Analysis

SPOTLIGHT ON: Policing Insight has over a thousand in depth articles on a wide range of policing issues. SPOTLIGHT ON is a new series which groups articles under one subject heading allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Here, we tackle facial recognition technology which recently hit the headlines raising questions and concerns as to its role in policing.

INSIGHT: Our new series, exclusive to Policing Insight, examines the impact of cyber-crime on UK policing. In the first of three articles, CEO and co-founder of Cyber Security Intelligence Alfred Rolington explores the '4th Industrial Revolution' and the factors leading to the emergence of cyber-crime.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS's State of Policing report which is HMCIC Sir Thomas Winsor's assessment of the current effectiveness and efficiency of policing based on the Peel Inspections carried out last year.

ANALYSIS: Organised crime has been glamourised by fictional portrayals, and many people don't believe it affects their daily life. However, real-life organised crime flourishes in vulnerable, fractured communities. Dr Niall Hamilton-Smith of the University of Stirling explores the reality of organised crime in Scotland.

ANALYSIS: The proposed absorption of British Transport Police into Police Scotland appears to be steaming ahead regardless of unresolved problems, deep opposition from BTP officers, and ever-increasing reputational risks. Independent researcher Dr Kath Murray and Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland explain the ongoing issues.

ANALYSIS: More than three quarters of shop theft and burglaries are carried out by drug-addicted offenders - but many existing sanctions like short-term prison sentences have little effect. Rory Geoghegan, Head of Criminal Justice for the Centre for Social Justice, calls for a new two-year 'Second Chance' programme in a new report, Desperate for a Fix.

Analysis: The National Speed Awareness Course is offered by nearly all police forces in England and Wales and provides eligible offending drivers with a short course of retraining as an alternative to punishment for low-level speeding offences, but does it work? Researcher Sarah Heseltine takes a look at the findings of the DfT's recent evaluation.

ANALYSIS: In the final extract from Vigilant Research’s in depth report on police futures technology, Director Stephen Roberts explores the threat from future technology-enabled criminality.

ANALYSIS: The Scottish town of Paisley has experienced troubling increases in violent crime over the past year, prompting a robust response from the local division of Police Scotland. Martin Gallagher and Del Middleton, two of the architects of this response, provide the context and outline of this policing initiative. Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland reflects upon the impact of this work for local communities and, importantly, for the police service itself.

ANALYSIS: In an age of unpredictable terrorist attacks, how can the emergency services ensure that they are fully prepared? Dr Nicola Power and Olivia Brown of Lancaster University, and Dr Laura Boulton of the University of Central Lancashire, explain how the lessons from last year's Manchester attack can be applied on the ground.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology which it warns is being used indiscriminately and without proper oversight and regulation by some police forces.

ANALYSIS: In its report, Reducing Modern Slavery, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed concerns surrounding the inconsistency of the police service’s response to the crime which has prompted the NCA Director General to consider intervention. Policing Insight reports.

ANALYSIS: In the second of three extracts from Vigilant Research’s latest in depth report on police technology futures, Director Stephen Roberts examines futures capability in other public sectors.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at Amnesty International's Trapped in the Matrix which examines the Metropolitan Police Services' Gangs Violence Matrix which it concludes is unfit for purpose.

LONG READ: International policing in a post-conflict scenario presents huge challenges. Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Manuel Lobato Barradas, a Riot and Crowd Control Unit Commander in the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) in Portugal, describes the difficulties of translating knowledge to the local context of East Timor.

ANALYSIS: What kind of structures might help deal with a crisis like the murder of Lee Rigby or the Grenfell Tower disaster? Martin Gallagher, a serving officer with Police Scotland describes Grey Space, a group he set up to monitor community tensions - and how he tested its capacity.

NEW SERIES: In the first of a series of articles for 2018, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Keasey introduces Policing Insight readers to Project Galileo, a fundamental rethink of how we can make a difference to tackling harm on our roads.

NEW SERIES: Policing Insight has over a thousand in depth articles on a wide range of policing issues. SPOTLIGHT ON is a new series which groups articles under one subject allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Articles on the mental well-being of officers and staff are among some of our best-read features so we begin the series with a roundup of articles examining mental ill health among police employees and the service’s response.

ANALYSIS: Two years from today, PCCs will be learning whether they've been re-elected or not. The next PCC elections are due to take place on Thursday, 7th May 2020, with counts taking place the following day. Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, takes a look at which forces appear susceptible to a change at the top.

ANALYSIS: Recent high profile rape cases and other serious crime trials collapsing due to issues around the examination and disclosure of digital evidence have sent shock waves across the criminal justice system. Policy Advisor and Co-chair of the Independent Digital Ethics Panel for Policing Giles Herdale outlines the benefits of E-disclosure tools and the need for standards.

ANALYSIS: How can police forces ensure deaf people can access their frontline services? Robert Skinner of Heriot Watt University explains his research into how video-mediated interpreting (VMI) services can be used to aid access to Police Scotland.

Analysis: Vigilant Research's latest report launched this week examines the current police technology futures landscape and offers a set of objectives towards a centralised police technology futures capability. In the first of three articles, Director of Vigilant Research Stephen Roberts explores the current state of police technology futures operations.

ANALYSIS: HMICFRS recently published the annual PEEL performance reports. Despite displaying forces results in the same data tables, there appears to be resistance to facilitating direct comparison of force performance. In the spirit of provoking debate, CoPaCC has converted the PEEL results into a numerical index to identify the front runners and back markers in PEEL performance.

LONG READ: International policing is central to peacebuilding in fragile states, but there has been little opportunity for practitioners to share with each other what they have learned on the ground. Following a workshop last year that brought together experts from the field, Georgina Sinclair of Strategic Expertise International and Rohan Burdett, an independent Security and Justice Development consultant, introduce a series of essays on the subject.