Innovation

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.

INNOVATION: The National Enabling Programmes (NEP) have been working with UK police forces to provide new technology over the past four years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has provided fresh impetus to the transformation, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: Radios are an essential lifeline for frontline police officers – which is why technological advances in the development of devices must adopt an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach, one that takes account of users’ instinctive responses, digital expectations and the potential for integration, as Katja Millard of Motorola Solutions explains.

INNOVATION: Big data can provide powerful insights into policing and improve performance, but getting it wrong leads to unreliable conclusions and poor policies. In the second of two articles, Professor Tom Kirchmaier, Director of Policing and Crime at the Centre for Economic Performance of the London School of Economics (LSE), outlines his team’s work with British policing and some of the important principles of using big data.

INNOVATION: Drones are already part of the policing toolkit, but the introduction of new 5G networks will significantly enhance their law enforcement use – as well as potentially posing a greater criminal threat; Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest European project to identify and address the 5G drone challenges.

INNOVATION: A review of Lancashire Constabulary's Force Control Room, which receives more than 1.2 million calls a year, led to the development of an award-winning voice to text system which will significantly improve the force's call handing and service delivery to the public. Project leaders Chief Supt Ian Dawson and Insp Andy Doran explain the background to the project, the actions already completed, and the potential for further advances.

INNOVATION: A new real-time drug analysis system, pioneered by New Zealand Police's Evidence-Based Policing Centre and the NZ Institute of Environmental Science & Research, enables officers to make better decisions in the field; NZ Police Deputy Chief Executive Mark Evans explains how Lumi Drug Scan works.

OPINION: UK police forces are under constant pressure to deliver more services with limited resources. IBM Services Associate Partner Luke Mundy explores how augmenting existing human resource with a digital, automated workforce could increase capacity, freeing up officers and staff to concentrate on nuanced, skilled, high-value tasks.

Innovation: Many training and education organisations are moving more of their learning online, partly in response to the COVID-19 crisis – and often with mixed results. With more than 50 years' experience of distance learning, The Open University know the structure and support needed to successfully deliver online learning, as Dr Paul Walley, Director of Learning within the University's Centre for Policing Research and Learning, explains.

INNOVATION: Big data can provide powerful insights into policing and improve performance, but getting it wrong leads to unreliable conclusions and poor policies. In the first of two articles, Professor Tom Kirchmaier, Director of Policing and Crime at the London School of Economics, outlines his team's work with British policing and some of the important principles of using big data.

INNOVATION: Just before the lockdown, Devon and Cornwall Police held the UK's first national conference on neuro-diversity in policing which examined the challenges faced by neuro-diverse officers and staff, but also the contribution they can make to policing.

INTERVIEW: June is PTSD awareness month. Talking exclusively to Policing Insight, former South Yorkshire Police officer and founder of the Daparian Foundation Richard Gettings shares his personal experience of PTSD and how he has now set up the Foundation to raise awareness and provide support to police officers.  

INNOVATION: In the third of a series of articles, DriveTech's Charlie Norman explores a new white paper on proposed changes to new cars sold in the UK from 2024. He argues current rules on a driver’s readiness to be on the road are in need of a comprehensive review. More complex vehicles on more crowded roads, with reduced levels of roads policing, may explain why improved safety equipment hasn’t had the desired impact. 

INNOVATION: The Centre for Justice Innovation has just published 'Pre-court diversion for adults: A toolkit for practitioners'. Head of Policy and Public Affairs Duncan Lugton tells Policing Insight how the toolkit will help create and develop these increasingly popular diversionary initiatives. 

INNOVATION: Chief Executive Officer of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Katherine Van Gurp explains how the Agency's recently published first five-year Strategy focuses on preparing Australia and New Zealand Police for the challenges of the future.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: An innovative public consultation process by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In our final article on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at the online simulator which allowed community members the chance to control police budgets, allocate resources and gain a better understanding of the funding challenges.

INNOVATION: The world of forensics suffers from fragmentation, skills shortages, an unstable marketplace and lack of investment and accreditation. But NPCC Forensics Lead and Dorset Chief Constable James Vaughan says police forces can make a bright future for forensics – with help from the new Forensics Capability Network (FCN).

INNOVATION: As drone technology develops and their use increases at pace, Policing Insight's Andrew Staniforth says INTERPOL's Framework for Responding to a Drone Incident will help close the gap in law enforcement's knowledge of how to deal with these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

Innovation: In the second of a series of articles, Charlie Norman, managing director of road safety organisation DriveTech, argues that temporary changes to the way that motoring offenders are dealt with, brought about by the Coronavirus, are proving so successful that there’s a strong case for making them permanent.

Innovation: Scrutiny is a vital aspect of police governance, but how does it work during a pandemic? Last week, Cheshire Police and Crime Panel became the first to use Zoom to question Cheshire PCC David Keane on how the force is performing in these unprecedented times. But can a 'virtual meeting' be a substitute for the real thing?

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: This police-led response to a terror attack on one of the UK’s oldest synagogues, which united a range of agencies and organisations to promote public reassurance and community cohesion, was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the eleventh of twelve articles focusing on the award winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at this exceptional example of policing, partnership and community response.

INNOVATION: Victims of stalking are regularly asked to write down incidents of harassment, but keeping handwritten records can traumatic, deterring victims from coming forward. Driven by the desire to help law enforcement deliver a better service to stalking victims, CEO Christine Townsend developed Preserved, an app that allows easy capture of photos, video, emails, text messages and audio transcriptions.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: An innovative joint initiative between Australia’s Queensland Police Service and Griffith University to educate revellers about the dangers of excess alcohol was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the tenth of twelve articles focusing on the award winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at this innovative approach to harm reduction through community engagement.

Innovation: The rolling out of a new perpetrator programme proven to be successful in reducing domestic violence has been put on hold, due to the outbreal of COVID-19. Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons discusses the Drive programme, the methodology behind it and how it can make a real and sustained difference to victims everywhere.