United Kingdom

ANALYSIS: The proposed absorption of British Transport Police into Police Scotland appears to be steaming ahead regardless of unresolved problems, deep opposition from BTP officers, and ever-increasing reputational risks. Independent researcher Dr Kath Murray and Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland explain the ongoing issues.

Opinion: Forces are increasingly turning to technology to help tackle the steep rise in online child abuse. Zoe Rooke, of Future Digital, explains how safeguarding software can be used to monitor registered sex offenders' activity to ensure they don't re-offend.

OPINION: Serving officer Ben Crane joined the College of Policing in October 2016 to lead a pilot project with eight forces to examine some of the barriers and culture around police secondments. The project sought to place a number of senior police officers and staff into real roles outside policing for nine to 12 months. The evaluation will be published in July 2018. Here Ben discusses some of the challenges.

OPINION: The first ever Police Governance Summit took place last week in Northamptonshire, with a capacity audience. What did those attending think?

NEWS: The Police and Crime Commissioner of Dorset Police has officially announced at the CoPaCC Police Governance Summit, that Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police are set to merge into a single force by May 2020 when the next Police and Crime Commissioner elections are due to take place. 

ANALYSIS: More than three quarters of shop theft and burglaries are carried out by drug-addicted offenders - but many existing sanctions like short-term prison sentences have little effect. Rory Geoghegan, Head of Criminal Justice for the Centre for Social Justice, calls for a new two-year 'Second Chance' programme in a new report, Desperate for a Fix.

Analysis: The National Speed Awareness Course is offered by nearly all police forces in England and Wales and provides eligible offending drivers with a short course of retraining as an alternative to punishment for low-level speeding offences, but does it work? Researcher Sarah Heseltine takes a look at the findings of the DfT's recent evaluation.

ANALYSIS: In the final extract from Vigilant Research’s in depth report on police futures technology, Director Stephen Roberts explores the threat from future technology-enabled criminality.

OPINION: Ahead of the inaugural Police Governance Summit this week, one of our conference contributors, Ann Reeder, CEO of Frontline Consulting Associates which leads a national project with Police and Crime Panels and the new Police, Fire and Crime Panels, examines the role of PCPs and the challenges ahead.

Opinion: Do you have a fixed mindset? In our continuing 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, looks at how mindset influences you and your team's performance. 

BOOK REVIEW: Independent Chair of Lincolnshire Police Ethics Panel Cate Moore finds Professor Kevin Morrell and Professor Ben Bradford's 'Policing and Public Management: Governance, Vices and Virtues' takes a fresh approach to some familiar problems.

Interview: As Rob Wainwright leaves his post as director of Europol to take up a new role with Deloitte, he tells Policing Insight how better intelligence sharing has changed the face of cross- border counter-terror and child sexual exploitation investigations and how it could do the same for financial crime.

Interview: Vanessa Soames, Graduate Recruitment Director, at Police Now, has spent nearly 18 years working in student recruitment. She joined Police Now two years ago, where she developed a new recruitment campaign to attract diverse graduates into policing, especially graduates who would never have thought of joining the police. She tells Policing Insight about the campaign and why the Police Service needs it.

Opinion: According to Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology, a system deployed by South Wales Police at a football match generated a  92% False Positive Rate. Founder and CEO of facial recognition company Allevate Ltd Carl Gohringer puts the record straight on how the technology works and what the figures mean.

ANALYSIS: The Scottish town of Paisley has experienced troubling increases in violent crime over the past year, prompting a robust response from the local division of Police Scotland. Martin Gallagher and Del Middleton, two of the architects of this response, provide the context and outline of this policing initiative. Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland reflects upon the impact of this work for local communities and, importantly, for the police service itself.

ANALYSIS: In an age of unpredictable terrorist attacks, how can the emergency services ensure that they are fully prepared? Dr Nicola Power and Olivia Brown of Lancaster University, and Dr Laura Boulton of the University of Central Lancashire, explain how the lessons from last year's Manchester attack can be applied on the ground.

OPINION: Other European countries face football-related violence - and often respond to it in similar ways to the UK. However, ENABLE, a research project on football policing, is seeking to explore new ways of policing football fans. Ch. Supt. Owen West describes the project's latest visit to see how Swiss police deal with their 'Ultras'.

OPINION: The Metropolitan Police's use of a 'gang matrix' has sparked concern from Amnesty International, which has warned that it could be discriminatory. Daragh Murray and Professor Pete Fussey of the University of Essex explore the issue, and the wider human rights risks of using big data in policing.

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 Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology which it warns is being used indiscriminately and without proper oversight and regulation by some police forces.

PRIZE DRAW: Are you employed by a UK police force? We would like to invite officers and staff to take part in CoPaCC's second annual Police ICT User Survey 2018. Get your views heard by those managing, delivering and planning the information and communications technology (ICT) critical to your role. Take part to help improve your ICT provision and for the chance to win the latest Apple iPad!

ANALYSIS: In its report, Reducing Modern Slavery, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed concerns surrounding the inconsistency of the police service’s response to the crime which has prompted the NCA Director General to consider intervention. Policing Insight reports.

ANALYSIS: In the second of three extracts from Vigilant Research’s latest in depth report on police technology futures, Director Stephen Roberts examines futures capability in other public sectors.

Opinion: To coincide with National Mental Health Awareness Week, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and national mental health lead for Police and Crime Commissioners Matthew Scott details some of the work going on nationally and in Kent to try to reduce the time police officers are spending dealing with cases involving mental health.

INSIGHT: The first annual Police Governance Summit will take place on 6th-7th June in Northamptonshire. Bernard Rix, Chief Executive of Summit organisers CoPaCC, identifies a number of highlights from the programme, and identifies three reasons why the Summit will help key stakeholders prepare for new policing challenges that lie ahead.