d. Provide clear guidance on the existing legislative framework.
Collaboration with the police
As part of our engagement with wider stakeholders UUK received input from the Police
Association of Higher Education Liaison Officers (PAHELO) and Association of University
Chief Security Officers (AUCSO) in order to gain an understanding of the arrangements and
relationships that are currently in place between universities, university security teams and
local police forces.
The responses the Taskforce received suggest that the approach varies across the sector.
There are several factors which appear to have a significant impact on the ability of
institutions and the police to build effective working relationships:
It is not necessarily straightforward for the police to engage with large, complex
university structures – this requires a significant input of time and effort from both
the institution and the appropriate police officers.
Senior level commitment on both the part of the institution and the police enables a
more proactive approach.
Senior level commitment also demonstrates the importance of building and
maintaining these links.
Where there is a lack of a broader, strategic approach from the institution the
establishment of a working relationship relies on the initiative of individual staff.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that having an identified police officer contact
helps to generate greater trust and confidence both in the police and the university
response.
Strong links between the police and universities enables greater awareness of the
initiatives and events that may be taking place in the community, thereby helping to
share experience and good practice.
Although AUCSO does not currently collate crime and incident statistics from members, they
have highlighted some examples of good practice at institutions. For example, the planning
and delivering of specialist training to university security staff from the Rape and Serious
Crime Unit, including a visit to a local sexual assault referral centre, which helped staff to
gain a deeper understanding of sexual assault. Another example referred to a university
whose security staff undertook Islamic cultural awareness training, with a focus on
understanding cultural sensitivities and how staff could better support Muslim students.
Nottinghamshire Police recently announced that ‘misogynistic incidents’ would be recorded
as hate crimes. This means that abuse or harassment which might not be a crime can be
investigated by the police if reported to them, with support for the victim put in place.
The importance of the police relationship has also been emphasised in the work of the White
House Task Force to prevent students from sexual assault. They have developed a template
memorandum of understanding for working with local law enforcement agencies. This
indicates that a formal and strategic relationship is regarded as a crucial element in the
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