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.
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: 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.
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.
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: 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.
30th December 2017
NEWS: The New Year Honours lists for 2018 recognise the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom. Many congratulations to those in and associated with policing who have been recognised this year...
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.
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.
