INNOVATION: The results of a pilot study of wearable wellbeing technology used by new police recruits has highlighted significant positive lifestyle changes among those who used the new tech, along with better sleep patterns, more resilience, and a reduction in the number of young-in-service officers considering leaving the job, as Professor Carol Cox of Liverpool John Moores University explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INNOVATION: Northumbria Police has become the first force in England and Wales to recruit officers from all entry routes directly onto the neighbourhood policing pathway in an effort to widen workforce skillsets, support the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and get “the right people in the right roles”, as Northumbria’s Assistant Chief Officer Joscelin Lawson explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: A new report into the performance of An Garda Síochána has highlighted the roll out of a new operating model as the “most significant change” to the structure of the force in its history, and has praised achievements in roads policing, tackling drugs and community engagement; but the report warns that persistent recruitment and retention difficulties, a lack of resources and inadequate IT remain key challenges to the performance of An Garda Síochána, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A new report from Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons into how the UK policing response to modern slavery has changed over the past 10 years warns that the Whitehall rhetoric and political focus on organised immigration crime has left forces under resourced and officers with ‘one hand tied behind their backs’ in the fight against modern slavery – despite the significant impact on victims and the economy – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: Operation Yellow Card, an innovative scheme launched by Cambridgeshire Police and local football clubs to tackle youth offending at matches, has already significantly reduced reoffending among youngsters and could soon be rolled out across other forces, as scheme founder and Cambridgeshire PC Mike Price – the Dedicated Football Officer (DFO) for Peterborough United – explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: The latest wellbeing survey of police officers in England and Wales has been labelled a “wake-up call” by Andy Rhodes, Service Director at Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service, who told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons that the police service is on “borrowed time” when it comes to officer attrition through exhaustion and fatigue, and warned that policing “can’t keep pushing the pedal harder”.

FEATURE: British Transport Police (BTP) is believed to the first force in the UK to recruit police officers specifically to work part time, in an effort to both increase the representation of women and meet the force’s business needs more effectively; BTP Director of People and Culture Rachael Etebar told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons that while the approach had seemed to shock some people, the first round of recruitment had attracted a cohort of higher quality, more mature candidates.

FEATURE: A recent joint inspection on case building across England and Wales, undertaken by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, has highlighted continuing challenges around communications between the police and CPS, a lack of ‘fit for purpose’ IT, and the need for a new over-arching national criminal justice system strategy, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Organised crime groups (OCGs) are driving a significant increase in UK vehicle thefts, with international and online market places and criminals stealing to order, against a backdrop of dwindling detective numbers and a lack of specialists, says a new study from the Royal United Services Institute, which calls for a new national co-ordination body to tackle the “complex, cross-jurisdictional and international threat”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Following the recent launch of a new Mental Health Crisis Line offering around the clock support to police officers and staff in England and Wales who are experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts, Andy Rhodes – Service Director for Oscar Kilo, which has commissioned the service – spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the reasons behind the launch, how the line will operate, and why he was “worried but proud” to do something positive about saving lives.

INTERVIEW: New discipline regulations implemented in An Garda Síochána as part of the reform of the service under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 will mean Gardaí are “treated differently from every other employee in the state”, says Garda Representative Association General Secretary Ronan Slevin, who fears members could face “far more serious sanctions for far more minor breaches”, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A new report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has found that most countries have gaps in their understanding of terrorism financing trends, with terrorist organisations exploiting vulnerabilities both in traditional financial systems, and increasingly through online opportunities; the FATF is calling for greater international collaboration and the harmonisation of legal frameworks, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: The Offending 2 Recovery (O2R) programme pioneered by West Midlands Police is credited with life-saving support to get addicts off of drugs, while also significantly reducing the shoplifting crimewave faced by retailers; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to the officer who first created O2R, the police and crime commissioner who funds it, and the former addict who stole more than £30m of goods to feed her habit and who believes O2R saved her life.

ANALYSIS: New research among officers from Australia, New Zealand, and England and Wales has highlighted the “alarming” levels of PTSD and poor mental health, and called for a more holistic approach to wellbeing, with training for managers and leaders in providing better support for officers; research co-author Dr Alan Beckley spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the challenges around the internal culture of policing, and the need for “empathetic and caring managers”.

FEATURE: Despite many initiatives to tackle the high volume and harm of domestic abuse, victim-survivors are still being failed, says a new report, with a definition of domestic violence that is “too broad for effective operational policing”, a lack of resources to deal with growing and increasingly complex demand, and a risk assessment system that is “not fit for purpose” among the main barriers to improving service delivery, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A new Professionalising Investigations Programme launched by the College of Policing (CoP) is now being trialled by 13 forces across England and Wales, with a view to improving outcomes for victims, introducing national first-line supervisor standards, and equipping sergeants and police staff with enhanced skills, as CoP Crime & Criminal Justice Delivery lead Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INNOVATION: New Zealand’s Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) initiative – a community-based, multi-agency initiative in which NZ Police are taking a lead role – is combining enforcement against drugs and gangs while also working to provide pathways for youths to avoid being drawn into gang culture, building trust with the public, and supporting communities to make their own decisions, as NZ Police ROCC Manager John O’Keeffe explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: While a new report suggests An Garda Síochána officers are still reluctant to engage with service-backed support systems for fear of being stigmatised, one member of the service is “filling the void” by providing free workshops promoting healthy lifestyles through a holistic approach covering issues including nutrition, sleep, exercise, emotional and mental health, stress management and resilience, as Garda Stephen O’Connor explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A new report from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research has highlighted concerns that officers in public protection roles often mask their true feelings through ‘emotional labour’ – supressing their own personal emotions in order to display organisationally desired ones – and often won’t seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental health, leaving them at risk of long-term emotional and psychological damage, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: The College of Policing’s Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels is calling on police forces across England and Wales to put forward investigations highlighting best practice and innovation as part of a College initiative to create a “national investigation bank” that will improve learning and outcomes while also recognising the stand-out work of officers, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A report by the London Drugs Commission has called for the policing of cannabis to switch from the Misuse of Drugs Act to the newer Psychoactive Substances Act, enabling police to target production and supply of while not penalising its possession; but the report authors but the authors also argue that any immediate further liberalisation of the law would be “unjustifiable and irresponsible”, as it would carry too great a risk, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A New South Wales (NSW) Police state-wide domestic violence (DV) operation, combining raids targeting high-risk DV offenders with education for youngsters and training for officers, has led to more than 10,000 charges against over 5,000 offenders; the operation looks set to maintain a continuing increase in charges and clear-up rates for DV in NSW – a success story that has also been repeated across a whole range of offences according to latest figures, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A recent report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following a series of hearings into the UK Government’s efforts tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG) has highlighted how government officials lack understanding of the scale of VAWG and have “starkly different” views on available support to those expressed by local agencies and victim-survivors, with one MP on the PAC warning that the Government “appears oblivious” to some levels of harm, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Essex Police’s Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU) is staffed by officers who have completed specialist training to qualify as transport managers and HGV drivers, enabling the team to engage more effectively with the industry – which has helped to significantly reduce the number of killed and seriously injured collisions involving lorries, as CVU Sergeant Dearsley told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.