Problem Solving and Implementing Evidence-Based Responses: Crime and Public Safety

The course will cover:

• key concepts involved in problem solving
• principles involved in implementing evidence-based responses
• ways to shift and share responsibility in order to effectively tackle problems

You'll also discuss:

• how to qualify how a response is likely to work, and the context in which the response activity is likely to be successful
• how the problem-solving approach can be reconciled with the ambition of being more evidence-based
• how to identify the types of activity that are likely to work and those that are not

Examples from practice and research will be used throughout the course to help illustrate the principles and concepts discussed.

Group exercises will involve working through problems relevant to your service's requirements. On previous courses, group exercises have involved working on issues such as burglary, domestic violence, child sexual exploitation, cybercrime, violence associated with the night-time economy, youth anti-social behaviour, gangs, and demands associated with tackling mental health issues.

By combining the principles of problem solving and evidence-based policing with exercises on real world issues, the learning taken from the course can then be transferable and repeated to other issues that need to be addressed.

The stretched programme is delivered over four months and involves:

• two workshops
• six weeks of problem-solving development and site visits
• follow-up meetings to review response plans and their implementation

The stretched programme covers the same teaching content as the one-day masterclass, but involves more time working with groups in class, as well as on-site on a problem of your choosing.

This programme provides a practical means of embedding problem-solving and evidence-based principles into operational service delivery, and the development of case studies which demonstrate proper problem solving.

First workshop and problem solving development: At the first workshop, problem-solving principles will be discussed and work will start on each group's choice of problems. Following this workshop, there's six weeks of problem-solving development involving analysis, site visits (e.g. to the problem locations) and problem-resolution discussion.

Second workshop: At the second workshop, each group presents findings from their problem-solving work and you'll examine the principles that make any response effective, what works and why, and formulate response plans.