Opinion

OPINION: Given the pressures police forces are under, Greater Manchester Police responded to the bombing of the Manchester Arena last May remarkably well. A year on, 100 officers and staff are still employed on the case. Former GMP ACC Ian Wiggett takes a closer look at the force and the fire service's response and the potential lessons learnt.

OPINION: The strain on police efficiencies is greater than ever, with one of its key contributory factors - siloed data - potentially costing police officers up to 28 days of productivity a year. Coeus Software’s CEO Simon Hall explores the effect of this and how the latest cloud and mobile technology developments, changing software procurement practices and wider digitisation in policing can help the frontline.

OPINION: Rural policing faces a perfect storm of under-funding and specialised demand. Richard Perkins, regional director at NICE Public Safety, argues that forces need to embrace digital solutions to address these challenges.

Opinion: Henry Rex, Programme Manager for Justice & Emergency Services, techUK, the trade association for digital and hi-tech companies, explores the key issues that would enable greater sharing of data across public sector organisations

Opinion: Forces are increasingly turning to technology to help tackle the steep rise in online child abuse. Zoe Rooke, of Future Digital, explains how safeguarding software can be used to monitor registered sex offenders' activity to ensure they don't re-offend.

OPINION: Serving officer Ben Crane joined the College of Policing in October 2016 to lead a pilot project with eight forces to examine some of the barriers and culture around police secondments. The project sought to place a number of senior police officers and staff into real roles outside policing for nine to 12 months. The evaluation will be published in July 2018. Here Ben discusses some of the challenges.

OPINION: The first ever Police Governance Summit took place last week in Northamptonshire, with a capacity audience. What did those attending think?

OPINION: Ahead of the inaugural Police Governance Summit this week, one of our conference contributors, Ann Reeder, CEO of Frontline Consulting Associates which leads a national project with Police and Crime Panels and the new Police, Fire and Crime Panels, examines the role of PCPs and the challenges ahead.

Opinion: Do you have a fixed mindset? In our continuing series of articles aimed at supporting you in the workplace, Jonathan Rees, owner of Momoho and an expert in developing high-performing teams in the bluelight sector, looks at how mindset influences you and your team's performance. 

BOOK REVIEW: Independent Chair of Lincolnshire Police Ethics Panel Cate Moore finds Professor Kevin Morrell and Professor Ben Bradford's 'Policing and Public Management: Governance, Vices and Virtues' takes a fresh approach to some familiar problems.

Interview: As Rob Wainwright leaves his post as director of Europol to take up a new role with Deloitte, he tells Policing Insight how better intelligence sharing has changed the face of cross- border counter-terror and child sexual exploitation investigations and how it could do the same for financial crime.

Interview: Vanessa Soames, Graduate Recruitment Director, at Police Now, has spent nearly 18 years working in student recruitment. She joined Police Now two years ago, where she developed a new recruitment campaign to attract diverse graduates into policing, especially graduates who would never have thought of joining the police. She tells Policing Insight about the campaign and why the Police Service needs it.

Opinion: According to Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology, a system deployed by South Wales Police at a football match generated a  92% False Positive Rate. Founder and CEO of facial recognition company Allevate Ltd Carl Gohringer puts the record straight on how the technology works and what the figures mean.

OPINION: Other European countries face football-related violence - and often respond to it in similar ways to the UK. However, ENABLE, a research project on football policing, is seeking to explore new ways of policing football fans. Ch. Supt. Owen West describes the project's latest visit to see how Swiss police deal with their 'Ultras'.

OPINION: The Metropolitan Police's use of a 'gang matrix' has sparked concern from Amnesty International, which has warned that it could be discriminatory. Daragh Murray and Professor Pete Fussey of the University of Essex explore the issue, and the wider human rights risks of using big data in policing.

Opinion: To coincide with National Mental Health Awareness Week, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and national mental health lead for Police and Crime Commissioners Matthew Scott details some of the work going on nationally and in Kent to try to reduce the time police officers are spending dealing with cases involving mental health.

Opinion: With Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) now increasingly used in law enforcement, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham says there are many unanswered questions as to how it is deployed, raising concerns about the lack of transparency and governance around its use.

OPINION: Homelessness has risen across the country. In the West Midlands, it has tripled over the last eight years. In a co-authored article, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson and Policy Officer Ben Twomey believe it is essential the police service offers the hand of friendship to those in need.

OPINION: Not being able to trace the identity of a private landlord can have real consequences for police - and for local residents. Ron Hogg, PCC for Durham, explains why he is backing a Private Member's Bill to make mandatory the registration of private landlords.

INTERVIEW: Director of Staff Absence Solutions Ltd Mark Eastwood has worked in the rail industry for many years treating employees following traumatic rail-related incidents. Now working with police forces, Mr Eastwood tells Policing Insight how, with the right support, officers and staff can recover from psychological and physiological conditions caused by work.

INTERVIEW: Exclusive: Greater collaboration and more licensing agreements are high on the new head of the Police ICT Company’s to-do list. CEO Ian Bell outlines the direction of travel for the company.

OPINION: The murder of Stephen Lawrence 25 years ago changed Britain - and British policing - for good. Benjamin Bowling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, King's College London, recalls the case, and reflects on the challenges still facing policing today.

OPINION: Locard’s Exchange Principle is based on the idea that every contact leaves a trace and is taught on almost every forensic science course around the globe. Veteran Army Commando and MD of Selfless Leadership Paul Kinkaid applies the principle to leadership and examines what 'traces' make a great leader.

OPINION: International policing missions are complex and challenging, and it is difficult for practitioners to share lessons from the ground. A workshop in Lisbon last year brought together experts from the field. Dr Georgina Sinclair of Strategic Expertise International introduces the background to the workshop, and its outputs - a set of essays that Policing Insight is now serialising.