FEATURE: New Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called for an ‘urgent overhaul’ of the UK’s Prevent counter-terrorism strategy, in the wake of a critical independent assessment of the programme earlier this year; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the background to the strategy, and examines the politically charged nature of much of the controversy surrounding it.

ANALYSIS: A new report has highlighted the disadvantages faced by those who are neurodivergent in their dealing with the police, courts, prisons and the wider criminal justice system, and has called for more training for frontline workers in understanding the effect on behaviour of conditions such as ADHD, learning difficulties and acquired brain injury, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Regaining public trust in policing, and equipping new recruits with the necessary skills and expertise as quickly as possible, were among the key challenges for UK police leaders identified by policing academic Professor Colin Rogers and Essex Chief Constable BJ Harrington during a leadership debate at the recent London Policing College International Conference, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INTERVIEW: The period of mourning and subsequent state funeral for HM Queen Elizabeth II involved one of the UK’s largest ever policing operations at multiple locations; Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, who led Operation London Bridge, spoke to Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons about the scale and complexity of the operation, the pride and professionalism of officers and staff, and the “hidden heroes” behind the scenes.

FEATURE: A collaborative approach between police, prison and probation services to the threat posed by organised crime groups in prisons was one of the more innovative measures within the Government’s 2018 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy; new research with police officers and prison staff on Humberside offers the first evaluation of the approach, highlighting the ‘cultural shift’ driven by this multi-agency response, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: The violence that erupted this month between members of the Muslim and Hindu communities in Leicester took many community leaders by surprise, and has prompted concerns that disorder could spread to other parts of the UK; the confrontations suggest such faith-based tensions could be a worrying development, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, but a new EU project has been launched to target religion-based community conflicts.

OPINION: The changing nature of crime, the advances of new technology, and the debates around training and wellbeing are representative of just some of the contemporary challenges facing policing in England and Wales; Jonathan Jackson, Senior Teaching Fellow in Policing and Security at Birmingham City University, explores some of those key challenges, and what steps the service could be taking to address them.

ANALYSIS: New research has highlighted the need for a fresh approach to the risk assessment and management of registered sex offenders (RSOs), based on rapport rather than traditional investigative interviewing techniques; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Dr Leona Mydlowski about her review findings, the recommendations for a rethink of training, and why the focus should move from previous offences to what RSOs need to prevent future reoffending.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: NEW DATE FOR WEBINAR: Currently a high number of business crimes go unreported due to the protracted nature of reporting and sharing securely the related (often CCTV) evidence. The NICE Investigate solution addresses this issue by allowing businesses to, voluntarily, pre-register their cameras, via the ‘Business Portal’, to their local police force – to find out how, join our webinar on the new date of Tuesday, 4th October at 14:00 BST / 9:00am EDT

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The violence against women and girls delivery framework, which launched in December 2021, sets out how policing will radically improve its response to violent and sexual crimes, and build trust and confidence. The WEPROTECT instant victim referral service enables officers to provide faster access to civil legal support and court orders to help protect victims from further abuse.

ANALYSIS: New research into the experiences of youngsters involved in county lines drugs in the UK has found that a lack of effective safeguarding or guidance, a focus on enforcement rather than prevention, and a shortfall in police resources is leaving vulnerable youngsters at growing risk of criminal exploitation by organised gangs, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: This month saw the appointment of a new Commissioner and Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Service, the UK’s biggest police force; Martyn Underhill, a former Met police officer who served as Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012-2021, believes the new leadership team will have to make some swift and fairly radical changes to address the key challenges affecting public confidence and performance in the force.

FEATURE: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, countries across Europe and further afield have opened their doors to more than seven million refugees fleeing the conflict; but a new report warns that as the war continues and refugees remain in their new host countries, tensions could increase at community level, creating potential challenges for law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

OPINION: As UK policing once again faces criticism for its response to anti-monarchy protests – with officers accused of creating a ‘police state’ if they take action, and being ‘woke’ if they don’t – Senior Policing Lecturer Owen West, a former chief superintendent, argues that it’s time for policing leadership to fill the vacuum in the public debate by defending and promoting the values of the service, or risk a further loss of public trust and confidence.

INTERVIEW: With police officers across the country facing unprecedented pressure and demand, Thames Valley Police is looking to support its frontline by introducing a Behavioural Science Unit; Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar spoke to Superintendent Felicity Parker about the scale of the project and how it could reshape UK policing in the future.

OPINION: The recent death of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a shooting in Liverpool has highlighted the city’s continuing struggle with gangs, guns and violent crime; Dr Robert Hesketh, Policing Studies lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, believes a continuing pattern of social exclusion and poverty is leading to organised crime and violence on Merseyside and elsewhere, but that preventative policing could be a step towards solving the problems.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This is a world-first collaboration presenting the best available evidence that supports excellence in fighting crime, building trust and leadership to police across the globe. The programme features a range of operationally focussed and police-led strategies to tackle complex crime and policing challenges.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This year, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Homicide Working Group will be returning to The Queens Hotel, Leeds to host the 2022 National Conference for Senior Investigating Officers running from 31st October to 2nd November. In a world emerging from the Covid pandemic and returning to a new normality, and with early signs of homicide returning to pre-pandemic levels, the focus is on learning from shared investigative experience whilst adopting a reduction and homicide suppression mindset.

ANALYSIS: While there is much talk about ethics in policing, to date it would appear there has been less consideration of how to apply ethical decision-making to practical policing problems; Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Paine and Dr Hannah Maslen of Thames Valley Police outline a new approach by the force which aims to do just that.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff, students and researchers at both the University of Salford and Cardiff University who now have FREE access with the start of new organisation wide subscriptions. They join a community from many other UK and international institutions, police forces and other criminal justice organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

OPINION: The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) launched its Trouble with the Law campaign last year, pushing for police and crime commissioner (PCC) candidates, if elected, to directly involve care-experienced children in their police and crime plans; Tobiloba Osogbiye (NYAS Public Affairs and Engagement Officer) and Jennifer Downie (NYAS Policy and Research Assistant) believe PCCs’ efforts are playing a role in reducing the criminalisation rates of care-experienced children – but more could be done.

OPINION: In what are widely recognised as difficult times for policing, new technology could help to transform service delivery and performance, but is still often regarded as a problem rather than an opportunity; Martin Taylor of cloud communications specialists Content Guru believes the successful implementation of that technology – particularly in relation to omnichannel public contact – could achieve real transformative benefits for both police and the public.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has sadly died today. Our publisher Bernard Rix expresses condolences on behalf of the the team at Policing Insight and PolicingTV.

OPINION: A year on from taking up her appointment as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead in tackling violence against women and girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth reflects on UK policing’s efforts and achievements over the past 12 months, and the plans for continued progress going forwards.