are there no resear- of changes in the crime political science, sociological and rence for the Community Police Reform among staff in the Nor- detached from the problems they ch-based investigations into the landscape. Public ser- criminological traditions. This Reforms (Chapter 6). Is it really wegian police (Chapter 13). are supposed to be the solution problems and the means of recti- vices such as post and means that police reforms are the case that the Community Politireformer also attempts to to, and that the research is not fying them before costly processes telecommunications investigated, analysed and debat- Reforms have led to a more autho- contribute to knowledge-based much used as a knowledge base. of change with uncertain outco- and certain health and ed with different approaches, ritarian public sector? Chapter 7 experiential learning, with topics Regardless of whether the “pati- mes are launched? We will try to social care services and that the contributions have a presents arguments in support of like promotive and restraining ent” is suffering from cultural say something about how resear- have been subjected to variety of formulations. that. We also shed some light on factors in organisational change problems, outdated methods, ch may answer some of the cen- competition or privati- The topics debated are1: The the experiences of staff in Oslo in general and in the police in poorly functioning communicati- trally under-exposed questions, sed, while others like history of reforms in Norway police district, and on how the particular (Chapter 14), and an ons systems, a lack of co-determi- i.e. the elephants in the room. for example the milita- (Chapter 2); arguments and rea- Community Police Reform has led analysis of reforms and manage- nation or an inefficient bureau- Some will claim that the ry, higher education sons for police reforms, also to a development in the direction ment in the Swedish police based cracy, the “medicine” given to the police have to change because and the police have compared with other public sector of a more reactive police force on the development of the crimi- police organisations we have the world is changing – that we been centralised.