Analysis

ANALYSIS: The tragic death of George Floyd while in the custody of officers from the Minneapolis police department in US highlights the differences between US and UK policing but a common issue is the under representation of black and minority ethnic (BAME) in their ranks. Dr Daniel Silverstone and Dominique Walker from Liverpool John Moores University discuss the progress of improving diversity in UK policing.

ANALYSIS: Transform Justice's latest report reveals 99% of detentions are authorised by the custody sergeant. Director of Transform Justice Penelope Gibbs says the statistics suggest too many detentions are the result of a 'tick-box exercise' and it is time for a conversation about how custody decisions are made and scrutinised.

Analysis: The police service has shifted direction in the last twelve months with the announcement of an extra 20,000 officers and the creation of a new National Policing Board. Deloitte's Frances Lysak explores the findings of their latest report on what this might mean for Police and Crime Commissioners.

Analysis: As part of his role in assessing the digital fitness of police forces to manage the growth of digital channels, Steve Norris, Police Market Director for Salesforce UK says recurring issues around transparency, the democratisation of data and the technical debt are holding some forces back.

Analysis: Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines how Police Scotland is tackling online child sexual exploitation during the Covid-19 lockdown alongside the wider challenges of combating the tens of thousands of websites hosting child abuse images.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Europol on how Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime landscape in the EU beyond the pandemic.

ANALYSIS: For the final article in our series on police workforce numbers in England & Wales, Ian Wiggett revisits his first article, which forecast likely officer numbers for each force in 2023, to take into account data just published by the Home Office that clarifies the calculations used to measure progress in recruiting the planned 20,000 uplift in officers.

Analysis: Senior Business Manager at Frazer-Nash Consultancy Martin Soltau says that current discussions among chief constables about the future of police air support represent a rare and significant opportunity to transform a service that is exceptionally valuable – and extremely complex.

Analysis: Many countries are beginning to ease lockdown restrictions, but as the world charts a path out of the pandemic, the future remains uncertain for all including policing. Assistant Director of Strategic Foresight for the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Mike Richmond examines the different post-pandemic 'scenarios' that law enforcement may be faced with in the coming months and years.

Analysis: While many forces have trialled alternative energy vehicles, Gloucestershire Constabulary is now the trailblazer for UK policing, with electric vehicles (EVs) making up more than 20% of its fleet. Policing Insight spoke to Head of Transport Services Steve Imms about all things electric – including rural charging infrastructure, range anxiety EV response capability, and the holy grail of alternative fuelling.

ANALYSIS : The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policing are far-reaching. Dr Liz Aston, Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), explores some of them further, particularly from a Scottish perspective.

Analysis: In the fourth article of our series looking at police workforce numbers in England and Wales, Ian Wiggett examines the current police funding formula and how it increases disparity between forces, impacting decisions, including recruitment.

EXCLUSIVE: As the government begins to ease some Covid-19 restrictions, including allowing people to meet in parks, what does this mean for policing? In an exclusive article, Professor Clifford Stott and others* explore the huge challenges 'liberalisation' presents policing and how policing can maintain legitimacy.

Analysis: USA: Covid-19 has presented law enforcement with huge challenges, but Dr. Joseph A. Cortez, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and Lieutenant at the Santa Monica Police Department, argues it is also an unprecedented opportunity to switch off 'auto-pilot' and use the lessons learnt to help re-shape the future of policing.

Analysis: Dr Alex Oaten from the University of Birmingham and Dr Chris Allen from the University of Leicester consider the principle of policing by consent and whether this has been lost in the policing reponse by some forces to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysis: The uplift in police officers coupled with the impact of the coronavirus could overwhelm an already beleaguered criminal justice system, according to a report by the Institute for Government. Senior researcher at the Institute Benoit Guerin explores the report's findings in greater detail.

Analysis: Following the publication of CoPaCC's recent thematic on police contact management, Hootsuite's UK Police Lead Nathan Bird examines some of the findings and highlights the increasing role of online engagement, a low cost and, at times, more effective way to manage police demand.

Analysis: Mixed teams of officers and staff are commonplace in UK policing, but civilian staff numbers have fallen significantly while police officer numbers are set to swell by an additional 20,000. In the third article of this series, Ian Wiggett examines the implications this shift towards more officers will have for policing.

INTERVIEW: As the rise of far-right extremism concerns senior counter-terrorism police officers, Dr Rakib Ehsan, terrorism expert from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), explains to Policing Insight the motivations and propaganda that is fuelling recruitment to far-right groups, and how they are weaponising the COVID-19 crisis.

Analysis: AUSTRALIA: Following the horrific deaths of four Victorian police officers, Dr. Kelly Hine, a lecturer in criminology at Australian National University, looks at how Australian officers are sustaining injuries and other medical conditions, and how often are officers dying in the line of duty.

OPINION: The UK police service is in the process of developing the Single Online Home, a national, digital counter service offering over forty policing services. But then the world changed. NPCC Lead for Digital Public Contact and Chief Constable of Leicestershire Simon Cole QPM reflects on the progress made and the impact of Covid-19.

Analysis: Although we know modern slavery is rising in the UK, there is no definitive method for collating accurate figures. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth says that has to change and there are lessons to be learnt from a unique collaboration in the United States that analyses big data to uncover patterns and help inform policy decisions.

Analysis: In the first of a series of articles on road safety, Drivetech Managing Director Charlie Norman examines the findings of the Government's recent view of Smart motorways following safety concerns and argues that re-educating motorists is crucial to reducing the number of deaths and injuries on the road.

Analysis: During austerity, some UK police forces lost over 50 per cent of their PCSOs and more than a quarter of their police staff employees. In the second article in our series on the nature of the UK's police workforce, we examine how the change in police staff and PCSO numbers over the past decade reflects a shift in attitudes towards civilianisation, outsourcing of staff and PCSOs.