Policing Insight is delighted to announce that Dr Steve Watts has been appointed CoPaCC Director with responsibility for Australia, New Zealand and the wider region.
Dr Watts has over 35 years operational and strategic policing experience, having served at a senior level in the UK and latterly as a global policing, security and management consultant. Following a distinguished UK policing career culminating in Assistant Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary, Dr Watts was appointed the Chief Strategic Policing Adviser to Abu Dhabi Police in the UAE. He is now based in Australia where his role as a Director of CoPaCC – which publishes Policing Insight – will be to promote Policing Insight’s presence in the region.
“It has been abundantly clear that the challenges facing policing on both sides of the world are strikingly similar.
Dr Steve Watts, CoPaCC Director
Dr Watts said: “Policing Insight has proved to be an ideal platform for the sharing of challenges and best practice in policing in an engaging and non partisan way. The debate that it has generated between police, partner agencies, government, academia and the private sector is unique, and it can only be made stronger by opening up that debate globally.
“It has been abundantly clear that the challenges facing policing on both sides of the world are strikingly similar – whether that’s responding to mental heath issues in the community, the wellness of police staff, terrorism, serious and organised crime or dealing with anti social behaviour or issues of press freedom versus security.
“In an increasingly globalised world, it is now more important than ever that policing organisations share best practice and demonstrate a willingness to learn from each other. No one jurisdiction has a monopoly on policing excellence, which is an inherently rapidly moving target. That is why I have agreed to work with Policing Insight to develop relationships within policing across Australasia and the wider region. I will be working to engage and involve police, partners and academics in Policing Insight and the World Class Policing Awards.
“Alongside the World Class Policing Awards (which has already attracted very strong nominations from Australian and New Zealand police agencies), there is the very real potential to improve policing and thereby safety and security across the globe. I look forward to working with the police and partners across this region to help that happen.
There’s a great deal that forces worldwide can learn from each other and Policing Insight is very well placed to help share good and best policing practice wherever in the globe it may originate
Bernard Rix, Chief Executive, CoPacc
Dr Watts has already begun meeting police officers, partner agencies and academics in the policing domain both in Australia and New Zealand. This week (27 August) he is representing Policing Insight at the Australian National Policing Summit in Melbourne.
CoPaCC Chief Executive Bernard Rix said: “I’m delighted that Dr Steve Watts has agreed to lead Policing Insight’s continuing development in Australia and New Zealand.
“There’s a great deal that forces worldwide can learn from each other and Policing Insight is very well placed to help share good and best policing practice wherever in the globe it may originate which, in doing so, complements the World Class Policing Awards in its inaugural year. I’m very much looking forward to reading Policing Insight’s coverage of Australasian policing excellence, which I know Steve will help us deliver.
Policing Insight’s Editor Tina Orr-Munro added: “We’re very excited to have Steve on board. He brings enormous UK and international policing expertise to the team and will be pivotal in helping us to connect with and cover the many excellence policing practices and initiatives that are happening in Australasia and the wider region.”
If you are involved in policing whether from an operational, governance or research perspective, you are warmly invited to contact Steve to discuss how we can help you promote your work. Email. [email protected]
