Features

Opinion: The announcement of 20,000 extra officers is welcome news, but Managing Partner for Chaucer Digital Richard Thwaite says the new officers must be supported by a huge investment in back-end technology.

INNOVATION: West Yorkshire Police's imaging team has developed an innovative approach to blending 3D laser scanning with CCTV imaging that has led to a raft of convictions. Mike Skicko from Leica Geosystems, which supplied the technology, explains how the process works.

Opinion: Police recruitment methods have failed to deliver on diversity. With 20,000 new police officers about to join the service, Chartered Psychologist Dr Pete Jones, who specialises in implicit bias around recruitment selection and assessment, warns the service not to squander this 'once in a generation' opportunity to get it right.

INSIGHT: EXCLUSIVE: Kent's Chief Constable Alan Pughsley discusses his decision to issue Tasers to all police officers in the county - including, in a national first, to Special Constables, the first of whom are already undergoing training.

Comment: The number of potential trafficking and modern slavery victims reported to UK authorities last year rose by 36 per cent, according to National Crime Agency figures. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth argues that with new trends emerging we must work closely with other European agencies to tackle the problem at all points in the process: origin, transit and destination country.

Interview: As the N8 Policing Research Partnership celebrates its fifth anniversary, Director Professor Adam Crawford explains to Policing Insight the key successes of co-produced research with police officers, and outlines the challenges that lie ahead for sustaining collaborative police and academic research partnerships.

ANALYSIS: New Home Secretary Priti Patel has promised a hardline approach to policing, with criminals feeling "terror". But do such approaches have the desired effect? Dr Will Mason of the University of Sheffield shows how one drugs crackdown in a northern city was seen by local residents as damaging trust and exacerbating the community's problems.

OPINION: Dissatisfaction with Police ICT is back in the news after Greater Manchester Police officers and staff voiced concerns about a major new system rolled out by the force. Former Greater Manchester Police ACC Ian Wiggett examines the challenges inherent in implementing a new police ICT system revealing that, regardless of the system, the grass isn't necessarily greener in other forces.

Analysis: In response to Professor Webster's article calling for an urgent debate on CCTV, former deputy CIO for the MPS and now Global Safety Adviser for Huawei Andrew Watson says the focus shouldn't be on the technology, but how the data is used. The views expressed in this article are Andrew's and do not necessarily reflect Huawei.

Analysis: Sopra Steria's Principal Consultant Benjamyn Damazer warns that Windows 7 is not fit for the demands of modern policing. Its more recent successor - Windows 10 - might meet policing requirements, but only if it is properly implemented.

analysis: Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth lays out the opportunities that the Horizon 2020 European research fund presents for policing and urges Chief Officers and PCCs to seize their chance to apply for millions of euros of funding before the Brexit deadline of the 31 October.

New Series: In the first of five papers, Dr Roy Bailey explores how the appointments process for Police and Crime Panels has created panels that do not represent the communities they serve or ensure all candidates have the adequate knowledge and experience to fulfil their role.

OPINION: The expansion of the policing task in recent decades has seen the police become the service of first resort for many social ills. Serving officer Martin Gallagher warns this is damaging police capacity, and calls for a retrenchment of policing away from issues of social cohesion to focus instead on crime.

Analysis: Following the recent announcement that a pilot which makes section 60 stop and searches easier will be extended to a further 8,000 police officers, policing commentator Ben Twomey argues the 'three pillars' of effectiveness, disproportionality and transparency still sit at the heart of good practice.

Opinion: The MPS is the first force to be issued an Enforcement Notice under the Data Protection Act 2018 but, warns Owen Sayers, an enterprise architect, privacy and security specialist with thirty years' experience in the CJS, it is unlikely to be the last. Here he examines Enforcement Notices in detail outlining what they mean for all police forces.

ANALYSIS: When most people are preoccupied with thoughts of summer holidays, there is change afoot in the world of PCCs and fire governance. Briefly thwarted by judicial reviews, both West Mercia and Cambridgeshire PCC can now make progress but, as Catherine Levin explains, it won’t be a smooth ride for either of them.

Opinion: The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is working with the MPS to clear a large backlog of requests for personal information after the force was issued with two Enforcement Notices for failing to respond within the allotted time. ICO Director of Data Protection Complaints and Compliance Suzanne Gordon offers practical advice to ensure forces meet their data protection obligations.

Innovation: what3words is an app that allows users to pinpoint locations to within 3 square metres. Here, founder Chris Sheldrick talks about how police forces have been using the app to successfully find callers in areas that are typically hard to find.

INSIGHT: With the Government's announcement of 20,000 extra officers and the suggestion that offering those completing thirty years’ service the chance to stay (or come back) might ease the pressure, Tom Wheelhouse examines whether this is a viable solution and what the alternatives might be looking at the wider issues of recruitment, retention and resettlement.

INSIGHT: In July, Policing Insight broke the story that Lincolnshire Chief Constable Bill Skelly had begun judicial review proceedings against the College of Policing’s degree entry scheme for new police officers. As the scheme has taken shape, Policing Insight has published many articles from different stakeholders on the proposals. Here is a selection of those articles.

analysis: Following the failure of the European Union Strategy to eradicate human trafficking, Europol has launched a new joint task force. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth explores the challenges it faces in trying to combat one of the largest international crime industries in the world.

ANALYSIS: With the announcement of 20,000 new police officers, the new PEQF entry routes are back in the news. However, Dr Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University warns that organisational issues bring risks - to forces, to officers, and to the PEQF itself.

analysis: Cybercriminals are turning their attentions to the healthcare industry. Medical technology and patients' records are increasingly under attack, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland's new Cyber Crime Unit is a step in the right direction to tackling this new threat, writes Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth.

Book Review: Over 600 superintendents have benefited from workshops delivered by Jonathan Rees to equip them with the skills to survive and thrive in complex and extensive command environments. Jonathan has now taken his knowledge and expertise and distilled it into 'The Resilience Toolkit - Powerful ways to thrive in blue-light services' to help others succeed.