A public health approach in policing allows opportunities to address the clear yet complex links between health, wellbeing, offending and behaviours which lead to contact with police. Social determinants of health, such as housing, education, employment and income, often mirror or overlap with social determinants of crime. Inequalities which result in poorer health and reduced life expectancy also result in increased likelihood of entering the criminal justice system or being policed for problem behaviours. Those at risk of offending are more likely to suffer from multiple and complex health issues, including mental and physical health problems, learning difficulties, and substance misuse.
In 2018 the national Policing, Health and Social Care consensus statement was published to set out how the police service and health and social care services would work together to improve people’s health and wellbeing, reduce crime and protect the most vulnerable people in England and Wales. In the run up to the publication of this document and in the years following public health and policing organisations have been working together, alongside other partners, to focus on prevention and early intervention, recognising that the majority of police work is rooted in complex social need. The Public Health and Policing Consensus Task Force was established to bring together these partner organisations.
The Landscape Review 2021 was published on 22 September which outlines the progress in leadership, practice, culture and evidence within policing since the publication of the consensus statement in 2018. This review describes progress and opportunities for development in four key areas:
- policy and systems
- evidence for primary prevention
- public health practice
- research in public health and policing
Policy and Systems
Since the formation of the Public Health and Policing Consensus Task Force there have been several policy documents related to public health approaches within policing. In 2019 a discussion paper was published considering what a public health approach in policing looked like. This described five key pillars for public health in policing: working at a population level, using data and evidence, considering the causes of the causes, prioritising prevention and partnership working. This paper has stimulated discussion within the policing community, ultimately resulting in the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs Council outlining the 5 key pillars as shared principles in a policy document. This and other documents explored in the Landscape Review have fostered partnerships across England and there are opportunities to build on this moving forward.
Evidence for primary prevention
It will always be difficult to prove you prevented something from happening which makes gathering evidence for primary prevention challenging. Primary prevention may also lie outside of traditional remits of an organisation (e.g. response to crime). However, for primary prevention to truly be effective all sectors must make it a priority. A mapping exercise was carried out as part of the Landscape Review which considered the evidence on the effectiveness of primary prevention in a public health and policing context. This found a lack of specific detail on “how” and “why” interventions impacted on outcomes.
Public health practice
A survey carried out by the College of Policing for the Landscape Review explored what progress has been made in embedding public health approaches in policing. While there is evidence of effective partnership working and public health approaches more generally across a breadth of business areas within policing there is still more to do.
Research in public health and policing
Developments in policy, evidence and practice are promising, however, these must be realised in line with the evidence base. Therefore, a modified Delphi study was carried out across the four nations of the UK to identify priority topics for research as part of the Landscape Review. The results revealed a desire to prioritise wider social determinants of health and wellbeing, mental health and wellbeing, children and young people, vulnerable groups, and domestic and sexual violence and abuse in future policing and public health research.
The Public Health and Policing Consensus Task Force continue to forge and foster strong links between Public Health, Policing, Health and Voluntary Sector organisations with the ultimate aim of improving health and wellbeing of vulnerable people. If you would like to hear more about this area of work or to get involved with the work of the Public Health and Policing Consensus Task Force you can:
- read the Landscape Review 2021 here Public health landscape review published | College of Policing
- hear more from the Public Health and Policing consensus Task Force via Twitter (@police_health)
- Join our next webinar “A Public Health Approach to Modern Slavery” on 14th October 2022 at 2pm https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3420189/0F5F3C39E4C4F68B606B9DAB0333BCBF
- Future webinars will shine a spotlight on prevention and sports, trauma informed policing and law enforcement working with health colleagues around drug death prevention
Dr Jaimee Wylam
Public Health Registrar
Better Health For All 
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