Friday, 4 October 2025
SIPR Publishes 2024/25 Annual Report: A Year of Transition, Innovation and Impact
The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) has today published its 2024/25 Annual Report, highlighting a year marked by impactful research, high-profile events, and leadership transition.
The report covers the academic year ending 31 August 2025 and was formally presented to the SIPR Board of Governance in September.
Key highlights from 2024/25 include:
- Launch of the Scottish Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (SPACE), a UKRI-funded initiative providing £300,000 to support new research in safety, prevention, analytics, confidence, and ethics.
- Over £88,000 invested in research, including projects on policing visibility, transfer of care in mental health, cybercrime, and community safety.
- Knowledge exchange growth, with flagship events such as the first SIPR Engagement Event, the Neurodiversity and Policing Conference, and the 12th Scottish International Policing Conference.
- Introduction of the SIPR Early Career Researcher Grants, supporting the next generation of scholars.
- Recognition of excellence through the SIPR Impact Awards, with projects improving support for Deaf women survivors of domestic violence and enhancing probationer training pathways.
The year also saw a leadership handover, with Professor Liz Aston stepping down as Director after seven years of service and Dr Andrew Wooff taking up the role on 1 August 2025.
Professor Aston reflected:
“I am proud of what SIPR has achieved in building partnerships, supporting impactful research, and growing a collaborative community of policing scholars and practitioners. I look forward to seeing SIPR continue to flourish under Andrew’s leadership.”
Dr Wooff added:
“It is an exciting time to take on the Directorship. SIPR is uniquely placed to strengthen evidence-informed policing in Scotland and internationally. Our new annual report demonstrates the breadth of work already underway and the opportunities ahead to shape the future of policing.”
The full SIPR Annual Report 2024/25 is available at: https://www.sipr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SIPR-Annual-report-2025-WEB-VERSION.pdf
