Implementing information science in policing: mapping the evidence base

In many disciplines there is a wealth of primary evaluation research on what works, and systematic reviews that synthesise that evidence. This is, of course, extremely positive. However, the sheer scale of the information and the way in which it is indexed and presented can mean that it is difficult for practitioners to locate the best available evidence. For this reason, in health, education and other disciplines, using techniques from information science, researchers have systematically assembled databases such as those hosted on healthevidence.org and educationendowmentfoundation.org which bring together the most reliable evidence. Hitherto, no such database has existed for crime and criminal justice interventions. This paper sets out some of challenges and early findings of one exercise which aims to produce such a database, being completed as part of the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction (WWCCR) initiative in collaboration with the College of Policing