Interview

Exclusive interview: Lord Wasserman has been a government adviser on policing and criminal justice since 2011 and was the driving force behind the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). He speaks exclusively to Policing Insight about how he sees the role of the PCCs and the importance of transparency and accountability.

INTERVIEW: Sheldon Thomas is the founder of Gangsline, a training and consultancy company specialising in tackling gang culture, serious youth violence and child sexual exploitation. A former gang leader, Sheldon has spent 28 years helping to combat gang crime. He tells Policing Insight how his formative years, coupled with his recent experience, means he can offer policing and other agencies a unique approach to tackling gang violence. 

INTERVIEW: Support worker Matt Hazelwood has just joined North Wales Police's modern slavery unit, making him the first support worker in the UK to be based within a police modern slavery unit. He tells Policing Insight about his new role and how it can improve the response to modern day slavery.

INTERVIEW: The Police Now programme was first introduced in 2015 and has already trained nearly 400 new graduates to become neighbourhood police officers. This financial year it was awarded £3.5m from the Police Transformation Fund. Programme Director Kurtis Christoforides tells Policing Insight what’s next for the organisation.

INTERVIEW: Last month, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which runs the National Stalking Helpline, secured £4.1m from the Police Transformation Fund, via the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), to carry out pioneering work with perpetrators of stalking. Tina Orr-Munro speaks to Chief Executive Rachel Griffin about how the project will work.

INTERVIEW: As individual forces explore the ways in which they can use drones in everyday policing, Gary Mason talks to Russell Woolford, Assistant Operations Director with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) about the role to be played by the organisation, which currently manages helicopter and fixed‑wing aircraft fleet across England and Wales

INTERVIEW: Gary Mason talks with National Police Chiefs' Council lead Steve Barry about current and future plans for drone use, the legislative challenges to be overcome, and the problems surrounding governance

Interview: David Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, has been elected as the Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).  He tells Syreeta Lund what his plans are for the organisation.

Interview: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recently signed a seven-year £8 million contract with MASS (part of Cohort PLC) to provide a digital forensics (DF) managed service aiming to maximise integration, collaboration and efficiency. Tina Orr-Munro speaks to Chris Johnson, MASS Head of Law Enforcement Business Development.

PCC INTERVIEW: A third of police time in Kent is spent dealing with mental health issues, a pattern replicated across the country. Kent PCC Matthew Scott is the deputy portfolio lead on mental health for the national Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC). He speaks to Syreeta Lund about some of the challenges.

INTERVIEW: Oscar Kilo was launched six weeks ago as a national police wellbeing resource. Lancashire Chief Constable Andy Rhodes has led the initiative and speaks to Gary Mason about the importance of its mission to share learning and best practice from across emergency and blue light services so organisations can invest the very best into the wellbeing of their staff.

Interview: Innovative work in Scotland has helped drastically drive down rates of violence, including knife crime. As England’s capital sees sharp increases in gun and knife crime, around 42 and 24 per cent,  according to recent figures released by the Metropolitan Police, can Scotland's experience shed light on how to tackle such a devastating crime? Will Linden, Acting Director at the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) which works with Police Scotland, speaks to Policing Insight.  

Interview: In our continuing series on Police and Crime Comissioners, Dyfed-Powys PCC Dafydd Llywelyn looks back on his first year in office.

Interview: Chief Constable Mick Creedon QPM is set to retire from his role after 37 years as a police officer. In an exclusive interview with Policing Insight, Mr Creedon talks about the impact of the Frank Beck investigation, 'virtual' neighbourhood policing and why the PCC system is flawed.

Interview: As the end of their first year in office approaches, Policing Insight talks to Police and Crime Commissioners about their successes and challenges. In our continuing series, Derbyshire PCC Hardyal Dhindsa reflects on the last 12 months in post.

Interview: In the second of our new series focusing on Police and Crime Commissioners' achievements in office, West Mercia PCC John Campion discusses protecting neighbourhood policing, modernising the force and cutting the cost of running his office.

Interview: Richard Walton, the former head of Scotland Yard's Counter-Terrorism Command, explains how the UK's CT strategy is working, but with ISIS facing defeat returning fighters and lone attackers will pose a greater threat. 

Interview: Until two years ago, gun and knife crime in London had consistently fallen. Following a spike in the figures, the Met's new Commissioner Cressida Dick has pledged to make it her priority, but one charity believes the responsibility for tackling the problem goes beyond the force. Tina Orr-Munro speaks to Patrick Green of the Ben Kinsella Trust

Interview: As the end of their first year in office approaches, Policing Insight talks to Police and Crime Commissioners about their successes and challenges. In the first of a new series, Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones reflects on the last 12 months in post.

Interview: The company behind the TASER  X2 hopes its latest device will boost public reassurance and police accountability, but Matt Spencer, MD, Axon Public Safety, says changes to the latest model are just the beginning of a technological revolution in policing. 

Interview: The long-awaited introduction of a new National ANPR System (NAS), originally scheduled to be in place by April 2016, has moved a step closer this year following a successful bid to the Police Transformation Fund to establish a National ANPR Co-ordinator and Transformation Team.Keith Potter speaks to Temporary Superintendent John Dwyer of North Yorkshire Police.

Interview: The Essex Police and Crime Commissioner is leading the race to become the first Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Catherine Levin asks Roger Hirst about the urgency, benefits and costs of taking on responsibility for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS)

Interview: Last year, the Internet Watch Foundation marked its 20th anniversary.  Policing Insight talks to CEO Susie Hargreaves OBE about the organisation's changing role and its relationship with its police partners. 

Interview: As deaths in custody have reduced, the general trend for suicides following custody has increased. Can the national strategy on police custody help forces protect vulnerable people? Syreeta Lund speaks to Surrey chief constable Nick Ephgrave, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on custody.