ANALYSIS: Faced with austerity cuts, the Metropolitan Police opted for a programme of station closures rather than reducing officer numbers; recent research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggest the approach has led to more violent crime and lower rates of solved cases and crime reporting, as report author Professor Elisa Facchetti explained to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland.

INTERVIEW: The first Police Now counter-terrorism (CT) graduate scheme officially launched earlier this year, with new officers set to enter CT roles within the Metropolitan Police in just two years; in the second of a two-part series, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke with trainees on the programme to find out what attracted them to Police Now, their perceptions of policing, and what new skills they think they can offer CT policing.

INTERVIEW: The UK’s first counter-terrorism (CT) graduate scheme officially launched earlier this year, with new officers set to enter CT roles with the Met Police within just two years; in the first of a two-part series, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke with Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s CT Command, and Police Now CEO Kurtis Christoforides, to understand more about this innovative new approach.

INTERVIEW: Policing Insight’s recent ‘Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing’ report drew on 34 interviews with operational leaders and experts to examine how facial recognition (FR) is being used by police around the world, and the key debates about the technology; as part of the project, James Sweetland interviewed Lindsey Chiswick, Metropolitan Police Director of Intelligence and National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead on FR, about the British approach, and in this article we share more of that insightful conversation.

INNOVATION: While special constables and volunteers are a well-established part of British policing, many won’t be aware of their cyber equivalent; Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke to the National Police Chiefs’ Council team co-ordinating the network of Cyber Digital Specials and Volunteers across England and Wales, including an exclusive interview with a cyber volunteer active today.

INTERVIEW: In his first interview in the role, Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board Tijs Broeke spoke about his goals for the force, how a shocking homophobic attack encouraged him to get involved in policing as a special constable, and why politicians focusing on wokeness in policing are “wasting their time”, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INSIGHT: Policing Insight’s James Sweetland joined officers and staff from the Metropolitan Police for a live facial recognition deployment, to gain a better understanding of the operational benefits and challenges as well as the public response to this new technology.

INTERVIEW: Former Scottish Lord Advocate Lady Elish Angiolini KC is chair of the eponymous inquiry into the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens; in this exclusive interview with Policing Insight she talks to James Sweetland about the inquiry’s review of Couzens’ offending history, including historic indecent exposure investigations that were “doomed to fail”, “apathy and disinterest” from investigating officers, and flawed vetting processes that failed to pick up critical red flags.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

ANALYSIS: In this second article of a two-part series about the modern ransomware threat, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland examines how law enforcement tries to respond to this challenge and what role policing should play, drawing on exclusive interviews with the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and other experts. 

ANALYSIS: In the first in a two-part series about the modern ransomware threat, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the development and defining features of this complex crime type – including the effect of bitcoin, the potential impact of artificial intelligence, and the role of Russia – drawing on exclusive interviews with the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and other experts.

INTERVIEW: In the second of two interviews with long-serving police and crime commissioners ahead of next week’s elections, Hertfordshire Conservative PCC David Lloyd spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about putting victims “at the centre of everything we do”, how officers are now “far closer to society than they were”, and made the case for new PCCs to “be joyful and do the little things”.

INTERVIEW: Voters in England and Wales go to the polls next week in the police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections; in the first of two interviews with long-serving PCCs now stepping down, Labour PCC for South Wales Alun Michael spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the risk of “hubris” among chief constables, why the PCC-chief relationship “shouldn’t be too comfortable”, and his reflections on 12 years as a PCC and 50 years as an elected politician.

FEATURE: In a speech at a recent Staffordshire University conference on police leadership, former West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson called for a “simplified” mission for local forces, with some functions and technologies taken out of local level to reduce “wasted money” and make policing fit for the future, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Speaking at a recent Staffordshire University conference, NPCC Chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens explored policing’s “opportunity for a reset”, why forces must avoid “defensiveness” when confronted about cultural problems, and what an “anti-racist police service” really means, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: While TV dramas often showcase police interviewers squeezing information out of suspects, the reality is rather different; speaking at a recent conference Dr Frances Surmon-Böhr, a psychologist and science-based interview expert, explained why the interpersonal skills and rapport-building techniques integral to the ORBIT interviewing model are the real keys to a successful interrogation, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In this second half of a two-part interview, City of London Police Temporary Commissioner Peter O’Doherty spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the challenges posed by fraud and cybercrime, the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and a national approach to new technology, and why the Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach has implications for all forces.

INTERVIEW: The ‘degree-entry’ debate can often be too focused on England and Wales, but research from former police officer turned academic Dr Andy Tatnell doesn’t have that problem; his thesis looks at the interesting differences in how Scotland, Sweden and Finland handle the complex work of training up their new frontline cops, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In this first in a two-part interview, City of London Police Temporary Commissioner Peter O’Doherty spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the unique challenges of policing London’s Square Mile, efforts to rebuild trust and confidence with the public, and his personal reflections on taking over a major force for the first time.

INTERVIEW: Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Festus Akinbusoye spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the abuse he’s suffered during his first term – including a shocking threat to his life that made him question whether to continue as a PCC at all – and his desire to help the force reach its full potential.

FEATURE: In the wake of recent reports and inquiries, and his own experience as the former Regional Director for London at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Sal Naseem recently called for “structural reform” of the Met, more investment in police leadership, and a new approach to the current “fragmented system of police accountability”, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of Policing Insight’s interview with Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Sarah Crew, she spoke to James Sweetland about the controversial incidents around issues of race explored in the TV series To Catch a Copper, and her own views expressed last year that the force is institutionally racist.

INTERVIEW: Channel 4’s To Catch a Copper series revealed shocking incidents of misconduct in Avon and Somerset Police; in a two-part interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, Chief Constable Sarah Crew talks about why she let the cameras in, footage of misconduct by officers that left her feeling “horrified” and “exhausted”, and her views about institutional racism.

FEATURE: The potential of technological advances to transform policing has generated enormous excitement across the sector; but while many in law enforcement are aware of the opportunities offered, much less attention has been paid to the fundamentals needed to actually deliver this kind of tech-driven policing, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explains.