Opinion

OPINION: Ahead of manifesto launches and the Police Federation conference this week, Policing Insight editor Carina O'Reilly (also a Labour councillor) takes a look at what we can expect from the parties on policing – and whether what they promise matters.

OPINION: How will ongoing police reforms affect the Special Constabulary? Could their future include further integration with regulars - including the use of Taser? Dr Iain Britton, Institute for Public Safety Crime and Justice, reflects on his attendance at the annual national conference of the Association of Special Constabulary Chief Officers’ (ASCCO).

BOOK LAUNCH: "Police Chiefs in the UK: Politicians, HR Managers or Cops?" is a new book by former Met Superintendent Mark Roycroft, now Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of East London. Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix takes a look at a copy hot off the presses.

Opinion: Met Commissioner Cressida Dick explains why she is supporting the new UK Police Memorial campaign.

Opinion: As she prepares to retire after 30 years in the police service, the College of Policing's Lead on Direct Entry, Chief Superintendent Nicola Dale, looks back on her last three years in post.

OPINION: Evidence-based policing has seen tremendous growth in the last few years, but has yet to reach the 'tipping point' where it becomes the norm. Chief Supt. Owen West argues that what's needed is an appetite for risk, and an investment in frontline officers.

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.

Opinion: Former Chief Constable of Cumbria Stuart Hyde QPM explains how the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is helping to mobilise resources to address cybersecurity.  The Yorkshire and Humberside Counter Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) champion and Northern Powerhouse partner, aql®'s CEO Dr Adam Beaumont, has appointed Mr Hyde to promote the CISP to local organisations including business, schools, health and charities.

OPINION: The Cambridge Crime Harm Index offers a new way of measuring crime, by the damage it does rather than the volume of incidents. Supt. Dave Hill and Dr Laura Knights of the East Midlands Policing Academic Collaboration (EMPAC) report on a discussion of what the problems and prospects are for putting the Cambridge Crime Harm Index into practice.

OPINION: Evidence-based policing makes sense in theory - but what about the practice? Serving officer Nathan Constable looks at the problems in embedding new initiatives, and argues that the police service might need to slow down if it wants to speed up the effective implementation of EBP.

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. 

OPINION: How can football policing be made less confrontational and more family-friendly? Chief Superintendent Owen West of West Yorkshire Police reflects on the work of ‘Enable’ – a multi-stakeholder research partnership aiming to develop good practice in the safety and security challenges facing professional football in Sweden.

OPINION: Yesterday's report from the HMIC - The State of Policing in England and Wales - emphasised the lack of proper funding for mental health, and the way policing has been forced to become the service of first resort. Serving officer Nathan Constable - who has warned of this for some time - highlights the key issues around police responses to mental health crises.

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.

Digital Policing Review: Vigilant Research’s first Digital Policing Review report launches on Thursday, and director Stephen Roberts argues that policing really can learn from the likes of Uber and Airbnb.

OPINION: Police cells are no place for people in mental health crisis, but new legal provisions due to come in will allow their detention in 'exceptional circumstances'. Serving officer Nathan Constable warns that people presenting as violent and unmanageable - the symptoms of 'excited delirium' - are the most likely to be detained, but also the most at risk from restraint.

OPINION: Direct entry is a controversial topic, and has generated a lot of debate. While few would argue that those who have joined through the scheme are dedicated and sincere, policing commentator Graham Wettone argues that nothing can replace direct experience of policing - especially at Inspector level.

OPINION: The Direct Entry debate has returned to the headlines in recent weeks with the suggestion that Chief Constables might in future be drawn from outside the service. Supt. Maggie Blyth, one of the first Direct Entry superintendents, says there's a huge amount of talent in policing - but there still might be advantages in looking outside.

OPINION: There has been a lot of recent debate about degree-level entry and the 'professionalisation' of policing. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University has been heavily involved in work to recognise serving officers' existing skills and capacities. Here, she outlines what 'Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning' will mean.

OPINION: Policing research used to be dominated by research on the police, designed, directed and carried out by academic researchers. However, recent years have seen a move towards co-production of research with police. Sean Butcher, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, reports from a workshop on the challenges of co-production, and how this move might be sustained.

OPINION: There is an ongoing debate within policing about the value of academic input, and whether evidence-based policing can offer the kind of knowledge that policing needs. Chief Superintendent Owen West looks at the arguments, and calls for academic collaboration to confront the politics of knowledge within the police service itself.

OPINION: Rural crime costs millions of pounds and can be devastating for victims – but is often overshadowed by urban demand. Cambridgeshire PCC Jason Ablewhite, who grew up on a farm, explains how the Rural Crime Action team - many of whom have farming backgrounds themselves - is building confidence in the police in rural communities.