STUDIES ON SWEDISH POLICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2010–2024: AN OVERVIEW OF PUBLICATIONS, METHODS, POLICE- AND EDUCATION FOCI
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Abstract
This article presents a mapping of 111 empirical studies on Swedish police education and training published between 2010 and 2024. It examines publication characteristics, research actors, methods and educational contexts, as well as whether the studies had a central or partial focus on Swedish police, and on education and training. The findings highlight an emerging but fragmented research field, with studies dispersed across various publication types and disciplinary contexts. Most studies were published in scholarly journals on policing and criminology, education and learning, or emergency and crisis management. Academia-affiliated authors were represented in almost all studies, while the representation of police-affiliated authors was low.
Qualitative methods dominated, whereas experimental- and simulation-based designs were rare. Pre-professional contexts were studied most often, while studies on professional in-service training were less frequent, especially those with a central focus on Swedish police. By examining how empirical knowledge on Swedish police education and training is generated and published, this review highlights strengths, gaps, and opportunities for advancing police education and training as a research domain and a field of practice.
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