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Undertaking a randomised controlled trial in the police setting: methodological and practical challenges.
Arabella Scantlebury1, Catriona McDaid2, Alison Booth2
1York Trials Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK. arabella.scantlebury@york.ac.uk.
Trials
|December 24, 2017
Summary
Conducting randomized controlled trials in policing presents unique challenges. This study details methodological and practical hurdles encountered in the UK
Area of Science:
- Policing research
- Evidence-based practice
- Criminal justice studies
Background:
- Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are underutilized in policing compared to health and education.
- The Connect trial, a pragmatic cluster-RCT, evaluated a training intervention for frontline officers.
- This paper addresses the methodological and practical challenges of conducting RCTs in UK policing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and discuss the challenges in implementing randomized controlled trials within the police setting.
- To provide insights based on the experience of the Connect trial.
- To inform future research design and execution in police environments.
Main Methods:
- The study discusses methodological and practical challenges encountered during the Connect trial.
- Challenges are categorized under six key headings: unit of randomisation, population and sample size, co-production of evidence, time frame, outcomes, and organisational issues.
- The Connect trial was a pragmatic, cluster-randomised controlled trial comparing face-to-face training with routine training.
Main Results:
- The Connect trial faced challenges related to randomisation, sample size, evidence co-production, time constraints, outcome definition, and organisational factors.
- Specific details on the effectiveness of the training intervention are not provided in this abstract.
- The primary outcome measured was the number of police-attended incidents.
Conclusions:
- Future police RCTs require strong collaboration between police and academia, with embedded police officers in trial management.
- Engagement with police data analysts and review of IT systems are recommended for data acquisition.
- Pragmatic trials are encouraged, with adequate time allocated for setup and ethical approvals.
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