ANALYSIS: The UK Government’s efforts to influence policing’s operational response to protests have reached new levels in recent months, and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments on the issue would appear to have prompted her sacking; but Wrexham University’s Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick of Hull University argue that policing independence in relation to protests has been threatened by Conservative governments for some time, and that a fundamental rethink of governance arrangements may be the only long-term answer.

UK PCC ELECTIONS 2021: As the dust slowly settles on the 2021 police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections, and those in post start to implement their manifestos, Professor Peter Joyce (Wrexham Glyndŵr University) and Dr Wendy Laverick (University of Hull) take a closer look at the election process – who fought on what issues, how the parties fared, the profiles of those now in office, and what the challenges will be for PCCs going forwards.

OPINION: Events that occurred on London’s Clapham Common last weekend received widespread international media coverage, much of which has focused on the nature of policing and querying its appropriateness; Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine some of the key issues regarding the manner in which the event was managed by the Metropolitan Police Service.

ANALYSIS: This year marks the centenary of the Baird Committee Report, which recommended that women should be employed as sworn police officers across England and Wales. In the first of two articles, Dr Wendy Laverick and Professor Peter Joyce present a historical account of the involvement of women in policing, the barriers and obstacles they faced, and the current and future situation regarding equality of opportunity.

Analysis: The UK is going through an unprecedented time. Barely out of austerity, it has had to contend with a pandemic alongside the impact of events happening elsewhere in the world. Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick look back over the last few months and examine some of the triggers that could lead to widespread disorder.

Analysis: This May, in England and Wales, the public will go to the polls to elect their local Police and Crime Commissioner. Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine the lessons to be learnt from the previous two elections in 2012 and 2016 and what prospective candidates are likely to focus on in 2020.

GENERAL ELECTION 2019: With the General Election fast approaching, Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick analyse the main political parties' view on crime and its causes, and how this has shaped the pledges they have made in their election manifestos.

Analysis: Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick explore how hate crime has evolved since the Second World War, the impact of the more recent rise of far right extremism and the challenges facing policing in the current political climate.

Analysis: Ten years ago, London was the scene of the G20 Summit protests. This week climate change activists caused major disruption in the city. Protests are part and parcel of a liberal democracy, but how do we ensure they are ethically policed? Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine the lessons of history and the implications for policing future protests.

Analysis: It is twenty years since Sir William Macpherson's report into the MPS' investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence described the force as institutionally racist. Visiting Professor in Criminology Peter Joyce and Senior Lecturer in Criminology Dr Wendy Laverick examine how the report has defined UK policing.

Analysis: The police service has faced a prolonged period of unprecedented cuts. Visiting Professor in Criminology at the University of Glyndŵr Peter Joyce and Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University Dr Wendy Laverick argue that this level of austerity risks undermining police legitimacy.

Analysis: As the Government's assessment of its future security partnership with the EU is published, Peter Joyce, Visiting Professor in Criminology at the University of Glyndŵr and Dr Wendy Laverick, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University, examine new crime trends, current EU crime-fighting tools and how Brexit impacts our ability to fight these new crime forms.