Analysis: There have been nine reports and reviews of forensic science over the past decade, highlighting numerous problems. The latest House of Lord's report has described the quality and delivery of forensic provision as "inadequate". Keith Potter explores the ongoing issues facing this sector and what needs to change.
Interview: EXCLUSIVE: The former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation Lord Carlile of Berriew QC CBE explains to Policing Insight the challenges of delivering Prevent, defining Islamophobia, preserving peace in Northern Ireland, and what to do about Shamima Begum.
Opinion: When software developer and Special Constable Lewis Westbury witnessed a stabbing, he realised how difficult it is to remember key details. The experience prompted the founder and volunteer coordinator for Police Rewired to develop Emergency Recorder, a volunteer project that helps people capture vital information during emergencies.
Analysis: In the second of our series on the implications of the Data Protection Act 2018, Owen Sayers, an enterprise architect, privacy and security specialist with thirty years experience in the CJS, explores how the Act fits into the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations [GDPR], which came into effect May 2018.
Opinion: This Friday (May 17), the Justice and Emergency Services Committee of TechUK will launch an initiative to get police systems 'talking to each other'. Clue's Managing Director Clare Elford explains how policing could emulate the success of an initiative in the banking sector to improve the way technology supports operational officers.
15th May 2019
Advertisement Feature: Shape the future of public safety at Mission Critical Technologies 2019, the event addressing the global public safety market’s need to be quicker, smarter and more efficient at keeping citizens safe. In the build up to the event, Mission Critical Technologies has surveyed the top 100 public safety officers attending. Find out why they are attending and why you should too.
opinion: Special constable numbers have dropped by a third in five years. Could Employer Supported Policing (ESP) schemes help reverse the trend? Dr Iain Britton, from the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice (IPSCJ) attended the first ESP national conference hosted by Greater Manchester Police. He reflects on the event and on the potential for employer-supported models of volunteering in policing.
NEWS: National Crime Agency Director General Lynne Owens has called for an additional £650m a year to spearhead the fight against ‘chronic and corrosive’ serious and organised crime. Has the time come to ensure the NCA is sustainably funded once and for all?
Analysis: In March, 50 people were killed and a further 50 were wounded when a gunman opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Former UK police officer and now Research Fellow at Western Sydney University Alan Beckley takes an in depth look at the impact this tragedy has had on New Zealand as it seeks to make sense of what has happened and to prevent it ever happening again.
IN THE NEWS: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts - plus a short guide outlining how serving police officers and staff can get access, free, to many of the articles listed through the National Police Library.
opinion: In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week and following the recent publication of the Police Care UK survey on the impact of trauma on officers and staff, Mark Eastwood, senior director of SAS-fit Limited and an expert with 20-years of experience treating complex mental health issues, explains how stigma remains a barrier to those seeking treatment.
INTERVIEW: HMICFRS has raised concerns that neighbourhood policing has been eroded and forces don't know how many neighbourhood police officers they have, but Surrey Police's new Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, who holds the neighbourhood policing portfolio, says that is about to change.
OPINION: With knife crime rising, the controversy over the use and benefits of stop and search takes on greater urgency. Dr Megan O'Neill of the University of Dundee and Dr Liz Aston of Edinburgh Napier University explain how stop and search was transformed in Scotland by police and academics working together.
Analysis: What do the latest week’s crime statistics tell us about what is happening to violence? Answering this question is not as straightforward as it might sound, with the data appearing to tell us different stories. Understanding what is happening requires both a bird’s eye and a microscopic lens, says Crest Advisory's Harvey Redgrave.
7th May 2019
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Chief constable recruitment and retention, the legacy of austerity, measuring performance and maintaining transparency are just some of the issues to be explored at this year's Police Governance Summit 2019. BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for the Summit which takes place 3 - 4 July, 2019. Put the dates in your diary today - and book your place now!
OPINION: Increasing pressure on police has led to officers recording incidents, rather than actively preventing them. Serving officer Martin Gallagher warns that this trend is damaging to public confidence and that police need to position themselves as society's active guardians, not passive observers.
Analysis: Dr. Catriona Havard of The Open University and Dr. Martin Thirkettle of Sheffield Hallam University present their new research showing that small variations in the background colour of photo lineups can increase errors in identification of innocent suspects.
IN THE NEWS: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts - plus a short guide outlining how serving police officers and staff can get access, free, to many of the articles listed through the National Police Library.
Analysis: The recent Extinction Rebellion demonstrations brought the policing of protests into sharp focus with officers' seemingly 'softly, softly' approach drawing both praise and criticism. Former Greater Manchester Police ACC Ian Wiggett argues the importance of knowing where to draw the line between engaging with protesters and 'stepping in'.
Analysis: Like all forms of extremism, the rise of the far right has been ably assisted by the internet, but now law enforcement is using technology to stem the spread of extremism. Policing Insight contributor and Senior Research Fellow at CENTRIC Andrew Staniforth examines the RED-Alert project which detects content that fuels division and hatred in real time.
INSIGHT: Can a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) make a difference to how fire and rescue services are run? Each of the four PFCCs set out a local business case that said yes, they could do better and save cash along the way. Policing Insight takes a look at what progress has been made in the early stages of the transition to the new governance model for fire.
Analysis: As the new National Police Wellbeing Service is launched this week in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Nikola Muranova, a Policing Studies student and Lecturer Nick Kealey from the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies at Liverpool John Moores University review recent research into police officers attitudes towards mental health.
INSIGHT: Det Ch Supt Chris Todd is the West Midlands Police Head of Professional Standards and the NPCC Lead for Data Analytics. In this exclusive article for Policing Insight, he responds to recent press coverage suggesting that the West Midlands Police Ethics Committee had "raised the alarm" over the force's potential use of a 'predictive policing' tool.
