ABSTRACT
Most institutions tend to think of their work as important and necessary and they are not given to spending too much time and effort questioning the purpose and the effectiveness of what they do. The police are no exception. Many aspects of policing have remained immune from critical scrutiny and the police service has been able to discourage and rebuff the attentions of research with relative ease. This chapter outlines what existing research has to say about police activity, and describes some of the ways in which police are being expected to take notice of and respond to this research and how its messages are being marketed, both to the police service and to a wider public. Most research on policing in England and Wales is undertaken by the Home Office through its Scientific Research and Development Branch and its Research and Planning Unit.
