Pol-recraft, training in relational craftmanship

Session Submission Type: Pre-arranged Panel

Abstract

This panel presents the outcome of a three years European project funded by Erasmus+. The aim of the project was to introduce a POLice training in RElational CRAFTmanship in Europe. The consortium developed a relevant and high-quality training to strengthen police officers’ skills and competences in ‘relational craftmanship’, in order to improve their interactions with a changing society. Societies across Europe have changed dramatically over the last few decades, with increasing diversity and digitalization emerging as key themes across the continent. Cities in particular are witnessing evermore diversity along the lines of language, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexual orientation, etc. Police forces, whom are responsible for maintaining public order and security, need to keep on top of these changes. A major drawback in preparing police officers for the realities of today’s diverse and increasingly digitalized societies is that police forces are not always trained in so-called ‘soft’ skills, that allow them to engage with various (community) partners. We define these soft skills here in the context of policing as ‘relational craftmanship’, as ‘the ability to cope with cultural and social differences between citizens. The first two presentations will present the theoretical framework of the project and define the concepts ‘relational craftsmanship in a community oriented setting’. The third presentation will outline the methodology we used, an action based research design. The last two presentations will present the designing & implementation of the training.

Subtopic

• Topic 5: Social Control and Criminal Justice / Policing and Law enforcement (Policing WG)

Chair

• Evelien De Pauw, Vives

Individual Presentations

• Social Allies methodology as a means of connecting - Ronald van der Wal, Police Academy of The Netherlands

• On the benefits and implementation of action-based research within a policing context - Elien De Cock, Vives; Evelien De Pauw, Vives

• A relational perspective on policing - Sara Stronks, Police Academy of The Netherlands