Latest News, Analysis and Opinion  (Page 146)

Opinion: As the Police Foundation's latest research once again shines a light on policing's lacklustre response to fraud investigations, Policing Insight's Bernard Rix says sky-high statistics appear to have left the service too stunned to respond. Is the policing response to fraud the proverbial 'frog in boiling water'?

Opinion: Since 2013, Thames Valley Police has supported over 300 academic programmes of study by its staff. The force has now launched its first academic research journal. Its creator, Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint, explains how the Journal came into being and the impact she is hoping it will have. 

Analysis: Fraud accounts for a third of reported crime in England and Wales yet the number of cases investigated and prosecuted is tiny compared to the volume. As the Police Foundation publishes its latest research on improving the police response to fraud victims, Ian Dyson, Commissioner for the City of London Police which leads nationally on fraud, says things are changing.

ANALYSIS: The latest in our Report Watch series, summarises the findings of a report by HMICFRS’ Policing and Mental Health Report, Picking Up the Pieces, published last month (Nov 27). We look at the impact on policing, recommendations as well as stakeholder and media reactions.

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: Vast, viable and virtual: cyberspace is a new continent that cybercriminals are only just beginning to exploit. Policing Insight contributor and Senior Research Fellow at CENTRIC Andrew Staniforth explores the areas most at risk and the need for unprecedented cooperation to combat cybercrime.

Analysis: Amid the headlines that cash-strapped forces are 'sitting on' £1.4bn in reserves and calls from the Police Minister to dip into these reserves to plug the pensions' gap, former GMP ACC and CoPaCC Director Ian Wiggett explains the picture surrounding forces' use of reserves is far more complicated.

Analysis: As the Government's assessment of its future security partnership with the EU is published, Peter Joyce, Visiting Professor in Criminology at the University of Glyndŵr and Dr Wendy Laverick, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University, examine new crime trends, current EU crime-fighting tools and how Brexit impacts our ability to fight these new crime forms.

Analysis: Former police officer and Police Federation Secretary Tony Barton has seen first hand the devastating effects policing can have on mental health. Now a consultant and trainer in mental health first aid, Tony explores the stigma still surrounding mental ill-health and the role managers play in promoting an honest and open conversation.

NEWS: As Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) moves to a national system next year, National ANPR Lead Chief Constable Charlie Hall QPM tells this year’s ANPR conference that consistency is key to maintaining the integrity of the new National ANPR System (NAS) and to deflecting inevitable challenges.

OPINION: Austerity has caused deep harm to policing and it may take a generation to repair it. Former Chief Superintendent John Sutherland surveys the damage.

ANALYSIS: The road to police fire governance is a bumpy one as the last few weeks has demonstrated. With one PCC restarting, two stopping and two others mired in controversy, what may have seemed like a good idea to some is not winning any new fans. In her latest update of the Policing Insight series looking at PCCs and fire governance, Catherine Levin reports on the ups and downs of the last few weeks.

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: Reticence towards the Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) is understandable, says Dr Dominic Wood, Head of the School of Law, Criminal Justice and Computing at Canterbury Christ Church University, but it is also an opportunity for the police service to 'reassert its professional voice and standing in society'. He explains why.

NEWS: A new research network for London has been launched, encompassing four major metropolitan universities. Dr Sarah Fox explains the vision for the new network and how police forces and other agencies can get involved.

Live blog: As the police complaints system undergoes major reform, the 18th Professional Standards and Ethics National Conference 2018 meets today to consider what those changes mean for policing (26 November). We will be live blogging from the event.

OPINION: The latest crime figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) offer a grim outlook on the state of criminal justice in England and Wales. Almost as if to head off criticism, the bulletin starts: “Over recent decades, we’ve seen continued falls in overall levels of crime but in the last year the trend has […]

Analysis: Figures published this month show many forces have fully embraced social media and are using it to not only communicate crime and incident-related messages, but also to engage with the public. However, research shows there's still room for improvement.

Analysis: Earlier this month, National Police Chiefs Council Chair Sara Thornton said misogyny should not be recorded as a hate crime. Alan Beckley, a former UK police officer with 30 years service and now Research Fellow at Western Sydney University examines the implications of this approach and Australia's response to misogyny.

INSIGHT: Assaults against staff at Ashworth High Security Hospital cost the NHS nearly £400,000 in 2011. In her presentation to this year's Mental Health and Policing Conference, Merseyside Detective Constable and Mental Health Investigator Samantha Keaton explained the importance of prosecuting offenders detained in a mental health facility. Syreeta Lund reports.

FREE ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff from New Zealand Police - the first police force outside the UK to subscribe to Policing Insight. They now have FREE access to Policing Insight with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. Policing Insight is also available FREE to officers and staff in many UK forces and in other police and criminal justice organisations with an organisation wide subscription - read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

LONG READ: With the contraction of police budgets, neighbourhood policing has come under pressure in many areas. However, new College of Policing guidelines suggest it may yet stage a recovery. Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation describes a day with one of South Yorkshire's neighbourhood policing teams, and what it signals about the future of neighbourhood policing.

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.

INTERVIEW: New Zealand's crime rate has decreased drastically in recent years after the police commissioner shifted the focus from prosecution to prevention. Mary Calam, a senior expert in McKinsey’s London office, and Roland Dillon, an associate partner in McKinsey's Melbourne office, interviewed New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush on how the force achieved this remarkable transformation.