ABSTRACT
In this chapter I describe and analyse the history of EBP within wider, historical debates about the relationship between research and public policy; the broad aims and related methods of research practiced in criminology in the United States and in Europe and the different ways in which police officers have engaged with academics and their research. The social context within which contemporary ideas about EBP have been articulated will then be considered, in particular the context of the police as a profession. Attention will also be given to the contemporary idea that social science research in general and criminology in particular is an instrumental activity to inform police policy. The chapter ends with an analysis of the problems this historical context poses for contemporary EBP.
