Submitted by Matt Skipper on Thu, 20/06/2019 - 11:19
The 2019 Sir Robert Peel Medal will be awarded by Cambridge University’s Police Executive Programme to Merete Konnerup of the University College of Copenhagen. The Sir Robert Peel Medal is awarded annually for Outstanding Leadership in Evidence-Based Policing.
The 2019 Sir Robert Peel Medal (see Awards) will be awarded by Cambridge University’s Police Executive Programme to Merete Konnerup of the University College of Copenhagen. The Sir Robert Peel Medal is awarded annually for Outstanding Leadership in Evidence-Based Policing.
The selection committee offered this laudation upon the announcement of her selection:
As a champion of evidence-based practice at ‘Trygfonden’, a Danish charitable foundation, Merete Konnerup developed and promoted a plan to create a critical mass of Danish police officers who could practice, lead and teach evidence-based policing. In a few short years, over 50 Danish police have completed the Master of Studies degree in Applied Criminology and Police Management at the University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology. In the process, they have made substantial contributions to both practical and theoretical knowledge about criminal networks, gang member recruitment, domestic homicide, exclusion zone orders, cyber crime, police training and community policing. One project resulted in the publication of the first Danish Crime Harm Index, providing a means for many other studies to measure the impact of crime, and interventions to combat it, in terms of its severity and not just its volume. Her success in persuading the Danish government to build this bridge to evidence-based policing has provided a model for many other countries, and will bring lasting value to the use of empirical research to improve justice and community safety.