In this conversation, with Rick Muir, Dr Katy Sian discusses the importance of anti-racism in policing and research, emphasizing the need for community engagement and ethical methodologies. She critiques the current state of policing and higher education, advocating for a more inclusive and participatory approach to research. The discussion also touches on the implications of political climates on anti-racism efforts and the necessity of recognizing systemic racism within institutions.

This talk will build upon an anti-racist research toolkit that Rick recently developed, and will examine how researchers can integrate an anti-racist approach to their work on policing. It will demonstrate why an anti racist framework is necessary for generating ethically driven research that centres social justice and meaningful change.

Dr Katy Sian is the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre’s lead for race and ethnicity. Race and Ethnicity is one of the cross-cutting themes of the Centre, which will be both embedded and represented across its research and practice. Katy’s role is to ensure that the Centre critically examines and reflects upon the complex ways in which communities of colour experience issues of vulnerability and policing.

Katy’s specific interests focus on developing critical conceptualisations of race and vulnerability as a way to better understand how they interconnect and play out in policing practices, both at structural and individual levels.

In addition to this, Katy is concerned with ensuring that research across the Centre is inclusive, collaborative, collective and representative. By encouraging a reflexive approach to research, the Centre can work towards generating projects that empower communities and create new knowledge formations through co-production, based upon ethical and action-orientated principles.

Katy’s broader work within the Centre focuses on embedding equality, diversity and inclusion values across the research community to help address inequalities, promote diversity in participation and perspectives, and ensure that research outputs are accessible and applicable to marginalised communities.

Katy is also part of the research team for one of the Centre’s ‘place-based’ projects, focusing specifically upon the Leeds area. The research will incorporate an emphasis on race to gain critical insights into how communities of colour both experience and access policing services and wider agencies.

Takeaways

• Anti-racism requires active commitment and responsibility.
• Policing institutions are deeply rooted in historical racism.
• Community engagement is essential for ethical research.
• Data science must acknowledge and address biases.
• Participatory action research empowers communities.
• Dissemination of research should prioritize community needs.
• Higher education must address systemic barriers for researchers of color.
• Abolition of police means decentralizing their role in communities.
• Trust-building is crucial for effective community engagement.
• Political backlash can undermine anti-racism efforts.

Sound Bites

• “We need to recognize biases in data sets.”
• “Data science can be a tool for social justice.”
• “We need to invest in communities, not just police.”

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to the Vulnerability in Policing Futures Research Centre
09:07 – Understanding Anti-Racism and Its Implications
14:49 – Methodologies for Anti-Racist Research
21:22 – Engaging Communities in Research
25:56 – Disseminating Research Findings Effectively
30:20 – Addressing Systemic Racism in Higher Education
34:44 – The Future of Policing and Anti-Racism
50:45 – The Impact of Political Climate on Anti-Racism Efforts

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