About Victoria Police

Research and Victoria Police

Victoria Police is committed to undertaking and supporting research to deliver best practice police services to the Victorian community. Victoria Police seeks to ensure research is aligned with strategic priorities of the Victoria Police Research Agenda.

Research is undertaken by various departments within Victoria Police and by external research institutions. Victoria Police has built strong research collaborations and is currently an industry partner in more than 15 Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grants.  Victoria Police is also an industry partner with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security.

Conducting research with Victoria Police

The Victoria Police Research Agenda  outlines the organisation's current priority areas for research.  Victoria Police seeks to collaborate with researchers who are interested in undertaking projects that are aligned with the research priorities outlined in the Research Agenda.

If you wish to conduct research with Victoria Police, then you must satisfy the relevant application processes.

Applying to conduct research with Victoria Police

If you wish to conduct research with Victoria Police personnel, data or resources:

1. All external researchers are required to seek approval from Research Coordinating Committee (RCC)
2. Should be Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) approved research project involve 'human research', researchers are then required to seek approval of the Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC).

The Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) considers research proposals from:

The Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) will review applications for proposed research applications against a number of criteria, including:

• External individuals and research organisations wishing to undertake research,
• Victoria Police employees who wish to conduct research for the purposes of gaining an academic qualification.

The Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) will review applications for proposed research applications against a number of criteria, including:

• The potential application of results to police work,
• The utility and validity of the research,
• Privacy, confidentiality and data security compliance,
• The impact that the project demands may have on police resources,
• The alignment of the research with the Victoria Police Research Agenda.
   

Applicants to the RCC should note that due to internal governance changes, new applications will only be considered during the following periods:

Closing date for applications                    Date of RCC Meeting
28 February 2013                                        28 March 2013
30 May 2013                                                27 June 2013
29 August 2013                                           26 September 2013 

Applications received after the closing date, will be considered at the next meeting.

The Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) is registered with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and considers the ethical acceptability of research proposals from external organisations and internal researchers wishing to conduct research involving Victoria Police personnel or data.

• Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) - Terms of Reference

Applications considered by the Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) ensure that:

• All research involving human participants that is conducted by external researchers or commissioned by Victoria Police, complies with the principles and guidelines set out in the National Statement for Ethical Conduct in Human Research (the National Statement),
• The welfare and the rights of participants in research are protected,
• There is a uniform and coordinated approach to research activities within Victoria Police.
   

Applications considered by the Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) ensure that:

Applicants to the VPHREC should note that due to internal governance changes, new applications will only be considered during the following periods:

Closing date for applications                     Date of VPHREC Meeting
18 April 2013                                                9 May 2013
18 July 2013                                                 8 August 2013
17 October 2013                                          7 November 2013

Applications received after the closing date, will be considered at the next meeting.

The Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) and the Department of Justice Human Research Ethics Committee (JHREC) have established a streamlined review process, in accordance with the National Statement, for projects that involve Victoria Police together with areas of the Department of Justice (Victoria).

Researchers will need to contact the Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) Secretary to confirm whether their project is suitable for the streamlined review process. Projects deemed suitable for streamlined review will now only be required to complete a JHREC Application form, which includes the Victoria Police and Department of Justice components of their research project in the one JHREC application form. Such applications will be considered at a JHREC meeting with VPHREC representatives in attendance.

Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) application form and Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC) application form can be accessed via the 'downloads' section on the right of this webpage. Please note that a VPHREC application will not be considered until RCC approval is gained.

Research Protocols 

The Research Protocols have been designed to inform and assist external researchers and research organisations wishing to undertake research with Victoria Police.  Please refer to the Research protocols when preparing your application to the Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) and Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC).

The Research Protocols can be accessed via the 'downloads' section on the right of this webpage.

The protocols also refer to other documents such as legislation and standards and where possible hotlinks (marked as blue underlined text) to these documents are included. When reading an electronic version of the protocols on a computer with a web connection, clicking on the hotlink will take you to an online version of the document.

Questions

Contact the National Liaison and Research Unit with any questions or feedback at research@police.vic.gov.au.

Contact Us

The National Liaison and Research Unit can be contacted as follows:

Research Coordinating Committee (RCC)
Email: research.committee@police.vic.gov.au
RCC Secretary - Dr David Ballek - Tel: 03 9247 3385

Victoria Police Human Research Ethics Committee (VPHREC)
Email: ethics.committee@police.vic.gov.au
VPHREC Secretary - Nathan Hernandez - Tel: 03 9247 6732

General Research Enquiries
Email: research@police.vic.gov.au
Postal Address: Level 5, Tower 1, Victoria Police Centre, DOCKLANDS VIC 3008