In summary we have shared some of our ‘craft-based’ experience in this book in the hope that it will provide some inspiration that change is possible. We have since moved our team to the oversight body for policing in London—the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime. Here the thirst for evidence-based thinking seems insatiable—a different experience that too has to be managed. We see a fertile ground for evidence based policing within the UK and elsewhere in 2015. We are confident that there is a growing (but slow!) receptivity amongst our former policing colleagues in London towards evidence based policing . The changing picture is no doubt complex and we worry that there is still confusion about exactly ‘how’ to be evidence led or which levels of evidence should be attributed most weight. But we are confident that the challenge is set—how can policing assimilate and embed a systematic approach to evidence-based policing into business as normal.

To see scientific evidence used without prejudice or distinction from professional experience is a tall aspiration. We believe the way to achieve this is through a corporate (whole) approach integrated into business as usual and strategic need as opposed to a wealth of standalone research pieces. We suggest that we see the best opportunity to embed evidence-based policing in a generation and make strides not seen previously. However, any evidence-based approach has to go beyond the starting points of methodological quality and has to incorporate the more nuanced aspects to be able to deliver EBP within a police service. We sincerely hope that our insights—drawn both from our successes and from the hurdles we have encountered—are able to practically support you towards better evidence-based working.

Good luck.