Features

Opinion: Mark Cooper, director of Greymalkin Consulting, looks back at some of the work undertaken throughout 2017 to tackle the scourge of modern slavery and considers the challenges that lie ahead.

Opinion: At eight years of age, Scotland’s age of criminal responsibility is the lowest in Europe. The country is currently poised to raise it to 12, but Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, asks why aren't England and Wales following suit?

Analysis: The police use of social media has seen a massive surge in recent years and has given forces, teams and individuals the opportunity to engage with their local communities and beyond in a way never before experienced. It hasn’t always been been a smooth road and there have been some complications engendered by the open and public nature of the medium, says Cheshire Police's Neil Dewson-Smyth who looks at how forces can improve their performance.

Opinion: The revolving door of justice perplexes many working within the criminal justice system, but Police and Crime Commissioners are in a prime position to stop the cycle of offending. Emma Casey, Policy and Public Affairs Officer for the charity, Revolving Doors Agency, explains how could be achieved.

OPINION: As the New Year begins, yet another scandal has emerged involving potential Scottish government interference with the operation of Police Scotland. Nick McKerrell of Glasgow Caledonian University warns that the crisis in Scottish policing is a structural one - and that without an examination of those structural causes, these crises cannot be resolved.

ANALYSIS: The latest CoPaCC thematic report 'Police ICT: User perspectives' was published recently. The report provides a unique insight into the views of the frontline on the provision of ICT in their force, based on CoPaCC's national survey. Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, takes a look at user responses to Question 2 (of eleven).

ANALYSIS: The Police Foundation's in-depth, five year exploration of local policing, Police Effectiveness in a Changing World, has recently come to an end. Here, Andy Higgins of the Foundation explores the key themes that have emerged from the study.

OPINION: The effects of austerity mean that the pace of innovation in policing may be slowing - but the demand for it is not. In the first of a series, serving officer Gareth Stubbs looks at technology in policing, and argues that innovation isn't a luxury, but a necessity, and one that requires real investment.

ANALYSIS: Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of working in cross-force collaborations, there remain many obstacles to effective collaborative endeavours between forces. Dr Xavier L”Hoiry of Sheffield University explores the obstacles and proposes ways of overcoming them.

OPINION: Can 'Alexa' and other similar devices help forces manage demand?  Rob Flanagan, former police officer and now Innovation Manager for Lancashire Constabulary, believes they can as his force is poised to launch an Amazon app that taps into Alexa's potential.

ANALYSIS: The latest CoPaCC thematic report 'Police ICT: User perspectives' was published recently. Following a survey of police officers from 44 police forces, the report provides a unique insight into the views of the frontline on the provision of ICT in their force. Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, takes a look at user responses to Question 1 of the survey, and identifies some potential "quick wins" for forces and suppliers.

BOOK REVIEW: A new book, 'What Matters in Policing,' by Maurice Punch, Auke van Dijk and Frank Hoogewoning, argues that the complexity of modern policing needs a new, comprehensive way of defining what is really important in policing, and how police leadership needs to adapt. Policing Insight's editor Carina O'Reilly reviews the book.

LONG READ: Has the pendulum swung too far towards leadership in policing at the expense of management? Serving officer Jim Gale argues that it has, and that this presents real long-term reputational and strategic risks to the service.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders and media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS' PEEL Police legitimacy 2017 which provides a national overview report based on inspections carried out from April to July 2017. Overall, forces' legitimacy is improving, but there remain concerns over disparities in stop and search.

Opinion: New year, new you? In the fourth of a 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, helps you identify your 'time pirate' and its impact on your performance.

OPINION: Newly-retired chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Steve White, says the service is still in need of radical reform. Here, he suggests a way to drive change.

ANALYSIS: The recent NCA report on County Lines highlighted the disturbing trend of children being targeted to work for drugs' gangs. In the second of two articles, highlighting those children most at risk and the work underway to tackle the problem, Tina Orr-Munro interviews Andy Passingham and Paul Maslin, co-founders of www.safeguardinghub.com and experienced police officers specialising in safeguarding.

INSIGHT: Recording footage is the easy step, what comes next is much harder. All that data must be securely stored and managed – that's where digital asset and evidence management systems come into play. In this article from the CoPaCC thematic report 'Body-worn Video in Policing', Stephen Roberts looks at how police forces are meeting the challenge.

ANALYSIS: Body-worn video is one of the most significant emerging technologies in policing, but robust analysis of its effects has been limited. Elizabeth Linos, Joanne Reinhard, Simon Ruda and Michael Sanders of the Behavioural Insights Team report the results of a large-scale randomised control trial in one UK police force.

ANALYSIS: The recent National Crime Agency report on County Lines highlighted the disturbing trend of children being targeted to work for drugs' gangs. In the first of two articles, examining the nature of County Lines, Tina Orr-Munro interviews Andy Passingham and Paul Maslin, co-founders of www.safeguardinghub.com and experienced police officers specialising in safeguarding.

Opinion: Smart data analysis technology has existed for many years so why haven't forces made the most of it? Clare Elford, Managing Director of Clue which provides investigative software, explores the challenges faced by forces and offers a solution.

Opinion: Former prison governor, Ian Acheson,  who led the 2016 landmark review of Islamist extremism in prisons and probation says the solution to Specials' recruitment has been there all along - prison officers.

ANALYSIS: Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation, examines this week's Home Office announcement of the police finance settlement for 2018/19 - and concludes that, "whilst there is some cause for seasonal cheer", the announcement is unlikely to prevent further reductions in the quality and scope of neighbourhood policing.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS: Our Publisher, Bernard Rix, reflects on Policing Insight's last twelve months, sets out our Christmas and New Year schedule, and takes a look on what we're planning for 2018...