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On the latest episode of For Every Response, the College of Policing’s Rachel Tuffin OBE talked to me about how policing is getting better at scaling innovation, measuring impact, and learning from others while still grappling with old infrastructure and the challenge of 43 autonomous forces.
Rachel’s career in policing began not on the frontline but in research. She spent her early years helping to evaluate police practice, driven by a desire to make evidence count in day-to-day operations. “I was really interested in where I could go that would help me get practice changed on the ground,” she said.
Today, as Interim Director of the Centre for Police Productivity, she is helping forces improve how they use resources, measure performance, and scale what works. Productivity, in this context, isn’t just about numbers – it’s about creating space to improve outcomes for the public.
A major shift in recent years has been the growing role of practitioners in research. Police officers and staff now often lead or co-produce research projects, drawing on their day-to-day experience to shape more relevant evidence. “They have that huge advantage of practically seeing how those problems are playing out on the ground,” Rachel noted.
The Centre itself was established following the Home Office-commissioned Productivity Review. One challenge it aims to address is that policing, unlike health, lacks standardised ways of measuring productivity. “They measure us as input equals output, which means our productivity is just a straight line,” Rachel said, pointing out the limitations of equating volume with value.
“Productivity must have improved, because the number of police resources hasn’t increased sufficiently to cope with all of the increased demand.”
To move beyond this, the Centre is working on new ways to demonstrate impact, including time saved through automation, better problem-solving in neighbourhood policing, and smarter use of data. The aim is to build a system where effective practice is not only recognised but replicated quickly across forces.
One way to do this is through a “pipeline” model, turning promising innovations into tested blueprints with guidance, evaluation tools and implementation support. Rachel says this allows forces to adapt to innovation quickly without duplicating the early development work.
But she’s also keen to challenge how innovation is perceived. Too often, Rachel told me, it’s seen as needing to be brand new. In fact, she argues, there’s courage in replication – taking an approach proven elsewhere and adapting it locally is a form of innovation in itself.
This cultural shift is supported by more structured ways of sharing ideas such as the College of Policing’s Practice Bank, knowledge-sharing events, and a growing network of peer learning forums.
The system hasn’t always worked this way. The rollout of body-worn video took 15 years partly because there was no central mechanism to spot early adopters and support wider implementation. The hope is that newer technologies like live facial recognition won’t face the same delays.
What’s different now is a more formalised approach: blueprints, collaborative decision-making, and shared investment strategies with the Home Office. There’s also better evaluation and more national coordination, especially for innovations with clear public benefit.
“Evaluation is so important, it really does make a difference, and we’ve seen that shift over time in policing.”
The STAR (Science, Technology, Analysis and Research) programme, led by the Home Office’s Chief Scientific Adviser Paul Taylor, has helped shift the culture further. According to Rachel, his mantra of “test it quickly – it might not work and that’s okay” has made it easier for forces to take calculated risks without fear of failure.
However, national rollout is not just a question of will or evidence – it’s also about infrastructure. Some forces, Rachel told me, simply haven’t had the historical investment in technology or platforms needed to adopt new systems, even when funding is available. This isn’t always a matter of size; past choices, differing local challenges, and variations in reserves all play a role.
There are, of course, challenges in sharing and analysing data across the 43-force model. A central data hub for policing is being explored, but for it to work, all forces need the right infrastructure in place. The model being considered would allow forces to retain their data locally, while making it accessible for controlled, secure national use.
“Trying to introduce one kind of technological innovation might seem quite straightforward, but actually it’s really challenging with 43 organisations.”
Ultimately, Rachel believes improving productivity and accelerating innovation requires both top-down coordination and grassroots initiative. Some changes can come from national mandates; others grow organically. Both are necessary in a complex and varied policing landscape.
When I asked Rachel for one piece of advice for listeners, she offered a simple but inclusive challenge: “What’s the one thing you could do to take forward an innovation or encourage a colleague? All of us have got a role in this.”
Listen to the full interview on For Every Response, the Emergency Services Times podcast. Be sure to subscribe and listen on your favourite podcast platform.
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