Features

ANALYSIS: The recent substantial drop in police numbers led the Police Federation of England and Wales to study the impact of austerity on the welfare of officers. Mary Elliott-Davies of the Federation describes the fascination of watching results coming in - and the stark message of the early findings.

BREXIT - Implications for policing: Dorset PCC Martyn Underhill delivers his keynote speech to the CoPaCC "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event on Wednesday, 14th September 2016

ANALYSIS: Interest in heritage crime, any act which ‘harms the value of England's heritage assets and their settings to this and future generations,’ has been slowly gathering pace. Researching this marginalised area, Bethan Poyser found that understandings and perceptions of heritage crime vary greatly between place managers and the police, leading to extreme frustration for both parties.

OPINION: The use of controversial spit hoods was suspended last week in London after intervention from new Mayor Sadiq Khan. Nick Alston of Anglia Ruskin University's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region argues that not enough is known of the real risks and benefits of spit hoods, and the College of Policing needs to step up with rigorous evidence of the pros and cons.

OPINION: Laboratory reports of hepatitis C have almost doubled in three years in London, while some 59% of London's injecting drug users (classically, crack and heroin) have hepatitis C. Rory Geoghegan of the Centre for Public Safety argues that forces need to explain to the public what a spit guard is, how it works and why it is needed - and that spit guards are a no-brainer for effective policing.

OPINION: The 2016 Police Now Summer Academy has just graduated 108 new recruit police officers ready for independent patrol. Chris Heathcote, Director and Gold Commander of the Academy, talks about why he believes passionately in the promise of Police Now and what it can offer to police forces across the country.

OPINION: Ch Supt Gordan Crossan, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, argues that we 'underestimate at our peril' the impact on officers and staff of increased demand.

PSAEW CONFERENCE 2016: Vice President of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, Ch Supt Paul Griffiths, addresses the Association's National Conference about a future for policing

ANALYSIS: Did parliamentary scrutiny fail in the case of Police Scotland? Kath Murray argues that at least some of the difficulties that have since beset the force might be allied to the Scottish political system - here, she examines the evidence.

OPINION: How inclusive is the modern police force for LGBT officers, and is there work still to do? On 31 August, @WeCops held an online debate on LGBT officers and modern policing, with Detective Superintendent Joanne Edwards (@Joedwar25098564), supported by @lancpolequality as hosts. Eric Halford (@DSEricHalford) summarises the debate.

OPINION: Are senior officers offering a 'tin ear' to complaints of low police morale? Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation, considers how best to make positive changes in a context of austerity.

ANALYSIS: Julian Foster, Global co-lead for the Social Media Center of Excellence at Motorola Solutions, examines how social media is being used in policing – the opportunities, success stories, key challenges and future potential.

ANALYSIS: New research by the Police Foundation and Perpetuity Research suggests up to 45% of fraud is linked to organised crime, a much higher percentage than previously thought. Mike Skidmore of the Foundation argues that police should target the problem, not the offenders.

OPINION: Cop and comic Alfie Moore takes a wry look at police call handling in the strangest of circumstances - "we're like Google with flashing blue lights!"

OPINION: Charlotte Pickles, Deputy Director and Head of Research at the Reform think tank, looks at the potential for directly elected mayors and identifies lessons from the experience of PCCs

OPINION: Kathryn Holloway, Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire, marks her first 100 days in office by publishing her first 100 achievements.

Friska Wirya has been engaged for over 18 months at Western Australia Police, the single largest jurisdiction in the world, as a change management specialist supporting the replacement of a mission-critical application. She blogs about the ten key leadership lessons she's learned from working with Western Australia's senior officers.

OPINION: Should the use of Tasers be banned on psychiatric wards, as suggested by Liberal Democrat Health spokesman Norman Lamb? Serving officer Nathan Constable says the proposal fails to acknowledge that there are times when people become so dangerous that staff cannot control them, and that simply banning Tasers doesn't deal with the real issues at stake.

OPINION: With increasing pressure on budgets, police officers are spending more time dealing with vulnerable people, and are forced to go on patrol alone. Holly Lynch MP was so concerned for the safety of one officer with whom she went on patrol that she rang 999 to get back-up for him. She calls on the government to support the police properly and to empower other agencies to take a lead on dealing with the vulnerable.

OPINION: The day-to-day work of policing can be deeply traumatic. In a powerful piece, Sgt Harry Tangye recalls one incident that demonstrates the stark reality of policing for those in the job.

OPINION: Sophisticated data and crime analysis should have transformed policing and criminal justice; but instead, taxpayers are funding bloated criminal justice systems and foot patrols in communities where officers have little to do. Tom Gash argues it's time to replace myth-based approaches with those founded on evidence.

OPINION: Critics of Police Now, the Graduate Leadership Development Programme for the police, have warned it will lead to poorly equipped constables who will be found wanting once on the streets. Serving officer Dan Reynolds went to see for himself - and found a cohort with a maturity far in excess of their four weeks in the job.

OPINION: Should drug addicts be treated as victims themselves? Research suggests that prescribing pharmaceutical heroin can reduce the use of street drugs and associated levels of crime. Ron Hogg, former senior police officer, now Durham’s Police, Crime and Victims Commissioner, argues that this isn't going soft on drugs, but going sensible.

OPINION: The police service is undergoing fundamental change through a combination of austerity and alterations in demand. DCC Andy Rhodes revisits transformational change in policing and introduces the parable of the boiling frog to explain what limits the capacity of forces to adapt and transform.