Features

Innovation: Lewis Westbury, a software developer for 15 years, a special constable for almost 10 and now founder and volunteer coordinator of Police Rewired, highlights several interesting pieces of research sourced in Crime Survey of England and Wales data, and the implications for developing practical tools in the fight against crime.

Opinion: Is official endorsement of the participation of on-duty uniformed officers in Pride events across the country blurring a very important line? Blogger, substantive Detective Constable and LLB undergraduate the Secular Detective explains why he thinks that the principles of police officer impartiality are being eroded.

OPINION: While the private sector increasingly sifts job candidates on the basis of personal attributes and transferable skills, policing is moving to a degree-based system. Former officer and now CEO of Mightify Tom Wheelhouse argues that this will reduce diversity and focus on a younger demographic while the private sector widens the net.

Insight: Development of the concept of emotional intelligence began in the 1980s and its four attributes of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and social skills are all essential factors for a successful police officer. Former UK police officer and now Research Fellow at Western Sydney University Alan Beckley looks at how consideration of emotional intelligence is influencing the recruitment and development of police personnel.

Opinion: Mobile data, interoperability, drones, evolving communications: just four of the key technology challenges facing policing right now. Ian Thompson, the CEO of the British Association of Public Communications Officers (BAPCO), looks at why it is so difficult to procure and implement solutions that deliver the benefits required.

Opinion: We will never get police funding right unless we answer the bigger questions, says President of the Police Superintendents’ Association Paul Griffiths.

ANALYSIS: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises the findings of the fourth report by HMICFRS which is an update on the police response to fraud (April 2019). We look at the key points for policing as well as stakeholder and media reactions.

ANALYSIS: What does effective policing leadership look like, and what could be done to make policing leaders more effective? Serving officer Dan Reynolds summarises a recent @wecops debate that explored the role of leadership in policing, and gives nine key lessons for effective police leaders.

INNOVATION: Children who witness domestic abuse often keep their suffering to themselves or display their feelings through 'acting out' at school. Operation Encompass is a confidential information-sharing scheme between police and schools that aims to identify children early, offering them better support and safeguarding, Syreeta Lund reports.

LONG READ: How does community policing translate to a former war zone like South Sudan? Jackie Gold, Chief Inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, explains the importance of gaining a clear understanding of the mandate, finding opportunities for ‘quick wins’, influencing others, cultural awareness and taking risks.

INSIGHT: The Police Foundation's recent report, Data-driven Policing and Public Value, highlights the fundamental importance of data to service delivery. Catherine Levin explores the findings of the report, including the benefits of identifying common areas of interest around data between police and fire.

Opinion: An increasing number of policing functions could easily be automated, but forces are too focused on police numbers. Former Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Paul Kennedy argues that budgets spent on recruiting more police officers should be redirected into embracing these new and emerging technologies.

Opinion: Remember a decade ago when Blackberry devices were all the rage and the iphone was only into its second generation? Simon Hall, CEO, Coeus Software, takes a look at how police technology has moved on since 2009 and where we might be in ten years time.

OPINION: British policing has included volunteers for nearly 200 years - but what can it learn from others, and vice versa? A new research partnership between the UK and Japan will explore the possibilities: Matthew Callender, Laura Knight, Iain Britton, Kimihiro Hino and Mamoru Amemiya explain.

INTERVIEW: The terror attack in New Zealand has exposed fault lines in the prevention of extreme right-wing related terrorism. Ahead of the forthcoming review of the UK’s Prevent strategy, researcher Neda Richards talks to Policing Insight about the findings of her unique research analysing preventative counter-terrorism policing and the impact of community engagement on public cooperation.

OPINION: Data is the oxygen of police efficiency and effectiveness and how it is used is enormously important, but too many forces are playing catch up in adopting data-driven technology, says HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services Sir Tom Winsor.

OPINION: How can police forces integrate EBP into their daily working practices? Insp. Roger Pegram, GMP EBP Tactical Lead and Vice Chair of the Society of Evidence-Based Policing (SEBP), discusses the aims, ambition and approach to delivering change at the frontline.

Opinion: Automatic facial recognition (AFR) systems can provide new ways to protect the public, but public support and reassurance rests on a transparent and robust regulatory framework governing its use, says Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter.

ANALYSIS: By 2020, 31 billion devices will be connected to the internet worldwide bringing with it a whole host of policing challenges, but increasingly police forces are rising to those challenges. The Police Foundation’s latest report showcases some of the innovative data-driven projects that happening both here in the UK and abroad.

OPINION: Policing is under pressure, meaning that officers push themselves to the limit. But is this wise? Serving officer Colin Paine argues that police cannot afford to see taking breaks as a luxury, but instead need to see them as a central part of serving the public.

ANALYSIS: Twenty years after the Macpherson report was published, Dr Lisa Long, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Leeds Beckett University, shares her recent research into the current state of relations between the police and BAME individuals and communities.

ANALYSIS: The police are about receive extensive new powers when provisions contained in the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which received Royal Assent in February, come into force. Policing Insight contributor and Senior Research Fellow at CENTRIC Andrew Staniforth explores the implications of the new Act for policing.

ANALYSIS: Dr Ella Cockbain, a Lecturer in Security and Crime Science at the Jill Dando Institute, raises serious concerns over the Qulliam Foundation's influential report on grooming gangs and how it has fuelled an inaccurate and dangerous narrative around 'Asian grooming gangs'.

OPINION: John Gili-Ross is Chairman of the National Association of Police Fire and Crime Panels. He explores the evolution of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and the increasingly important role Police, Fire and Crime Panels play in holding PCCs to account.