Debating the impact of Covid-19 on policing across the world, police and crime leads have come together in Ealing to discuss the future of safety and security.

The University of West London (UWL) hosted the latest International Police Education Conference this week, bringing together experts and leaders from some of the world’s biggest policing groups.

The conference welcomed speakers at the heart of transformative activity including from the Metropolitan Police Service, London Policing College, the Swedish National Police, Interpol, and the Fraud Advisory Panel.

Talks ranged from lessons learnt for policing during the pandemic, to the impact of fraud and how it can be tackled internationally.

The conference cemented UWL’s place at the heart of ongoing education and supporting a strong future of policing in the UK, through both its newly introduced Policing degree courses and its Institute of Policing which will continue to train officers across London.

Professor Peter John CBE, Vice-Chancellor of UWL, said:

The history of policing in this University goes back a long way. It started 40 years ago in the teaching of Law and Criminology, then growing to incorporate cyber security and gang culture where we do so much in teaching and research.

Through our Policing degrees and new Institute for Policing Studies, we are in a wonderful position to continue this effort and all of that has grown out of our work training Metropolitan Police officers which we are incredibly proud of.

He also honoured the memory of Professor Marcia Worrell, who was instrumental in setting up policing activity at UWL before her death earlier this year.

Sessions on the day also included two panel discussions debating the new normal, and what lessons have been learnt from the pandemic, as well as a presentation from Professor Alison Wakefield, a UWL expert in cyber security.