Nick Howe is the Director of the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University, where he currently leads the development of the Institute as a centre of excellence for police education and training, research an innovation. Staffordshire University currently oversees the delivery of the Police Educational Qualifications Framework within the wider West Midlands area, encompassing West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire policing services. Nick was formerly a police Chief Superintendent within Staffordshire Police (1979-2009). During his time in the police, as well as being a police Divisional Commander (BCU), he has been heavily engaged with police training and development activities. During his final years of service, he was seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) where he worked as a Staff Officer inspecting policing services throughout England and Wales against the backdrop of the then Governments Reform Agenda.

Since 2009 he has worked in Higher Education, initially as a senior lecturer at Birmingham City University, where he oversaw police education programmes. During 2012 he moved to the University of Derby and was appointed a Deputy Director of the University’s International Policing and Justice Institute and Head of Leadership Education. He has since been involved with police leadership programmes both within the UK and abroad, working with the Royal Malaysia Police and within the United Arab Emirates. He also serves as an independent academic policing expert and advisor for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation and Academic and Vocational Qualifications. Nick is an active researcher; a champion of evidence-based policing and he is a former research lead of the `operational` strand for the East Midland Policing Consortium (EMPAC).

His current research is focused upon the delivery of police education and the broader police professionalisation agenda. He has recently been commissioned by Routledge to author a book on Community Policing and Police Partnership working.

Additionally, Nick continues to maintain a high-profile media image with both national and local media and is often called upon to provide expert knowledge on policing and police related issues.