United Kingdom

ANALYSIS: Neighbourhood Policing guidelines were issued by the College of Policing last week. Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation argues they are not just important for policing on the ground: their success or failure will tell us a lot about the capacity of our national policing infrastructure to deliver real reform.

Opinion: Sharing big data holds enormous potential for policing, but it's a journey the fire service embarked on some years ago. Evan Morris MBE, former Head of Community Safety for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers' Association lead on Ageing Safely Strategy outlines the fire services experience and the benefits to be had.

OPINION: In her presentation at this year’s Police Governance Summit 2018, Independent Chair for Lincolnshire Police Ethics Committee Cate Moore explored how ethical considerations can influence and inform good governance to deliver the public good. The following is an abridged version of her presentation.

Analysis: Revolving Doors Agency, together with Barrow Cadbury Trust and Transition to Adulthood Alliance, publishes a new report Spotlight on Substance Misuse which looks at how PCCs reduce alcohol and drug addiction and reduce crime in their local areas.

OPINION: The cosmetic store Lush has suspended its 'spy cops' campaign after complaints that the displays were damaging and offensive to ordinary officers. Dr Kelly J. Stockdale of York St John University argues that the resistance to the Lush campaign shows that the police and government are still unwilling to respond to changing police priorities.

OPINION: The issue of degree-level entry for police officers has been much discussed in recent weeks. Carina O'Reilly, an editor at Policing Insight and also both an academic and a local councillor, argues that the ongoing controversy is one of legitimacy - and offers some lessons from local government on how to resolve it.

OPINION: In the wake of the ongoing debate over new police entry routes and the Police Educational Qualification Framework, Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argues that knowledge in policing needs to be recognised as reflexive, and police education as a two-way process.

ANALYSIS: Body-worn video cameras (BWC) are increasingly standard issue in British police forces, with a range of potential benefits. Stuart Lister of the University of Leeds outlines findings from recent research into the use of BWCs in domestic abuse incidents - and how the benefits of BWCs may be limited by organisational constraints.

ANALYSIS: One year on from the launch of the Policing Insight series looking at PCCs and fire governance, Catherine Levin finds that the road to fire governance is fraught with obstacles and these will likely discourage other PCCs from following any time soon.

Analysis: Mental health researcher and practitioner Dr Jane McGregor is currently writing a book on coping with stress in the emergency services. Her interviews with police officers reveal problems of morale, overwork and high stress which mean many are considering quitting the service. 

OPINION: Business Lead for Digital Policing for West Yorkshire Police Chief Inspector Ian Williams explores his force's digital transformation and what a difference the right application can make to frontline policing.

Opinion: Giles Herdale, co-chair of the Independent Digital Ethics Panel for Policing (IDEPP), explains the importance of ethics in digital policing and the role of the panel in ensuring forces factor ethics into their digital policing programmes from the outset.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Policing Insight has over a thousand in depth articles on a wide range of policing issues. SPOTLIGHT ON is a new series which groups articles under one subject heading allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Here, we tackle facial recognition technology which recently hit the headlines raising questions and concerns as to its role in policing.

OPINION: Though recorded crime has fallen over the last decade, demand is rising, and policing vulnerability is the order of the day. Serving officer Martin Gallagher argues that the focus has shifted too far: police need to take a step back from these multiple demands and focus on traditional police work.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: There are plenty of generic scheduling solutions that work great for organisations with simple shift patterns or your typical 9-5. InTime’s mission is to provide advanced scheduling and workforce management tools for complex organisations that don’t fit that mould.

OPINION: The will to share data in policing exists, but the mechanisms to do so remain unwieldy. Boyd Mulvey, CEO of Chorus Intelligence, argues that removing the barriers demonstrates what can be achieved and will encourage greater sharing.

INSIGHT: Our new series, exclusive to Policing Insight, examines the impact of cyber-crime on UK policing. In the first of three articles, CEO and co-founder of Cyber Security Intelligence Alfred Rolington explores the '4th Industrial Revolution' and the factors leading to the emergence of cyber-crime.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS's State of Policing report which is HMCIC Sir Thomas Winsor's assessment of the current effectiveness and efficiency of policing based on the Peel Inspections carried out last year.

OPINION: Following on from his presentation at this year's Modernising Justice Conference on unpacking Greater Manchester Police's mobile revolution, Chief Superintendent Phil Davies, Director of GMP's Information Services Transformation, shares the lessons learnt from the process.

ANALYSIS: Organised crime has been glamourised by fictional portrayals, and many people don't believe it affects their daily life. However, real-life organised crime flourishes in vulnerable, fractured communities. Dr Niall Hamilton-Smith of the University of Stirling explores the reality of organised crime in Scotland.

OPINION: Given the pressures police forces are under, Greater Manchester Police responded to the bombing of the Manchester Arena last May remarkably well. A year on, 100 officers and staff are still employed on the case. Former GMP ACC Ian Wiggett takes a closer look at the force and the fire service's response and the potential lessons learnt.

OPINION: The strain on police efficiencies is greater than ever, with one of its key contributory factors - siloed data - potentially costing police officers up to 28 days of productivity a year. Coeus Software’s CEO Simon Hall explores the effect of this and how the latest cloud and mobile technology developments, changing software procurement practices and wider digitisation in policing can help the frontline.

OPINION: Rural policing faces a perfect storm of under-funding and specialised demand. Richard Perkins, regional director at NICE Public Safety, argues that forces need to embrace digital solutions to address these challenges.

Opinion: Henry Rex, Programme Manager for Justice & Emergency Services, techUK, the trade association for digital and hi-tech companies, explores the key issues that would enable greater sharing of data across public sector organisations