Also, larger social issues such as migration, poverty, and mental health, are increasingly conflated with criminal justice policies. We need to recognize the limits of our knowledge and strive to increase it, inter alia by cooperating more closely with organisations outside the criminal justice field. It is, thus, essential that the approaches used to understand the problem are not purely legal but inter- and multi-disciplinary. The project ‘Inside Police Custody’ has taken a very important step in that direction by conducting observational research in police stations and integrating social science methods. EXAMPLE The first Inside Police Custody study, conducted in four EU jurisdictions and published in 2013,43 was carried out by academic researchers using multiple methods to obtain data, including desk reviews of existing laws, procedures and research evidence, direct structured observation in police stations and interviews of key personnel such as lawyers and police officers. A second study, conducted in nine EU jurisdictions and published in 2018,44 used a similar methodology, but was largely carried out by CSOs rather than academics. The research method adopted enabled data to be collected on how procedural rights were implemented in practice (as opposed to data on what stakeholders said about the ways in which they were implemented), and also data on the perceptions of key stakeholders. Together with the desk reviews, this enabled analysis to be conducted and conclusions to be drawn as to, for example, the practical and cultural impediments to effective implementation of procedural rights and how they may be overcome. A key issue in both research projects was securing access to police stations, and in this respect it was easier for academic researchers to obtain the necessary permissions. On the other hand, academic researchers tend not to become involved in change programmes arising from the research findings. It is also decisive with whom we talk and how to get a full picture of the problem and possible solutions. A stakeholder mapping may be very helpful to identify the relevant stakeholders (see below, § 2.4.1). A particularly relevant element in the understanding of a problem and a foundational basis for change strategies is the issue of power. “Power lies at the heart of change”45 and especially hidden power is often the reason why collecting research and evidence are rarely sufficient to change a government’s policies. Therefore, we used a stakeholder mapping in the project to identify the different stakeholders and analyse their level of influence (see below, § 2.4). In order to retrieve the information mentioned above it is key to ensure that the research conducted to understand the problem is participatory and gives a voice to those most involved and affected by change (see below §§ 2.4.3 and 3.1). To conclude, understanding the complexities of the current reality at all levels is a key component of change processes as it helps people face this reality and take responsibility for it. Taking into account any possible blind spots in the understanding of the problem of procedural rights, it is very important for self-critical reflection our assumptions and our role as change agents. The development of a Theory of Change and organising events with a broad range of stakeholders can be useful in that regard. But it will also be necessary to conduct further in-depth research to fill our knowledge gaps and identify our blind spots. 43. Jaqueline Blackstock and others, Inside Police Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects’ Rights in Four Jurisdictions (Intersentia 2014). 44. Lloyd-Cape, ‘Inside Police Custody 2’ (2018). 45. Green, How Change Happens (2016) 28. 21