Research Activities

Practitioner Fellowships

Police-protestor liaison

Inspector Craig Menzies Grampian Police

Inspector Craig Menzies has been a trained Police Negotiator since 1999 and is established as an experienced practitioner and national trainer in the field of hostage/crisis negotiation, both at the Scottish Police College and the Metropolitan Police. He is a national instructor in kidnap and extortion management for negotiators, and has also undertaken specialist training in relation to International Hostage taking incidents. He has recently been awarded a Masters degree by the University of Leicester which included a dissertation evaluating crisis management by police negotiators in Scotland.

Objectives:

  • review the literature on liaison by police officers with protest groups and relevant operational deployments
  • examine the history and development of police protester liaison, and research, analyse and evaluate current international operational and training models, and specific operations where it has been utilised, and
  • Research, analyse and evaluate the perceived effects of operational deployment of trained Police Negotiators to incidents of attempted suicide/self harm with the subjects of such action.
  • evaluate the lessons learned form international experience in this field and highlight the opportunities for Scottish policing

Planned Activities:

  • In relation to objective one:
    • literature review of police liaison with protester groups.
  • In relation to objective two:
    • develop and liaise with an international network of academics and practitioners [police and non police] with an interest in police operations, and
    • compile a "directory" of operational incidents highlighting good practice and lessons learned.
  • In relation to objective three:
    • evaluate a wide range of international experience to ensure knowledge transfer; encourage cross-organisational isomorphism, and identify opportunities available to Scottish policing for future training and deployment.

Key Outputs:

  • The provision of a formal report to the SIPR and the ACPOS Business Area of Operational Policing and Personnel & Training.
  • Presentations at professional meetings.
  • A submission to a peer - reviewed journal.