POLICE SUPERS CONFERENCE 2021: Earlier this year, the Chair of the College of Policing Lord Nick Herbert launched a fundamental review of the College. At the recent Superintendents Association Conference, he revealed some early findings and the likely ‘direction of travel’ for the College.

Police Supers Conference 2021: Whilst the number of Black, Minority and Ethnic officers joining the police service is improving, the number in senior positions remains low at 4.3 per cent. This year’s Police Superintendents' Association Conference explored how representation in the senior ranks could be improved and how things might be about to change. Tina Orr Munro reports.

ANALYSIS: The Covid pandemic and multiple lockdowns have not prompted a “significant increase” in domestic homicide deaths, according to a new police and government report published last month; but the research does raise several areas of concern, including domestic abuse risks associated with lifting lockdowns, and the “entrenched and enduring” nature of the problem, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Avon and Somerset PCC Mark Shelford is leading the force’s hunt to find a new chief constable following the departure of Andy Marsh; but while traditionally the top job has been filled by existing chiefs or deputies, the force is widening the recruitment pool to include assistant chief constables and overseas applicants who possess the right leadership and Peelian qualities, as Mr Shelford explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Tour.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix’s Policing Friendship Tour recently caught up with Ian Bell, CEO of the Police Digital Service (PDS), for a stroll around the urban landscape of Wembley; after 18 months of rapid technological change in policing and across the public sector – driven in large part by the pandemic – Mr Bell spoke about the challenges of COVID-19, the development of the PDS and the National Policing Digital Strategy, and the organisation’s aims and ambitions move forwards.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix’s Policing Friendship Tour recently caught up with Andy Marsh, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, for a stroll around Bristol ahead of his retirement from the service in July; following a busy year for the Constabulary, which included the BLM protests and the Kill the Bill riots, Mr Marsh talked to Bernard about the challenges over the past 12 months, the changes during his 34 years in policing, and the work of the COPS charity.

Policing Friendship Tour: Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix’s Policing Friendship Tour recently caught up with Police Federation of England and Wales Vice-Chair Ché Donald, for a stroll around the Surrey Downs; as they walked and talked, Ché and Bernard discussed the impact of the pandemic on policing, the relentless pressures on officers and staff, trial by media, the challenges of recruitment, retention and diversity, and the importance of addressing mental health – along with a heartwarming story of overcoming addiction.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix’s Policing Friendship Tour recently arrived in Leamington Spa, where he was able to walk and talk with long-term police tech supplier Simon Hall about the challenges of police procurement, the launch of the new Police Digital Service, and the benefits of partnership working in reaching a global law enforcement market.

FEATURE: When the Swedish Police launched a recruitment drive to employ more than 6,000 additional officers by 2022, the challenges included ‘no show’ applicants, unsuitable candidates and concerns over diversity; by adopting a data-driven approach to the issues, they have been able to adopt new ways of working that have improved the application process and kept them on track for their ambitious target, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports. 

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: On a recent leg of his Policing Friendship Tour, Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix walked and talked with former West Mercia Chief Constable Paul West; from ‘flaws’ in the current model of police governance and a lack of diversity amongst police and crime commissioners, to abandoned force mergers and increased collaboration, the pair discussed some of the key policing issues as they strolled around the grounds of Hartlebury Castle.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: On the latest leg of his Policing Friendship Tour, Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix caught up with Chris Lewis, Policy and Research Officer for Warwickshire OPCC, to talk about efforts to improve support for the victims of crime – and especially those injured or killed in road traffic collisions – as well as his work with the National Association of Retired Police Officers.

Policing Friendship Tour: Policing overseas, recruiting for a fairly unusual role, and the daily challenges of running a small but unique force were among the topics discussed by Port of Bristol Police Chief Officer Jeff Foreman and Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix, as Bernard embarked on the latest leg of his Policing Friendship Tour.

Policing Friendship Tour: Diversity in policing, the role of the College of Policing and the criminal inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster were among the topics discussed by Assistant Commissioner Rob Beckley and Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix, as Bernard embarked on the second leg of his Policing Friendship Tour in Somerset.

Policing Friendship Tour: The impact of Covid on policing by consent, the fight against human trafficking and the future challenges of cross-border policing were just some of the issues discussed as Policing Insight’s Publisher Bernard Rix began his Policing Friendship Tour. Bernard was talking to Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, who joined him on the first leg of the walking tour, which began in Barnstaple.

FEATURE: Wales has been a pioneering country in its public-health approach to policing, but now a multi-agency initiative is aiming to create a truly trauma-informed nation that understands and recognises the impact of adverse childhood experiences, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: Children as young as eight were among rioters involved in six nights of violence in Northern Ireland’s Derry City in 2018, caught up in the sectarian conflict orchestrated by paramilitary gangs; since then a new diversion initiative, led by youth services and involving police and other agencies, has had a significant positive impact, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: There is growing evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are responsible for many negatives outcomes in adult life, including issues such as violent behaviour and drug addiction; and as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports, the failure to address ACEs early can cost society billions of pounds in the long term.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr-Munro explores the growing efforts to understand and acknowledge the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on adult behaviour, and adopt a public health policing approach.

FEATURE: Devon and Cornwall’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has been pioneering efforts to improve community engagement over the past five years; and while COVID-19 has had a huge impact on face-to-face contact, the team’s approach has continued to bear fruit during pandemic lockdowns, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: The death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests have focused attention on race and policing around the world, including in the UK; now a new report by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has highlighted existing and ongoing efforts to tackle racial disparity and disproportionality in policing, as Policing Insight's Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: The pandemic lockdown may have led to a drop in many categories of crime, but it also introduced the right conditions for a significant increase in the risk of online radicalisation at a time when, as Met Police DAC Lucy D’Orsi explained, UK counter-terror investigations are already at their highest level; Policing Insight’s Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: COVID-19 lockdowns around the world may have led to a fall in most domestic crime, but transnational drug-trafficking operations and other organised crime groups have been quick to adapt and overcome, leading to potentially bigger profits and a new criminal world order, warns Dr John Coyne of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

FEATURE: With online extremists migrating to increasingly niche platforms, law enforcement is having to work harder to monitor and tackle hate crime and extremist activity; but as online intelligence experts Franck Znaty and Dr Lewys Brace told delegates at this year's NPCC Internet, Intelligence and Investigation conference, targeting such activity may be challenging but can still be successful.

FEATURE: Online child sexual exploitation is a growing crime with horrific consequences around the world, but a global task force led by the FBI is making significant inroads, catching offenders and rescuing children; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports from the UK’s Internet Intelligence and Investigations Conference on the success of the VCACITF.