Opinion

OPINION: The recent stop of London MP Dawn Butler under the Road Traffic Act (RTA), and the media storm which ensued, once again brought the issue of police legitimacy into the headlines; Montell Neufville believes amending the RTA could improve interactions with the public.

OPINION: The nature of policing is complex and fast moving, as highlighted in the recent Police Foundation Strategic Review. Ahead of their forthcoming one-day online event on changing practice, Skills for Justice Consultant Toby Lindsay highlights the need for effective leaders to master adaptive challenges.

OPINION: New Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter on the success of the website to date, the challenges moving forward, and the importance of creating 'engaging, thought provoking and informative' content

OPINION: Community scrutiny panels (CSPs) can help to ensure the use of stop and search is fair and proportionate, says Nina Champion, Director of Criminal Justice Alliance – but only if they are representative of their communities, allowed to operate independently, and given the necessary funding, training and access to data.

OPINION: The push for greater efficiency and effectiveness has seen UK police forces increasingly collaborating on areas such as procurement, finance and HR with neighbouring colleagues and public sector partners. John O'Halloran of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) highlights some of the key considerations to ensure back-office unification brings significant benefits rather than additional problems.

OPINION: PCCs (and PFCCs) have a statutory duty to consult the public before drawing up plans and setting out priorities. But in an era of social distancing, greater public scrutiny and an increasing appetite for legal challenge, successfully fulfilling that statutory public consultation duty is more complex than ever, as Anna Collins of the Consultation Institute explains.

OPINION: Recent reports from HMICFRS and PACTS have highlighted the important role of roads policing in tackling crime and public safety. But Charlie Norman, managing director of road safety organisation DriveTech, believes that with competing demands for limited resources, partnerships will be the key to meeting often complex challenges.

OPINION: When it comes to the mental health and wellbeing of officers, former police leader turned development coach Gareth Davies believes there's a significant gap between discussions about the issues, and meaningful action or appreciation of their impact. The first step towards closing that gap is to create a culture where officers can have difficult conversations.

OPINION: After three and half years at the helm, Editor Tina Orr Munro looks back at how policing – and Policing Insight – has changed, and looks forward to an exciting new challenge.

OPINION: With routine stops escalating into major public order situations, people targeting and baiting officers, and the tension between police and policed now 'palpable', former Ch. Supt. Owen West – a crowd policing specialist – fears the UK is on the brink of serious summer disorder; yet officers must avoid developing a siege mentality.

OPINION: Mark Cooper, Director of Greymalkin Consulting, has been involved in the development of the police and crime commissioner role since overseeing the legislation that introduced them. Following the announcement of the PCC review, Mark considers its implications and offers some ideas to help the process deliver positive change.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of our interview with former CACP Executive Director Bill Moore, the veteran officer explores key issues including the role of the Chiefs’ Association, the legalisation of cannabis, and how analytics may have an important part to play in shaping the future of Canadian policing.

INTERVIEW: A week after Paddy Tipping took over as Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Secretary announced a review of the role of PCCs. Undaunted, the former MP has welcomed the news, and believes the APCC has key role to play in promoting good practice, securing funding, and pushing for 'cultural change' on inclusion and diversity.

INTERVIEW: Having recently taken up his post as President of the Disabled Police Association, Simon Nelson talks to Policing Insight's Tina Orr Munro about the 'culture of fear' experienced by some disabled officers and staff, and why disability is still regarded as the 'Cinderella of diversity'.

Opinion: It's 15 years since the 7/7 bombings took place in London. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth looks back at the atrocity and the immediate aftermath, and how it shaped counter-terrorism policing.

INTERVIEW: Canada’s vast landscape and diverse cultures and communities bring with them their own unique policing challenges. In the first half of a two-part interview, Bill Moore, the former head of the country’s police leaders’ association and a veteran officer with a 31-year career, provides an insight into the key issues for Canadian policing.

OPINION: With the Coronavirus dramatically accelerating discussions around digitising police legacy systems, Ben Austen of technology consultancy Tisski outlines some of the main benefits – for both the police and the public – of improving cloud-based digital evidence and forensic case management systems.

OPINION: The disproportionate use of stop and search is often a result of either conscious or unconscious bias, and can undermine relations between police and communities. Police ethics adviser Montell Neufville examines the dangers of dismissing disproportionality, and how officers can challenge those arguments.

OPINION: The debate around institutional racism in policing has led to polarised, entrenched views; anger and frustration on social media; a lack of clear guidance and leadership; and a mistrust of cops and communities. Former police officer and blogger Cate Moore urges all involved to take a step back, listen and engage – to keep calm and stop carrying on – in an effort to find the way forward.

OPINION: With increasing attacks and abuse on the streets, vilification online and a seeming lack of support from some politicians, the sense of a growing anti-police sentiment – added to the frustration many officers already felt – is damaging officer welfare. Owen West believes it's time for the NPCC to take the lead in promoting public service, preventing a siege mentality, and protecting officers and staff.

OPINION: As the prospects of a negotiated Brexit agreement diminish, Dr Paul Swallow, Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University's School of Law, Criminal Justice and Policing, outlines why he believes a no-deal Brexit will inevitably weaken the UK’s position on international security.

Opinion: Paul Griffiths, President of the Police Superintendents' Association, says the police service's recruitment drive in England and Wales is a 'generational opportunity' to improve diversity, but only if we do things differently.

OPINION: The Emergency Services Network (ESN), the replacement for the UK police radio communications system, has been beset by delays and rising costs. Evan Morris MBE, vice chair of the National Association of Police, Fire and Crime Panels (NAPFCP) and chair of Cheshire Police and Crime Panel, calls on crime panels to challenge their Police and Crime Commissioners over the impact this has had on budgets.

OPINION: The current pandemic has forced many industries to address questions of flexible working as a matter of some urgency. But for many in policing, flexible working is hampered by complex business needs as well as structural and cultural issues. Here, Sgt Caroline Hay and Dr Emma Williams present a @wecops Twitter debate on the issues.