Celebrating L-PACE: Lancaster University's Policing Academic Centre of Excellence

It is nearly a year since Lancaster University was named one of nine Policing Academic Centres of Excellence (P-ACEs) by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The Lancaster University Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (L-PACE) launched on the 4^th November 2025 and is part of a ?4.5 million national award. With the first anniversary on the horizon, L-PACE has firmly established itself as a hub connecting Lancaster's research strengths with the practical needs of UK policing.

L-PACE was built on Lancaster's reputation for applying social, behavioural and data sciences to enduring and emerging policing challenges, drawing on the university's multidisciplinary excellence in computational social science, psychology, linguistics, law, criminology and sociology, particularly in the analysis of visual, linguistic and sensor data.

Led by Centre Director Professor Mark Levine, L-PACE is structured around five key : building and maintaining public trust, crime prevention, personal safety, identification and tracing, and surveillance and sensing. Across these themes, L-PACE aims to widen the pool of academics engaged in policing research, build new relationships between researchers and forces, generate practical solutions to live policing problems, and create a pathway for students considering careers in data-related policing.

Why Early Career Academics Should Join as Associate Members

The Associate scheme recognises Lancaster staff, including academic, early-career researchers and research students working on policing and related topics, and connects them to a wider interdisciplinary community. Above all, L-PACE is intended to be a community: a place where people working on policing and related challenges can collaborate, exchange ideas and support one another with their research and impact ambitions.

For early career academics whose work touches on any of the , becoming an Associate member offers a direct route into a fast-growing, multidisciplinary community. Membership opens doors to collaboration, mentorship and advice from established colleagues across the University.

Associates can be invited to contribute to Centre activities, including events, knowledge exchange, networking, sandpits, workshops, and partnership building activities. L-PACE also offers opportunities to connect with colleagues across disciplines, to engage with operational policing priorities, and to build relationships with relevant external partners.

The Centre shares funding opportunities, supports the development of grant applications, provide letters of support where appropriate, offer mentorship and guidance from senior academics, and helps facilitate connections with stakeholders.

In some cases, Associates may also be able to access small grants, proof-of-concept funding, rapid-response funding for emerging issues, conference travel support, or funding to develop external collaborations. These forms of support may be particularly valuable for early-career academics, PhD researchers, Master’s students and others at the earlier stages of their research trajectory.

How do I apply to join as an Associate Member?

If you are interested in joining, please apply through the short Expression of Interest on the website, or email Project Manager Paul Bennett for more information.