Analysis: With digital crime accounting for nearly half of all crime, police officers and staff need the right skills to tackle it. As Reform publishes its latest report - Bobbies on the Net - one of its authors, Reform Researcher Emilie Sundorph, examines the changes required to make forces fit to fight digital crime.
Insight: Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, David Lloyd, is working on ambitious plans to include so-called Honour Based Abuse (HBA) in future victims’ services to be delivered via Hertfordshire’s victim care centre – Beacon. Whilst reports of these crimes are rare in Hertfordshire it is likely that there is a significant number of victims that the police and other agencies are unaware of. All victims deserve support and there is clear determination to develop a multi-agency approach to ensure that they can get it.
Insight: Fake photographs have been around for almost as long as the camera, but in a digital age of photography the ability to alter images has never been easier. EU Forensic Video Expert David Spreadborough examines the current challenges surrounding authenticating images.
ANALYSIS: The ninth in a monthly series in which CoPaCC's Sandra Andrews takes a look at some of the most interesting and topical issues that Police and Crime Panels across England and Wales are dealing with. This month, Sandra looks at HMIC's inspections, force and PCC responses, and how Panels cope with often conflicting views on how their forces are performing.
OPINION: With recruitment to policing still healthy, is the government right that talk of a crisis is overstated? Serving officer Gavin Hall argues this misses the point: retention is the problem, and the service can't afford to lose any more experienced officers.
Insight: West Midlands Police have reported increases in both shootings and fatal stabbings. As the force steps up its enforcement tactics, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson and his office are playing an equally vital role in helping to combat violent crime.
Opinion: The police's reliance on a paid informant who was a convicted paedophile to help convict 18 people sexually exploiting young women and girls shocked many. Adrian Kingswell, a retired Senior Investigating Officer specialising in covert policing, considers whether the time has come to be more open about police use of Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS).
Analysis: Body worn cameras are becoming the new normal in policing, but when it comes to attending incidents involving those with mental health problems, officers need to be aware of the challenges. Police Inspector Michael Brown, author of Mental Health Cop Blog, explores the issues.
Analysis: With forces exhibiting an increasing appetite to share data, the Police Foundation recently held the second in a series of policy dinners in partnership with KPMG to examine the issue in greater depth. Attended by key stakeholders and academics, the meeting explored how data-sharing can be improved. Liz Crowhurst, former Policy Officer at the Police Foundation, summarises the main findings in a policy document.
OPINION: In the last of his football policing blogs, Ch. Supt. Owen West puts recent public order theory into action. He reports on policing a medium-risk football match (Bradford City vs Blackpool) with a tiny Police Liaison Team (PLT) focused on engagement, rapport building and problem solving.
ANALYSIS: Recent 'lone wolf' terrorist attacks have been ascribed to extremist Islamism - but is this a fair way of describing the ideology that motivates these attackers? Serving officer Martin Gallagher argues it's time to think about what the attackers really want, rather than the religion to which they claim adherence.
ANALYSIS: The recent trend in crime figures appears to be heading downwards, but police forces are under more pressure than ever before. Sam Langton of Manchester Metropolitan University calls for increased collaboration between forces and academia to get more realistic estimations of the demands that police face.
ANALYSIS: In the second of a series of special articles examining the progress of Police and Crime Commissioners as they assume joint governance over police and fire services in their areas, Catherine Levin reports on significant activity over the last two months including a PCC withdrawing from the process, publication of the highly critical Avon FRA inspection report and six PCCs surging ahead with their plans.
OPINION: Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro, the national APCC lead on Equalities, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) which oversees stop and search looks at how the powers are being used, amid continued concerns regarding their effectiveness.
OPINION: With over 25 million people travelling on cruise ships every year, it is surprising how little protection and support there is for passengers who are victims of crime. Sam Smith argues that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the cruise industry need to address the poor standards of crime protection and crime management at sea.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Bedrock of policing’ is regularly used as a descriptor for neighbourhood or community policing but its current parlous state would suggest that perhaps it isn’t really as cherished as some would have us believe. Humberside PCC Keith Hunter makes the case for neighbourhood policing to regain its position in policing priorities.
OPINION: Is policing going in the right direction? Do we even know, let alone agree, what direction policing is heading? Serving officer Nathan Constable and Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University debate whether policing is on 'the Bus to Abilene'.
OPINION: The @wecops chat on Wednesday 19th July looked at the controversial Police Educational Qualifications Framework (PEQF), focusing on Recognition of Prior Experience and Learning. It was led by Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University, serving frontline officer Dan Reynolds, and the College of Policing. Dan and Emma recount the debate.
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.
ANALYSIS: 'Excited delirium' is increasingly used to describe those presenting as violent and unmanageable who often end up in police custody. David Baker of Coventry University explores whether the term is a convenient fiction or a useful shorthand for a dangerous set of symptoms.
