Worlds Apart? On the Possibilities of Police/Academic Collaborations

Knowledge transfer and knowledge exchange have recently become commonly used terms in the social sciences. They imply a number of different relationships between researchers and practitioners, and between research and practice, although these have often remained implicit or underdeveloped. Drawing from the experience of designing, delivering and refining a three-year knowledge transfer fellowship on community policing, this article aims to critically appraise these concepts and the assumptions about 'knowledge' and academic-practitioner roles and relationships that underpin them. It examines the role of research in knowledge transfer and exchange collaborations and the importance of personal relationships and organisational structures in shaping and sustaining them. In so doing, we contend that the nature and scope of academic-practitioner collaborations (and the potential benefits and pitfalls inherent within them), is more meaningfully captured by a model that is introduced and sketched out in this article: 'brokering communities of practice'.

Section: Kte In Theory and In Practicesupporting

confidence: 76%

Brokering communities of practice: a model of knowledge exchange and academic-practitioner collaboration developed in the context of community policing

Henry

Mackenzie

2012

“…This suggests that a practical methodology of collaboration is essential to bridging any philosophical differences that might exist. Collaborative methodologies of applied research, such as action research, are gaining credibility of late (Beal & Kerlikowske, 2010;Bradley & Nixon, 2009;Bradley et al, 2006;Cordner & White, 2010;Marks et al, 2009;Wood et al, 2007;Wuestewald & Steinheider, 2009). Action research engages practitioners and researchers in joint problem diagnosis, action-planning, action-taking, and evaluation in order to help bridge cross-professional barriers and maximize the respective knowledge of both sides of the partnership (Reason, 2006;Susman & Evered, 1978).…”

Section: Seeking a Practical Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, they also found that these differences could be bridged with an effective research methodology (action research) that ultimately resulted in a successful collaboration. Research shows that these experiences are not uncommon (Marks et al, 2009). Studies on interdisciplinary teams indicate that different professional or educational backgrounds often put high demands on team members and can hinder the accomplishment of team goals (Steinheider, Bayerl, Menold, & Bromme, 2009).…”

Section: Operating Philosophiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The field of policing is particularly challenging in this regard, with both police officers and social scientists describing their perspectives as 'worlds apart' (Marks, Wood, Ali, Walsh, & Witbooi, 2009), a 'tale of two cultures' (Canter, 2004), a 'dialogue of the deaf' (Bradley & Nixon, 2009), or even as a 'case of close encounters' (Wuestewald & Steinheider, 2009). These depictions assume that police researchers and police practitioners hold fundamentally contrasting world views and values.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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In search of a methodology of collaboration: understanding researcher–practitioner philosophical differences in policing

Steinheider

Wuestewald

Boyatzis

et al. 2012

Research collaborations in policing have been characterized as extremely challenging.The assumption has been that academicians and police hold contrasting philosophical viewpoints and perceptions of research. We tested this assumption by surveying police researchers (n = 377) and police practitioners (n = 171) concerning their philosophical orientations (pragmatic, intellectual, or humanistic), as well as their perceptions of research collaboration processes (collaboration climate, trust, and knowledge integration) and overall performance. The differences in philosophical orientations were significant, with researchers displaying very high intellectual orientations and very low pragmatic orientations while practitioners indicated predominantly humanist orientations; researchers with law enforcement background were in-between both groups. While all groups assessed their research collaborations positively, police were significantly less positive than researchers. Further, knowledge integration predicted collaboration success for researchers, while a collaboration climate of trust and respect predicted success for practitioners. The results indicate that both groups value different qualities in a research partnership. These differences may complicate, but do not appear to prevent successful collaborations, and former practitioners could become boundary spanners between academia and practice. The importance of relationship building and collaborative methodologies, such as action research, are discussed.

“…However, as the author and others have observed elsewhere (Bartels & Richards, 2011;Fleming, 2010;Marks, Wood, Ally, Walsh, & Witbooi, 2010;Wuestewald & Steinheider, 2010) qualitative research has become increasingly relevant to both practitioners and researchers as they work together in partnership in pursuit of evidence-based solutions and innovative practice. Much has been written about collaborative practice between police and academics (Fleming, 2010(Fleming, , 2011Marks et al, 2010;White, 2011;Wuestewald & Steinheider, 2010) and in the Australian context such practice is invariably conducted under the auspice of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant. These nationally competitive grants encourage competitive research opportunities in collaboration with industry in which long-term strategic research alliances between higher education organisations and other organisations can be developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing the way we do business: reflecting on collaborative practice

Fleming

2012

Reflective practice has long been associated with enhancing professional knowledge and practice. This paper considers reflective practice in the context of a collaborative policing research partnership conducted almost 10 years ago using a personal electronic diary kept for the duration of the research project. The paper draws on the notion of 'reflection-in-action' -that is, reflecting tacitly, 'in the moment' as we survey and consider a situation; and 'reflection-on-action' -a process of reflection that takes place after the event. The paper argues that a journal can be a useful tool, not only for documenting events and activity but as a way of critically reflecting on your research experience and acknowledging the assumptions, relationships and influences embedded in that experience. The journal has been transformative in that it has allowed me to actively engage with a previously lived research experience and reinterpret that experience in a new context. This has been the value of the research journal: recognising that new lessons are learned and relearned from old practices.