Analysis

ANALYSIS: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recently launched an inquiry into policing for the future, examining changing demands and new challenges. In the first of two articles for Policing Insight, crime expert and author Tom Gash suggests the Committee needs to focus their attention on cybercrime.

ANALYSIS: Why are there so few applicants for many senior police jobs? Following the publication earlier this week of College of Policing research into the issue, Gavin Hales of the Police Foundation describes his own findings on the barriers to promotion at chief officer level.

Analysis: In 2015, the National Audit Office revealed forces were sitting on nearly £2bn in reserves sparking media outrage. Two years on and it is a very different story. Policing Insight reports on how forces are using their reserves to secure their finances and fund their futures.

ANALYSIS: Headline figures from the Police Federation's recent survey of officer welfare show shocking levels of demand, overwhelming workload, and stress-related illness. Here, Mary Elliot-Davies of the Federation outlines the key findings and what comes next in the Fed's campaign for change.

ANALYSIS: Earlier this week, the Reform Think Tank published a new report examining the public-sector workforce of the future. Here, Reform's Alexander Hitchcock and Emilie Sundorph examine the implications of this report for policing.

ANALYSIS: Ian Wiggett, CoPaCC Director and former Greater Manchester Police ACC, reflects on the current state of police ICT, and argues that much greater collaboration on ICT between forces is urgently needed.

ANALYSIS: In a recent report, the the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) set out a vision of a whole-system approach to offender management, where powers, resources, and decisions are transferred to the local level. Laying out the report's key findings, author Marley Morris argues that in the long term, city region mayors or PCCs should have responsibility over probation services and custody budgets for short-sentence, young, and women offenders.

Technology: We're all familiar with the police mugshot taken of the hapless offender in the police custody suite. Over the years the quality of photographs has significantly worsened. However, forces could be missing a trick because new and emerging technology means the humble and largely neglected mugshot now has a greater part to play in combating crime.

ANALYSIS: Kate Temple-Brown, Founder and Managing Director of Apprenticeship Levy specialist Aequalis, examines the implications of the new Levy for forces ahead of its national introduction on 6th April, 2017. How well prepared is your own force?

ANALYSIS: Mike Skidmore, Senior Research Fellow at the Police Foundation, provides an overview of the Foundation's recent assessment of the scale and nature of child sexual exploitation, and draws four key conclusions.

Analysis: The unveiling by the College of Policing (CoP) of a new Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) last month prompted some strong reactions and a heated debate, with the announcement that by 2020 all new recruits would be educated to degree level (either before joining the service, or during their first three years in the job) proving the most controversial issue.

ANALYSIS: Research shows that 'hate crime' - being abused or attacked because of personal identity - can have a powerful emotional effect. But for police officers, it's often regarded as part of the job. Dr Irene Zempi outlines police experiences of abuse, and calls for a debate about the proper response to the targeted victimisation of officers.

analysis: Sixteen years ago, I interviewed a custody officer who, tired of waiting for the much delayed NSPIS Case Preparation and Custody IT system, worked with a supplier to develop his own version for his force. The experience summed up Police IT then and for many years to come.

LONG READ: The mass retention of data, even for the prevention of terrorism and serious crime, needs to be carefully justified. However, when it comes to Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), there appears to be a gap in the oversight regime. Professor Lorna Woods of Essex University warns that police use of ANPR data is exposed to legal challenge, with potentially serious consequences.

ANALYSIS: For the first time in 100 years, the Office of National Statistics has begun to issue crime statistics that include a measure of harm. Mark Bangs, Deputy Head of Crime Statistics at the ONS, explains more about the new Crime Severity Statistics - and how you can get involved.

ANALYSIS: Many people believe that eyewitness identification is inherently unreliable, and this belief is reflected in scholarly articles, textbooks, and juror briefings. Laura Mickes argues that not only are eyewitness IDs potentially more reliable than commonly assumed, but that small changes to criminal justice procedure could significantly increase the reliability of such testimony.

2016 Review: Policing Insight Publisher and CoPaCC Chief Executive, Bernard Rix, identifies the "must read" Policing Insight articles from 2016. Do you have a favourite? And which others would YOU highlight?

ANALYSIS: NPC recently organised a round-table event, in partnership with the Police Foundation, to discuss the opportunities for collaboration between PCCs and charities. Grace Wyld, an NPC Researcher, identifies the key messages emerging from that event. 

ANALYSIS: The Police Foundation recently held their Annual Conference, which focused on understanding the policing implications of a digital age. Dr Rick Muir here identifies eight key policing and criminal justice challenges posed by a digitally networked society.

ANALYSIS: Vulnerability in policing is usually taken to mean the way that the police deal with vulnerable victims. However, as shown by last week's College of Policing conference on vulnerability, increasing attention is now being paid to the vulnerability and wellbeing of police officers themselves. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University and Dr Ian Hesketh, Senior Advisor to the CoP, explore the issues and call for more research.

ANALYSIS: Gavin Hales, Deputy Director of the Police Foundation, takes a look at new research by the Foundation on the governance of specialist policing capabilities. Funded by the APCC and NPCC, the research identifies four key factors for 'good governance' of the Networked Policing Model.

ANALYSIS: The way that Police and Crime Commissioners are elected is set to change, from the current Supplementary Vote system to the more common First Past the Post. Policing Insight's editor, Carina O'Reilly, examines what the changes could mean for future PCC elections, and warns that the winners of future contests will increasingly be determined by local party political dominance, rather than individual competence.

ANALYSIS: CoPaCC Chief Executive Bernard Rix takes a first look at today's announcement by the Home Office of which forces and PCCs have been successful in their bids for Police Transformation Fund support.

ANALYSIS: This week, during a reception at the Tower of London to mark the Police Dependants' Trust's 50th anniversary, the Trust announced the findings of research they commissioned on the ‘invisible injuries’ of UK policing. Gill Scott- Moore, Trust Chief Executive, explains...