Innovation

INNOVATION: In a new three-part series exploring how technology will shape policing over the coming decades, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports on Police Futures, a new publication from the UK’s Police Chief Scientific Adviser, which tries to move beyond science fiction and look towards what policing might really become.

INNOVATION: Effective communications systems are crucial in ensuring timely and reliable service delivery for the police and others in the public sector; Richard Evans, Chief Technology Officer at Cinos, believes modern unified communications solutions such as cloud-based voice platforms can offer secure and efficient communications across multiple devices, as well as enhancing agency collaboration and co-ordination, improving contact with the public, and strengthening resilience.

INTERVIEW: With the Uplift recruitment programme creating a “dramatically changing workforce”, Cambridgeshire Constabulary set about engaging both the workforce and the community in drawing up a force culture statement; one result was the launch of a force-wide Leadership and Culture Programme which is already proving to be a “game changer”, as Ch Supt Becky Tipping explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: With the UK’s continuing participation in the Horizon Europe EU research programme still unresolved, the signing of a new agreement between the European Commission and New Zealand last week means that NZ police innovators and researchers will now have access to an innovation programme with a budget of more than €95 billion until 2027, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

OPINION: The public contact report that arose from Cityforum’s round table on the subject earlier this year highlighted the importance of collaboration between policing and private industry on introducing of new technology into the sector; Martin Taylor of cloud communications specialists Content Guru believes such partnerships are crucial if policing is to maximise the benefits of tech advances in an area that’s a top priority for the public.

FEATURE: With facial recognition increasingly prominent in the news agenda in recent months, a novel application of this technology has recently been announced by Nottinghamshire Police; the force’s new remote breathalyser – which integrates facial recognition technology – is the first recorded use of this tool anywhere outside of the US, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: While many UK forces have adopted trauma risk management (TRiM) approaches, the peer-led programme and trauma impact prevention techniques adopted by Durham Constabulary have been highlighted again as positive practice by HMICFRS; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to force Welfare Manager Margaret Toward about the strengths of the programme, and what sets it apart from similar initiatives.

INNOVATION: Putting a smartphone into the hands of every police employee is no simple task, especially when old systems need to be adapted to new devices; but an ongoing programme from South Australia Police seeks to do exactly that – providing 6,000 phones at a cost of $35 million, with the potential to save 30 minutes for every officer per shift, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: With police forces in England and Wales facing challenges around building female representation in the service – particularly from seldom-heard communities – Sgt Mussa Meman and PC Nikki Nabi of Lancashire Police identified that the way the police fitness test was administered was leading to a disproportionate number of failures among female applicants, and created a new community focused approach that has significantly improved pass rates and helped to increase female representation within the force.

FEATURE: New powers introduced by the European Union to tackle terrorist content online includes far-reaching obligations for host service providers both inside and outside the EU; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the regulations among tech providers, government, law enforcement and others in order for them to be effective.

FEATURE: Evidence-based policing is increasingly used to prevent crime and pursue offenders, but an innovative Cumbria Police approach is assessing student officers’ workloads and wellbeing through a crime harm index – with results including a reduction in resignations and a greater support for those early in their careers, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports

INNOVATION: In a ground-breaking Lincolnshire Police initiative, the first Indirect Victim Support Officer is now offering help, advice and guidance to the partners and children of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) offenders left devastated by their family member’s activities; PC Tom Scott spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about closing the gap in support, delivering on the duty of care, and bringing benefits for policing.

INNOVATION: With the publication of Baroness Casey’s Review the most recent development to highlight the importance of integrity in policing, the need for more effective employee vetting and screening processes is once again under the spotlight; Dr Matt Bland, Associate Professor in Evidence-Based Policing at Cambridge University, outlines the work undertaken by Master’s student Nick Dale to develop a screening solution that could be a gamechanger for UK policing.

FEATURE: While police agencies have increased their supportive responses to the trauma that can damage staff wellbeing, the role of leaders and managers in taking a preventative approach to organisational stressors has been largely overlooked; now a new paper from the Australian Institute of Police Management and Griffith University sets out a Leadership for Wellness Strategy that could address those gaps, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ANALYSIS: Ten years after the pilot of the first Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) in England and Wales, this vital safeguarding tool is now on the statute books; while other countries around the world have introduced similar schemes, Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou of Essex University believes the approaches adopted both in England and Wales and South Australia  around who can be given information, and when and how disclosures can be made, set an example for other countries to follow.

INNOVATION: A team from the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region are collaborating with colleagues across Europe to develop an app that uses machine learning to find and block images of child sexual abuse on personal devices – potentially protecting thousands of children while allowing police to target resources on the most persistent and prolific offenders, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INNOVATION: Policing faces some growing challenges around the volume and security of digital, and has been encouraged to migrate to the cloud as part of the UK Government’s Cloud First strategy; but police technology advisor Paul Kennedy, and Kate Steele, UKI Head of Public Services for Lenovo Infrastructure, believe an alternative approach focusing on infrastructure as a service could deliver greater efficiency and security as well as potential cost savings.

FEATURE: The UK’s continuing participation in the Horizon Europe research programme – a scheme that has funded a number of innovative policing and security research projects – has been in some doubt, with the funding guarantee due to end on 31 March; but the Government has now confirmed a further extension of the guarantee until the end of June 2023, with more news on the UK’s continuing engagement in the programme due soon, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

INNOVATION: Although the prevention element of policing is as old as the Peelian principles, Merseyside’s pioneering prevention strand is driving the message across the force to deliver real community benefits; Chief Constable Serena Kennedy (pictured) and Chief Superintendent Andy Ryan spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the culture change required to embed the approach, and the successes that are already evident.

INNOVATION: A new set of simple digital tools used to arrange police interviews and organise officer appearances in court are now being rolled out to forces across England and Wales by the Police Digital Service; although still in the early stages, it’s been estimated that the Video Enabled Policing programme could save more than £60m a year and free officers up to handle more complex tasks, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: As specialists and stakeholders from the UK public safety communications sector gather for this week’s BAPCO annual conference and exhibition, PoliceBox CEO Simon Hall highlights the importance of interoperability in police IT systems, and explores whether ‘Integration Platform as a Service’ products could finally provide the solution to greater co-operation and collaboration.

FEATURE: Sexual harassment and sexual assault are worryingly common features of the night-time economy for many women and girls; now a novel policing tactic being utilised by Thames Valley Police, codenamed Project Vigilant, is seeking to address the problem with a preventative approach that exploits the unique talents of ‘super recognisers’, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INNOVATION: A 12-month trial which allows officers from Queensland Police Service to use body-worn cameras to record interviews with domestic violence victims that can then be used as evidence-in-chief has been hailed a success for reducing the trauma experienced by victim-survivors and enabling officers to re-invest more time providing support, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of collaboration, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.