FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff at Northumbria Police and South Wales Police who now have FREE access with the start of new organisation wide subscriptions purchased by their forces. They join a community of officers and staff from many other UK and international police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

FEATURE: As specialists and stakeholders from the UK public safety communications sector gather for this week’s BAPCO annual conference and exhibition, PoliceBox CEO Simon Hall highlights the importance of interoperability in police IT systems, and explores whether ‘Integration Platform as a Service’ products could finally provide the solution to greater co-operation and collaboration.

FEATURE: In the last in The Police Student current series on Key Issues in Contemporary Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the crisis around police wellbeing and mental health, including the impact on officers of dealing with traumatic and stressful events, how changes to staffing levels, resources and opportunities for recovery have exacerbated welfare concerns, and what needs to be addressed going forwards.

FEATURE: Four pilots of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are now underway in England and Wales, but only in Merseyside are the powers being trialled force-wide; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Supt Phil Mullally about the impact of SVROs, the use of associated stop and search powers, and the potential for the orders to reduce violent crime.

LATEST RESEARCH: 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.

OPINION: Having previously withdrawn from the UK police pay review over concerns around lack of independence, this year the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) has rejoined the process with a detailed submission and a unique joint pay statement alongside chief officers and police and crime commissioners; PSA President Paul Fotheringham warns that with the service in a “critical position”, the Government cannot afford to ignore such strong sentiment and “irrefutable evidence”.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: For over 30 years policing has followed a model of ‘siloed’ digital solutions, with frontline staff reliant on a variety of products from multiple vendors. Today’s connected officer can now tap into a huge range of apps and information via a single integrated interface on their mobile device. In the first in a series of articles, Ian Williams outlines the workflow efficiency benefits of Motorola Solutions’ Pronto digital policing platform.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, about the negligible impact of the National Intelligence Model, the myth of the criminals’ code of silence, and policing’s inability to reduce the supply of drugs.

ANALYSIS: The third and final report of the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing highlighted opportunities missed by the intelligence services to prevent the attack, and failings in the response of police and others; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth believes the overall findings of the inquiry underline several key lessons to be learned, and the importance of an holistic approach to avoid further tragedies.

FEATURE: In the first in a series of articles celebrating this month’s International Women’s Day, Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn and Dr Anna Hopkins of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department explore both the current challenges for police and the wider criminal justice system, and the work being done by OU Policing, in support of women and the issues they face.

FEATURE: Sexual harassment and sexual assault are worryingly common features of the night-time economy for many women and girls; now a novel policing tactic being utilised by Thames Valley Police, codenamed Project Vigilant, is seeking to address the problem with a preventative approach that exploits the unique talents of ‘super recognisers’, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Police officers and staff investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) are regularly exposed to traumatic images and videos; but following a survey of officers in 2022, and a conference for CSAE investigators earlier this year, Dr Theresa Redmond of the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) highlights that it’s often the culture and work-based support around the officer, rather than the horrific imagery itself, that has the greatest impact on wellbeing.

INNOVATION: A 12-month trial which allows officers from Queensland Police Service to use body-worn cameras to record interviews with domestic violence victims that can then be used as evidence-in-chief has been hailed a success for reducing the trauma experienced by victim-survivors and enabling officers to re-invest more time providing support, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The sixth national Mental Health and Policing conference, supported by Policing Insight, takes place 4-5 May 2023 at the Leonardo Hotel and Conference Venue, Hinckley Island. Register your place today!

OPINION: RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki will retire later this month, after almost five years leading the service during a period of successive crises including the first unionization of its officers and a class-action lawsuit over allegations of bullying and harassment; but Dr Eli Sopow argues that changing the person at the helm of the service will do little to address the structural and cultural challenges it faces.

ANALYSIS: The Public Order Bill making its way through the UK Parliament has attracted both support and criticism, with opponents highlighting concerns around new police powers in relation to protest techniques such as ‘locking on’ and tunnelling; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a subject matter expert on public order policing, believes the Bill balances the right to protest with need for new laws to tackle the more disruptive actions of protestors.

FEATURE: In his latest annual report the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC) – who regulates the way police use biometrics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – challenges how policing is deploying facial recognition; a separate survey by the Office of the BSCC also raises major concerns that policing is “shot through” with Chinese surveillance tech, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Learn how Cumbria Constabulary empowers their force to reduce costs and boost efficiency with Axon technologies. By collecting and managing evidence with digital tools, Cumbria officers are better able to focus on what brought them to the force to begin with – being in the community.

FEATURE: As stakeholders from across the criminal justice system gathered last month for a Met Police innovation hub to rebrand out-of-court disposals (OOCDs) ahead of the launch of new two-tier framework, it was confirmed that any new name for the measures would be likely to go out to public consultation to ensure that communities are given a voice, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

LATEST RESEARCH: 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.

FEATURE: Against the backdrop of the public outcry over police criminality and misconduct, Psychologist Dr Heather Taylor argues that the key to reducing the risk of problematic workforce behaviours lies as much in the hands of thoughtful leadership and effective HR management as it does in a powerful culture of vetting checks and professional standards enforcement.

INTERVIEW: In the second of a two-part interview with Policing Insight, West Midlands Chief Superintendent Harvi Khatkar, Vice-President of the Police Superintendents' Association (PSA), spoke to Keith Potter about opportunities to change the narrative around policing, the need for clarity over policing’s role, and the pressures impacting on the wellbeing of superintendents.

ANALYSIS: This month’s 2023 Australian threat assessment maintained that the risk of terrorist attacks was ‘possible’ rather than ‘probable’; but Dr John Coyne, head of the Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warns that the domestic terror threat hasn’t gone away, and that policing’s focus on early intervention around extremist beliefs could prove counter-productive.

FEATURE: New research suggests that by 2026, one in every four people will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse to work, study, shop and socialise; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at what this will mean for law enforcement, and how organisations such as INTERPOL are playing a key role in preparing policing for a very different beat.