- The University has joined forces with the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester
- The consortium of Midlands universities has been selected as one of nine new Policing Academic Centres of Excellence
- The Centre will focus on practical ways to support policing in areas like building public trust and preventing crime.
Aston University is set to be one of three Midlands universities joining forces to create a new Policing Academic Centres of Excellence (PACE).
The University is part of a consortium, which also includes the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester, which has been selected as one of nine new PACEs. It will be called P-ACE LAB.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has funded £4.5 million to launch them in October 2025.
Each Policing Academic Centre of Excellence will be promoted across the policing sector as an accessible source of leading academic experts aligned with policing’s Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) and evidence needs. The P-ACEs will support policing with adopting new technologies, developing new tools and techniques, improving training and skills, and increasing public safety.
P-ACE LAB is an interdisciplinary consortium that will produce solutions related to key policing ARIs, such as building and maintaining public trust, crime prevention, mobility, identification and tracing, and analytics, whilst harnessing the latest advances in science and technology.
Professor Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, project lead for P-ACE LAB from the University of Birmingham, said:
“We are delighted to have been appointed as one of the nine new Policing Academic Centres of Excellence. Birmingham, Leicester and Aston bring diverse and complementary skills with a strong track record of building policing research capability that has helped police forces and communities.
P-ACE LAB will enable the police to be science and evidence-led in effectively tackling the challenges of today and tomorrow, and promoting economic growth by reducing productivity losses from crime and victimisation.
Working closely with police forces, the P-ACEs will drive collaboration between academia and policing, ensuring that policing is shaped by the latest and best scientific expertise and that the UK’s leading researchers can challenge and innovate in partnership with policing to improve public safety.”
Dr Krzysztof Kredens, director of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, said:
“AIFL being part of PACE provides recognition of Aston’s role in policing research over the past decades, both through our leading research in author identification and tracing, and improving forensic science more generally, and also in AIFL’s use of AI and advanced computational methods for providing analyses of online domains, in a way that is impactful for policing”
Professor Tim Grant, professor of forensic linguistics at Aston University, said:
“It’s great to be part of PACE LAB.
The Aston University contribution is being led out of the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics (AIFL). Within the consortium, AIFL is taking leadership roles on the Areas of Research Interest, “Identification and Tracing” and “Analytics”, but our leadership also extends across the university into our Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI), where Professor Patrica Thornley is bringing EBRI’s expertise in sustainability in vehicle fleets to the Mobility ARI.
We will also be collaborating and contributing across all of the PACE LAB areas of interest.”
Professor Paul Taylor, police chief scientific adviser, said:
“Academia and policing have a long history of collaborative working on issues as diverse as forensic science, crime prevention, and analytical technologies. The P-ACEs will fortify this connection, providing a focal point for research and knowledge exchange.
I’m particularly excited about what the P-ACEs can bring to early career scientists who are interested in tackling the complex challenge of keeping the UK public safe. The P-ACE community will, I hope, provide them more opportunities and greater support as we look to forge deep and lasting partnerships over the next decade.”
Stian Westlake, executive chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), said:
“The Policing Academic Centres of Excellence will forge closer relationships between police forces and researchers, providing the police with data and evidence to make the justice system work better. By bringing experts in policing practice together with social scientists and data scientists across the country, the centres will provide knowledge and insights to drive service improvement. These centres of excellence demonstrate our commitment to reducing crime and making Britain a safer place.”
For detailed information about the expertise each P-ACE can offer, visit science.police.uk.
- Notes to Editors
About Aston University
For over 130 years, Aston University has been making our world a better place through education, research and innovation. Our history is intertwined with the remarkable city of Birmingham, once the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and now the thriving base for an innovation ecosystem of global significance, which Aston is co-creating.
Our vision is to be a leading university for science, technology and enterprise, measured by the positive transformational impact we achieve for our people, students, businesses and the communities we serve.
Aston focuses on high-quality, exploitable research that has an impact on society through medical breakthroughs, advancements in engineering, policy and practice in government, and the strategies and performance of business.
The university offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, as well as continuing professional development solutions.
Thanks to its focus on delivering excellent outcomes for students, Aston University's reputation continues to grow. It was recognised as the Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success 2025, is 2nd in England for social mobility (2023 HEPI Social Mobility Index), and is top 20 for graduate salaries (2024 Longitudinal Education Outcomes).
Aston University is now defining its place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
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