The best-kept secret(s) of evidence based policing

This paper draws on the work of the Evidence and Insight Team, a dedicated research function based within the Metropolitan Police Service for over a decade. The aim of the paper is to make readers aware of the obliquely hidden data goldmine that exists within UK policing. Such data captures the decisions police make routinely, the kinds of situations police encounter and with whom. This rich data seam goes beyond crime – and should be used more outside of policing. The authors argue that interested academics need a better roadmap of the data in order to stimulate basic knowledge and usage. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the scope and challenges of working with such data

The best-kept secret(s) of evidence based policing

This paper draws on the work of the Evidence and Insight Team, a dedicated research function based within the Metropolitan Police Service for over a decade. The aim of the paper is to make readers aware of the obliquely hidden data goldmine that exists within UK policing. Such data captures the decisions police make routinely, the kinds of situations police encounter and with whom. This rich data seam goes beyond crime – and should be used more outside of policing. The authors argue that interested academics need a better roadmap of the data in order to stimulate basic knowledge and usage. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the scope and challenges of working with such data

1988 Correspondence Committee.

Curriculum Guide

Histopathologic changes in the uterus, cervix and vagina of immature CD-1 mice exposed to low doses of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in a uterotrophic assay

The estrogenic and antiestrogenic potential of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was assessed using an immature mouse uterotrophic assay and by histologic evaluation of the uterus, cervix and vagina following treatment. Female offspring of CD-1 dams were weaned at 18 days old and assigned to groups of equal weight, and received 0, 0.01, 0.1, or 1 mg PFOA/kg BW/d by gavage with or without 17-β estradiol (E2, 500 μg/kg/d) from PND18-20 (n=8/treatment/block). At 24 hr after the third dose (PND 21), uteri were removed and weighed. Absolute and relative uterine weights were significantly increased in the 0.01 mg/kg PFOA only group. Characteristic estrogenic changes were present in all E2-treated mice; however, they were minimally visible in the 0.01 PFOA only mice. These data suggest that at a low dose PFOA produces minimal histopathologic changes in the reproductive tract of immature female mice, and does not antagonize the cellular effects of E2

A useful savagery: The invention of violence in nineteenth-century England

‘A Useful Savagery: The Invention of Violence in Nineteenth-Century England’ considers a particular configuration of attitudes toward violence that emerged in the early decades of the nineteenth century. As part of a longer-term process of emerging ‘sensibilities,’ violence was, seemingly paradoxically, ‘invented’ as a social issue while concurrently relocated in the ‘civilised’ imagination as an anti-social feature mainly of ‘savage’ working-class life. The dominant way this discourse evolved was through the creation of a narrative that defined ‘civilisation’ in opposition to the presumed ‘savagery’ of the working classes. Although the refined classes were often distanced from the physical experience of violence, concern with violence and brutality became significant parts of social commentary aimed at a middle-class readership. While stridently redefining themselves in opposition to ‘brutality,’ one of the purposes of this literature was to create a new middle class and justify the expansion of state power. By the closing decades of the nineteenth century, as the working classes adopted tenets of Victorian respectability, a proliferating number of social and psychological ‘others’ were identified against which ‘civilised’ thought could define itself

Secretion of mast cell inflammatory mediators is enhanced by CADM1-dependent adhesion to sensory neurons

Neuroimmune interactions are important in the pathophysiology of many chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly those associated with alterations in sensory processing and pain. Mast cells and sensory neuron nerve endings are found in areas of the body exposed to the external environment; both are specialized to sense potential damage by injury or pathogens and signal to the immune system and nervous system respectively, to elicit protective responses. Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1), also known as SynCAM1, has previously been identified as an adhesion molecule which may couple mast cells to sensory neurons however, whether this molecule exerts a functional as well as structural role in neuroimmune cross-talk is unknown. Here we show, using a newly developed in vitro co-culture system consisting of murine bone marrow derived mast cells (BMMC) and adult sensory neurons isolated from dorsal root ganglions (DRG), that CADM1 is expressed in mast cells and adult sensory neurons and mediates strong adhesion between the two cell types. Non-neuronal cells in the DRG cultures did not express CADM1, and mast cells did not adhere to them. The interaction of BMMCs with sensory neurons was found to induce mast cell degranulation and IL-6 secretion and to enhance responses to antigen stimulation and activation of FcεRI receptors. Secretion of TNFα in contrast was not affected, nor was secretion evoked by compound 48/80. Co-cultures of BMMCs with HEK 293 cells, which also express CADM1, while also leading to adhesion did not replicate the effects of sensory neurons on mast cells, indicative of a neuron-specific interaction. Application of a CADM1 blocking peptide or knockdown of CADM1 in BMMCs significantly decreased BMMC attachment to sensory neurites and abolished the enhanced secretory responses of mast cells. In conclusion, CADM1 is necessary and sufficient to drive mast cell-sensory neuron adhesion and promote the development of a microenvironment in which neurons enhance mast cell responsiveness to antigen; this interaction could explain why the incidence of painful neuroinflammatory disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are increased in atopic patients

Using Research to Inform Policy: The Role of Public Attitude

Abstract Public confidence, as measured by surveys such as the British Crime Survey (BCS), has become a key indicator of police performance. Personal contacts with the police are likely to be of key importance in influencing many people's opinions about the police. It is therefore unfortunate that confidence is lower among people who have had recent contact with officers. This article first summarises evidence in this area from the BCS and surveys run by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Falls in public confidence over the last 20 years are shown to have been mirrored by growing dissatisfaction with personal contact, but evidence is also outlined which suggests that well-handled contacts can have a positive impact. Discussion then moves on to consider how the MPS is using survey data to improve police handling of interactions with the public. Communication between officers and public -of information, of fairness and respect, and of police presence -appears to be of key importance. 2 Introduction Over the past decade, public confidence in policing -measured in the Assessments of Policing and Community Safety (APACS) framework by 'how good a job do people think the police do in their local area' -has become a key element of police performance. It is Government concern about the decline in public confidence over the past two decades (Reiner, 2000

Article Using Research to Inform Policy: The Role of Public Attitude Surveys in Understanding Public Confidence and Police Contact

Abstract This article summarizes evidence on contact and confidence from the British Crime Survey and surveys conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service. First, falls in public confidence over the last 20 years have been mirrored by growing dissatisfaction with personal contact. Second, while poorly handled encounters with the police can have a significant negative impact on subsequent confidence, there is some recent evidence that well-handled contacts can have a small but positive impact. More promisingly, high visibility and feeling informed about police activities are both associated with greater confidence in policing. Finally, we discuss how the Metropolitan Police Service is using survey data to improve police handling of interactions with the public. Communication between officers and the public---of information, of fairness and respect, and of police presence---appears to be of central importance