Police forces in the EU face serious challenges. Integration in the EU has increased the need for cross force collaboration.
Technology has created new capabilities for criminals but also possibilities for the police. Changes in the public opinion and in political expectations have created extra challenges. Responses to these challenges and exploitation of opportunities require major changes to the culture and structure of police forces, but these are far from trivial and how they need to be implemented differs from one country to another. So far, change management in police organizations has not been addressed in a comparative interdisciplinary study with a European scope. Based on a study of police forces in 10 countries
across Europe COMPOSITE will improve the planning and execution of change initiatives in the police, show how these projects can be better aligned with the cultural and societal context per country and explain how the negative process effects can be mitigated. A further aim is to improve both the individual police organization per country and joint European capabilities. The project delivers: 1.A comparative strategic analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for police organizations in 10 European countries and best practices to meet current and future challenges. 2.A comparative
analysis of planning and execution of the change processes, focusing on the impact of leadership, professional and organizational identities and societal expectations. 3.A toolbox containing instruments for training and consultancy and the Annual European Police force monitor to plan and execute changes responding to known and yet unknown challenges and opportunities. The consortium contains universities, business schools, police academies, a technological research institute and consultancy firms. Police forces from the 10 countries are involved in the research and the dissemination phase of the project and they intend to use the results.