SIPR · Annual Report 2025/26

About SIPR

SIPR’s mission is to support internationally excellent, multi-disciplinary policing research to enable evidence informed policy & practice.

Operational Summary

SIPR Head of Operations

‘A year of growth, Innovation and Collaboration’

Appointment of Professor Andrew Wooff as new SIPR Director.

Realignment of the senior leadership team through the appointment of two new Associate Directors – Dr Niall Hamilton-Smith (Police-Community Network) and Dr Shane Horgan (newly formed ‘Digital Policing and Technological Harms’ network).

Also delighted to welcome Esme O’Donnell to the team as our new Administrator.

These changes provided an opportunity to build on SIPR's strong foundations and ensuring we are meeting evolving needs of our policing partners.

Monica Craig

SIPR Head of Operations

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What we do

SIPR works to strengthen evidence informed policing by:

  • Supporting high quality policing research
  • Funding collaborative research and knowledge exchange
  • Connecting researchers, practitioners and policymakers
  • Developing the next generation of policing researchers
  • Sharing evidence through events, publications and partnerships
  • Promoting innovation and collaboration across the policing sector
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Who we work with

SIPR is a partnership of Scotland's universities and works closely with policing and public safety organisations, government, funders and communities.

  • Member universities
  • Policing partners
  • Government and public bodies
  • International collaborators
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Who we are

SIPR Team

Professor Andrew Wooff

Director

Monica Craig

Head of Operations

Professor Inga Heyman

Impact & Engagement Lead

Isla Kerr

Communications & Engagement Officer

Esme O'Donnell

Administrator

SIPR Associate Directors

Organisational Development

Professor Kirsteen Grant

Police Community Network

Dr Niall Hamilton Smith

Evidence, Investigation & Forensic Practice

Professor Penny Woolnough

Digital Policing & Technological Harms

Dr Shane Horgan

Income

SIPR's total income in 2025/26 was £338,846, received from a range of partners and funding sources.

Total income in
2025/26£338,846

Expenditure

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Research

£128,000+

Allocated to support a diverse programme of research funding that responded directly to contemporary policing priorities. New projects explored issues including:

  • Users IconCommunity policing
  • Bag Shopping IconRetail crime
  • Eye IconPolice visibility
  • Heart IconOrganisational wellbeing
  • Circle Nodes IconContemporary social harms
  • Laptop IconTechnology-enabled crime
  • Gears IconThe opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence
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Learning and Development

£27,000+

Continued commitment to invest in the next generation of policing researchers, delivering Early Career Researcher Grants, residential and virtual writing retreats, and ongoing support of two match-funded studentships at Abertay University.

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Partnerships

£7,500

Expended to support efforts to increase the reach, influence and long-term sustainability of our research and partnerships.

  • Users IconExpanding and refreshing SIPR engagement with our HEI members through a series of engagement events
  • Building Columns IconSupporting the Scottish Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (SPACE) throughout the life of the Centre
  • User IconProfessor Inga Heyman as Impact and Engagement Lead, building and maintaining pathways to impact
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Knowledge Exchange

£32,000+

Knowledge exchange remained a defining feature of SIPR's work throughout 2025/26, investing in a strong programme of events and sharing evidence in accessible and meaningful ways.

  • File Lines iconKnowledge Exchange and Dissemination Fund further supported innovative approaches to communicating research and strengthening collaboration between researchers and policing partners.
  • Calendar Days IconTwo flagship international events hosted at the University of Stirling: the International Summer School for Policing Scholars (ISSPS) and the 13th Scottish International Policing Conference (SIPC).
  • User IconTogether, these events brought researchers, practitioners and policymakers together from across the UK and internationally to exchange knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and explore the future of evidence-informed policing. Their focus on police-academic collaboration reflected a theme that has underpinned SIPR's work throughout the year.

"“Collectively, the achievements of 2025/26 demonstrate SIPR's continuing contribution to advancing policing research, supporting innovation and fostering collaboration across the policing landscape. As policing continues to respond to complex social challenges, technological change and evolving public expectations, SIPR remains committed to producing high-quality, independent research that strengthens policy, improves practice and contributes to safer, more confident and more resilient communities.” "

Monica Craig
SIPR Head of Operations
SIPR · Annual Report 2025/26

Our Strategy

Our Strategy 2024–2027 sets out SIPR's vision and priorities for strengthening evidence informed policing in Scotland through collaboration, research excellence and knowledge exchange.

Read our Strategy

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