The National Evidence-Based Policing Awards: celebrating the craft as well as the science of “what works”
- Matt Bland
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
We launched the National Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) Awards at the recent National EBP Conference in Huddersfield to recognise the people and partnerships turning evidence into everyday practice. The awards exist for a simple purpose: to celebrate use, production and communication of the best available evidence—and to encourage a culture where testing, learning and sharing “what works” is part of how policing gets things done.
Judged by panels drawn from SEBP volunteers, staff, partners and trustees, the five categories reflect the different ways evidence improves outcomes: preventing harm, partnering well, innovating responsibly, nurturing emerging talent and honouring lifetime contribution.
The Lawrence W. Sherman Prize
At the heart of the programme is The Lawrence W. Sherman Prize for Career Contribution to Evidence-Based Policing—named for the scholar whose work helped define EBP as a disciplined blend of professional expertise, research and local data. The prize recognises individuals who have not only generated evidence but built the platforms and communities that allow it to influence policy and practice.
2025 recipient: Rachel Tuffin OBE (College of Policing). Rachel has spent her career equipping policing to use and share evidence—supporting practitioner-researchers, strengthening police–university partnerships and helping evidence reach the front line.
“I’m delighted to accept this award in recognition of the hard work of the whole team at the College and all those out there in policing who love finding out what works. I’d like to pay tribute to two colleagues we have lost this past year and sorely miss, Dr Nicky Miller and Dr Jo Wilkinson. Amongst their many contributions, I’m grateful for the time they dedicated to supporting individual police officers and staff to do their own research, and to building up partnerships between police and universities to help share what works.”— Rachel Tuffin OBE
2025 Award Winners in Full:
Excellence in Prevention of Violence
Karl Secker and Sharon Ward — Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Recognised for evidence-informed prevention that strengthens partnerships and targets resources where they reduce the most harm. Their approach exemplifies the prevention mindset: clear problem definition, data-led prioritisation and practical measures tracked for impact in their work on Operation Guardian.
Outstanding Police–Academic Partnership
Professor Andrew Wootton, Professor Caroline Davey, Dr Roberta Signori — University of Salfordand Greater Manchester Police
A sustained, co-produced programme translating human-centred design research into tools and practices that support communities and frontline officers (including GMP Community Connect).
“We are honoured to receive this award, which recognises the value of rigorous, evidence-based collaboration between academia and policing. GMP Community Connect demonstrates how human-centred design research can deliver practical innovations that strengthen policing and community safety.”— Professor Andrew B. Wootton, University of Salford
Outstanding Innovation
PC John Porter and PS Ben Hanson — South Yorkshire Police
The award acknowledges not just a smart idea, but the discipline to test it, measure it and learn from the results so others can replicate success. John and Ben's work on GPS tracking for dementia-sufferers has led to a substantial reduction in harm and demand in South Yorkshire.
Emerging Talent
PC Holly Cunnington — Northamptonshire Police
While a Police Constable Degree Apprentice, Holly undertook the highly graded primary study—“The Mental Health Crisis: An exploration into the current organisational culture and the support frontline police officers are receiving for their mental wellbeing”. Like all apprentices, she produced this evidence while juggling the rigours of her new job, and her work represents a small insight into the mountains of research that new recruits have generated since 2018. Holly is now working with her force’s strategic portfolio lead to translate findings into action.
“I am honoured to receive this award in the first ever National Evidence-Based Policing Awards… Being an officer, I have frequently seen how mental wellbeing can be ‘the elephant in the room’. My work was driven by a need to do better for policing colleagues and for the future of policing.”— PC Holly Cunnington
Why these awards matter
Evidence-based policing is not a single method; it’s a professional habit: define the problem precisely, draw on the best available research to choose a plausible response, test it fairly, and share what you learn. The National EBP Awards highlight that habit across an array of roles and ranks:
Prevention winners show how focusing on harm reduction pays public-safety dividends.
Partnership winners prove that co-production with universities turns research into usable tools.
Innovation winners demonstrate that new ideas count most when they’re evaluated.
Emerging talent reminds us the future of EBP is already on the front line.
And the Sherman Prize honours the people who build the scaffolding—networks, standards and culture—so evidence can travel and endure.
Congratulations to all our winners! For any more information get in touch with us via info@sebp.police.uk.
