As Chair of the ESC Working Group on Policing I composed a group of 'liaisons academics'. With this group I want to gain insight into the relation between police and science in Europe taking into account the specific context of each country. Challenges will be explored of doing research on, for, by and with the police navigating societal challenges, political decision-maing and administrative contexts of different European countries in which researchers are working. The research will pay attention to barrières and opportunities for the integration of academic research in police practices and to the cultural and organisational contexts that can hamper or support such work. The overall aim is to sketch the power and the fragility of police research in Europe.