Analysis

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises the recent PEEL Spotlight publication - Diverging under pressure - which provides an overview of the 2018/19 PEEL inspections alongside emerging themes for police forces in England and Wales.

Analysis: This May, in England and Wales, the public will go to the polls to elect their local Police and Crime Commissioner. Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine the lessons to be learnt from the previous two elections in 2012 and 2016 and what prospective candidates are likely to focus on in 2020.

Analysis: As UK police are set to receive new powers to tackle the problem of illegal drone activity, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the risks drones pose to our safety and security and the wider work happening to counteract them.

Analysis: Lord Carlile's removal as the independent reviewer of the counter-terror Prevent strategy following a legal challenge has left the Government in a difficult position. With just eight months until the Review must, by law, be completed and its findings shared, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth explores the challenges ahead.

Analysis: Last week's police funding settlement - the biggest increase in police funding for a decade - has been welcomed by many in the service. While the headline figures are impressive, former Assistant Chief Constable and now CoPaCC Director Ian Wiggett takes a closer look and finds some questions still need to be answered.

INSIGHT: This week’s Police ICT Summit will see suppliers, police buyers and stakeholders discuss current challenges and develop solutions. But where are the voices of the end users in this process? And could a greater focus on user experience help to solve existing challenges as well as develop more effective long-term solutions?

opinion: Dialling 999 remains the traditional way to contact the police in an emergency, but with demand rising and the public increasingly turning to messaging apps, could chatbots offer policing an affordable alternative to managing demand? Futr A.I.'s Client Services Director Martin Scoble explores the chatbots' potential.

Analysis: The widespread bush fires in Australia have focused attention on how emergency services respond to large scale incidents caused by extreme weather. With incidents such as these set to become increasingly common, Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth looks at how the EU is tackling the threat to public safety posed by climate change.

ANALYSIS: With the UK set to exit the EU at the end of this month, Owen Sayers, an enterprise architect, privacy and security specialist with thirty years' experience in the CJS, outlines what this means for UK data protection law for Competent Authorities including law enforcement agencies.

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Analysis: The grooming of children is on the rise across England and Wales. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses this disturbing trend and considers how artificial intelligence is leading the fight against online grooming.

Analysis: The election is over, but aside from the promised 20,000 additional officers, what else can we expect from the new Government? Former Assistant Chief Constable and now CoPaCC Director Ian Wiggett examines what the next five years may hold for the police service.

Analysis: Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal areas of the North are becoming violent crime hot spots. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth argues the rise cannot be entirely attributed to 'county lines' and a major rethink is needed on how forces tackle violent crime locally.

analysis: With ransomware attacks on the rise, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines how the cyber threat is expected to evolve in 2020 and how police and partner agencies face increasing challenges in protecting their data from both cyber criminals and their own staff.

INSIGHT: NPCC Drug Threat Lead Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Lay is also President of the Drug Expert Witness & Valuation Association (DEWVA). The following is adapted from Det Ch Supt Lay’s opening address at last year’s DEWVA conference where he outlined the current drug threat and the role expert witnesses play in tackling it.

insight: With all the results of all 45 fire and rescue services inspections now in, Catherine Levin considers how those services under Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners (PFCCs) have done and if those aspiring to become PFCCs may get a boost from the findings. It’s a mixed picture to say the least.

Interview: As cybercrime continues to rise, patterns of repeat victimisation are being investigated by new collaborative research between Southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Cyber Threats Research Centre at Swansea University. Ph.D. Researcher Sara Correia shares with Policing Insight the preliminary findings of this ground-breaking research.

Analysis: New Research - Do drug diversion schemes work? Thames Valley Police Policing Strategy Unit's DS Wojciech Spyt and DI Lee Barnham and T/DCI Jason Kew examine the UK's drug policy, how it has evolved and whether drug diversion schemes used by some forces including Thames Valley Police are an effective way to tackle drug possession.

GENERAL ELECTION 2019: With the General Election fast approaching, Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick analyse the main political parties' view on crime and its causes, and how this has shaped the pledges they have made in their election manifestos.

General Election 2019: With less than two weeks to go to the General Election, CoPaCC Director and former Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Ian Wiggett finds the party manifestos promise much for policing and justice, but are short on detail.

Analysis: Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick explore how hate crime has evolved since the Second World War, the impact of the more recent rise of far right extremism and the challenges facing policing in the current political climate.

ANALYSIS : Vigilante paedophile hunters are playing an increasingly mainstream role in the prosecution of perpetrators of child sexual exploitation. But how should the police deal with them? Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou of the University of Essex explores the benefits and the dangers of working with these controversial groups.

Analysis: The Security Service faced considerable criticism for its prioritising of intelligence operations prior to the London Bridge attack in 2017. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the challenges around gathering and interpreting intelligence relating to terror plots.

Analysis: New research on peoples' experiences of policing at anti-fracking protests has pointed to an increasing criminalisation of non-violent protest. One of the researchers, Dr Will Jackson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University, explores the police's approach to protesters and the implications it has for police legitimacy.