Opinion

INTERVIEW: As the Police ICT Summit gets underway this week, Police ICT Company CEO Ian Bell talks to Policing Insight about the challenges he's faced in his first year in the role and what the future holds for Police ICT.

Interview: The cost of scamming in online market places is estimated to be almost £1.7 billion with victims losing £65, on average, although that figure rises to over £90 for older victims. Policing Insight speaks to the UK Head of Marketing and Customer Services for Gumtree – Britain’s market leading online classified ads platform – about the effort that online marketplaces can make to protect their users and how the police can help.  

OPINION: Calls for public access to information about child sex offenders living in local areas are common. However, Maggie Hall of Western Sydney University warns that sex offender registries can also lead to community hysteria, loss of sleep, and vigilante attacks on innocent people.

Interview: On the eve of this year's Police ICT Summit Policing Insight talks to one of this year's exhibitors, Simon Hall who is the co-founder and CEO of Coeus Software, about the barriers to police ICT and how their technology reflects the Policing Vision 2025. 

Interview: Following the rogue drone chaos at Gatwick Airport last month, Policing Insight asks international drone detection expert Professor Garik Markarian of Lancaster University, and CEO of Rinicom Ltd, to explain the operational challenges of detecting illegal drone activity and how authorities can develop their capabilities to prevent further incidents.

Opinion: People are policing's greatest asset, but former officer and now CEO of Mightify Tom Wheelhouse argues the service must be more creative and look for better ways to prevent 'the double whammy of capability and cost walking out of the door'.

Opinion: The creation of the Northern 8 Police Research Partnership is transforming the relationship between police and academics, bringing unique perspectives and practical solutions to policing issues. Policing Insight contributor and Senior Research Fellow at CENTRIC Andrew Staniforth takes a closer look at the N8 PRP.

OPINION: CoPaCC Chief Executive and Policing Insight publisher Bernard Rix takes a look at what could be in store for policing in 2019. It's not just about Brexit...

Opinion: When freelance mental health consultant and writer Toni joined a night shift in December, she found officers suffering 'frustration fatigue' and a job that 'curates and nurtures' poor mental health. However, she argues that solely promoting resilience is not the solution.

LONG READ: Can history help tackle current policing issues? Devon and Cornwall Police Superintendent Jim Gale examines how the police service's rich heritage can support today's police leaders in maintaining the centuries-old 'social contract' between police and public.

OPINION: The issue of disclosure has made its way into the public domain, thanks to the collapse of high-profile trials. Mark Bedding, a former police officer now with Chorus Intelligence, argues that many police officers already have access to the technology they need to make disclosure simpler.

OPINION: As Israel joins the Netherlands and Canada in legalising medicinal cannabis, serving officer Martin Gallagher warns that there are significant and largely unexplored potential consequences of legalisation - not least, the future for organised crime groups currently operating in the cannabis trade.

Interview: Mental ill health still carries a stigma and officers and staff, reluctant to admit they might be struggling, often don't know where to turn. Policing Insight speaks to Judith Broug, the co-founder of the App Backup Buddy, about the barriers to seeking support and how Backup Buddy can help.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS: Our Publisher, Bernard Rix, reflects on Policing Insight's last twelve months, sets out our Christmas and New Year schedule, and takes a look on what we're planning for 2019...

2018 REVIEW: As 2018 draws to a close, Policing Insight's editorial team highlight some of their favourite articles from the past year and set them as FREE access for all our readers to enjoy during the holiday period

OPINION: As part of the Home Office's Frontline Review, a series of #wecops chats were hosted over the last few months to help get officers' input. The aim of this discussion, hosted by @TACCSteveGraham, and written up by Insp. Dan Reynolds, was to explore the role of leadership in modern policing.

Comment: Policing Insight contributor and Senior Research Fellow at CENTRIC Andrew Staniforth outlines an initiative to help law enforcement agencies tackle online content that inspires radicalisation.

Opinion: Following a two-year battle with the Ministry of Justice for the release of a report into digital courts, Director of Transform Justice Penelope Gibbs says not all the risks highlighted in that report have been mitigated.

Interview: Police users have been complaining for years about the fact that systems can’t talk to each other: it’s also been a recurring complaint in Policing Insight’s police ICT user survey. Now a group of suppliers have come forward to say that things don’t need to be this way and the solution is surprisingly simple. Here, Policing Insight talks to one of them, Clare Elford, Managing Director of Clue which supplies investigation case management software to many forces and other organisations.

Opinion: Cuts to vital local community services have put the police service under increasing pressure as it attempts to plug the gaps. Firesouls CEO Dan Ebanks says the Social Value Act 2018 may provide the answer to getting more resources into local organisations that, in turn, would alleviate some of those pressures.

INSIGHT: The College of Policing states officers and staff reporting concerns about a colleague should be fully supported through the process, but for one individual who ‘blew the whistle’ the reality was very different. Here is their story.

Insight: According to the RSPB, there were 68 confirmed incidents of 'raptor persecution' in 2017, but only four prosecutions. Bedfordshire Police Superintendent Nick Lyall, who has recently taken over as chair of the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group, outlines his aims for the Group and the challenges of policing crimes relating to birds of prey. 

Opinion: As the Police Foundation's latest research once again shines a light on policing's lacklustre response to fraud investigations, Policing Insight's Bernard Rix says sky-high statistics appear to have left the service too stunned to respond. Is the policing response to fraud the proverbial 'frog in boiling water'?

Opinion: Since 2013, Thames Valley Police has supported over 300 academic programmes of study by its staff. The force has now launched its first academic research journal. Its creator, Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint, explains how the Journal came into being and the impact she is hoping it will have.