NEWS: A senior officer with the rank of Assistant Chief Constable has been appointed by two police forces with the specific role of developing a strategic alliance in order to save £20 million within four years.

POLICE FEDERATION CONFERENCE: The Home Office has the speed of a tractor, not a racing car, when it comes to helping the Police Federation of England and Wales to reform itself, the General Secretary of the staff association has said.

OPINION: The Police have delivered "more for less" for five years and we should celebrate that more.

NEWS: The Police Federation has this afternoon published three important documents. Together, they help to demonstrate the Police Federation’s determination to move forward with implementing the recommendations of Sir David Normington’s review, published last year. This review had argued, amongst other matters, for “a complete change in its openness and accountability”.

REPORT: To mark the launch of CoPaCC's process to audit PCCs' progress in meeting their requirements for statutory transparency, CEO Bernard Rix gives an overview of the criteria and performance of PCCs so far.

REPORT: An open invitation to PCCs to support the CoPaCC “PCCs and statutory transparency - revisited” Thematic

POLICE FEDERATION CONFERENCE: In an interview with Royston Martis, following the Home Secretary's speech to Police Federation conference delegates yesterday, Federation Chair Steve White responds to her criticism and discusses working with the newly elected government.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Labour MP turned PCC for Nottinghamshire Paddy Tipping talks to Nick Alatti about addressing the funding gap and his crusade to attract more Black and Asian officers.

IN THE NEWS: Gary Mason reviews the week’s national and local police news.

Police Federation Conference: Police and crime commissioners can help repair the police service’s relationship with the Government, the Police Federation annual conference has heard. Royston Martis reports on the "Political Challenge" session today.

EXCLUSIVE: Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has this afternoon addressed the Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s quarterly meeting where she set out her plans for further police reform.

NEWS: The chief constables and police and crime commissioners for three forces have signed an agreement to extend their collaboration to cover HR and training.

NEWS: North Yorkshire Police has set up a new Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) hub to improve its ability to deal with cross border criminality.

NEWSLINK: This morning’s Daily Express carries an article headlined “Police spend £32 million on media ‘spin doctors’ as bobbies are cut”. The article suggests that this is sufficient to fund more than 600 front-line officers.

OPINION: Nick Alatti talks to Olly Martins about the recent council tax referendum defeat and his controversial period in office as a Labour PCC for Bedfordshire.

OPINION: In light of the General Election result, PCCs are here to stay. Lord Toby Harris outlines his views on the development of their role and argues for greater ambition.

ANALYSIS: Ailsa Beaton looks at the implications for law enforcement and security agencies and whether there are real benefits or just more bureaucracy and cost.

ANALYSIS: Dr Tim Brain analyses the failure of the referendum, it's poor prospects for success and the resulting financial and political repercussions.

NEWS LINK: Announcement of city devolution plans raises questions about policing governance.

REPORT: The latest in the CoPaCC Thematic Report series presents, and provides analysis of, submissions from nine OPCCs and ten stakeholder organisations.

IN THE NEWS: Gary Mason reviews the week’s national and local police news.

NEWS: South Yorkshire Police this week started a new neighbourhood policing system, which uses changes in shift patterns and mobile technology to try and provide 24-hour policing cover while reducing costs by more than £8 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Nick Alatti interviews the Conservative PCC for Northamptonshire examining progress on his crime plan, value for money and some notable controversies.

OPINION: Gary Mason argues that the serious shortcomings of the Bedfordshire police precept referendum may preclude their use in future.