United Kingdom

ANALYSIS: Earlier this week, the Reform Think Tank published a new report examining the public-sector workforce of the future. Here, Reform's Alexander Hitchcock and Emilie Sundorph examine the implications of this report for policing.

ANALYSIS: Ian Wiggett, CoPaCC Director and former Greater Manchester Police ACC, reflects on the current state of police ICT, and argues that much greater collaboration on ICT between forces is urgently needed.

Interview: Tina Orr-Munro talks to former chief constable of British Transport Police, Andy Trotter who as police lead for communications, was closely involved with the implementation of Airwave

ANALYSIS: In a recent report, the the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) set out a vision of a whole-system approach to offender management, where powers, resources, and decisions are transferred to the local level. Laying out the report's key findings, author Marley Morris argues that in the long term, city region mayors or PCCs should have responsibility over probation services and custody budgets for short-sentence, young, and women offenders.

Opinion: For a number of years now, a growing number of critical communications experts from UK and around the world have been watching with horror as the UK Government, led by HM Treasury, Cabinet Office and Home Office, has attempted to deliver a next-generation communications network for public safety and emergency services personnel.

Analysis: The second report by Forensic Science Regulator Dr Gillian Tully has warned that a lack of funding for forensic science is “jeopardising the integrity of the criminal justice system”.

Opinion: Behind last month’s national crime figures another story is emerging: a growing shift in the nature of crime and a widening gap in policing demand. This in turn increases the urgency of decisions being made about future police funding.

OPINION: The penal system may not have many good news stories to tell - but one is the reduction in child arrests, down 59% since 2010. Andrew Neilson of the Howard League says the role of the police in this has been largely overlooked - but that there is still work to do to keep children from entering the criminal justice system.

opinion: PC Upile Mtitimila is a neighbourhood officer for Cheshire Police and a member of the 2016 Police Now Cohort. Here he writes about his new policing ‘family’ and how the job has matched his expectations.  

Interview: When the first cohort of exceptional graduates joined the Police Now programme, 56 per cent said they had never considered the police service as a career. Six months into their training and 'the vast majority of them' are planning to stay in the service beyond their initial two-year commitment which is encouraging news as many are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  Tina Orr-Munro talks to Kurtis Christoforides, Police Now's programme director.

Technology: We're all familiar with the police mugshot taken of the hapless offender in the police custody suite. Over the years the quality of photographs has significantly worsened. However, forces could be missing a trick because new and emerging technology means the humble and largely neglected mugshot now has a greater part to play in combating crime.

ANALYSIS: Kate Temple-Brown, Founder and Managing Director of Apprenticeship Levy specialist Aequalis, examines the implications of the new Levy for forces ahead of its national introduction on 6th April, 2017. How well prepared is your own force?

OPINION: Volunteer Reserve Deputies in the US share much of the same training and responsibilities as regular police officers - including carrying guns. Dr Iain Britton of the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice reflects on his recent trip to research volunteer Reserve Deputies in Orlando, Florida, and draws some comparisons with Special Constables in the UK.

ANALYSIS: Mike Skidmore, Senior Research Fellow at the Police Foundation, provides an overview of the Foundation's recent assessment of the scale and nature of child sexual exploitation, and draws four key conclusions.

Opinion: About 13 years ago I attended a conference on Restorative Justice hosted by Sir Charles Pollard, the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police. Charles was the early pioneer of Restorative Justice (RJ) in Policing.  At that time I was a Divisional Commander with the Lancashire Constabulary. 

OPINION: Earlier this month, Simon Chesterman, the National Police Chief's Council lead for armed policing, responded to Prof. Maurice Punch's article on armed police and the use of lethal force, arguing that command accountability is as robust as it can be under the current law. Here Prof. Punch - with Ralph Crawshaw and Geoffrey Markham - responds in turn, underlining the importance of accountability where tactics are highly likely to cause death.

OPINION: Last week’s Police ICT Summit signalled a welcome step in a positive direction, says Clare Elford, Managing Director of Clue, a technology company providing specialist investigative software. But suggests it's now time for a greater focus on effective engagement with smaller technology providers.

Interview: The Police Federation of England and Wales is currently campaigning to change the legislation to ensure that police officers who engage in pursuits and response driving can have better legal protection. Jayne Willetts, the PFEW's lead on roads policing tells Policing Insight why the service needs to get behind the campaign.

Interview: Devon and Cornwall Police are taking the national lead in combating human trafficking following the Government’s autumn announcement of £8.5m to combat the problem.  Syreeta Lund talks to DCI Ben Deer about how the force is responding.

NEWS: This conference marks the end of a three year funded research programme supported by the ESRC and UK College of Policing to support the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction. Key speakers include: Alex Marshall, CEO of the College of Policing; David Halpern, National Adviser on What Works, Cabinet Office; Professor Malcolm Sparrow, Harvard University; Sara Thornton, Head of the National Police Chiefs' Council.

OPINION: Promotion has never been easy - but increasingly some officers find it no longer an attractive proposition at all. Ben Ewart of bselected examines the promotion landscape and how officers might begin to find it an exciting opportunity once again.

OPINION: "We need both legislative change in Westminster, and we need MPs to lend their political support to Chief Constables to make spit guards available to their officers". Holly Lynch MP writes exclusively for Policing Insight on her work in Parliament and elsewhere in support of police officers' use of spit guards.

OPINION: "OSPRE Part 1 has done a disservice to a generation of officers by squandering a wealth of talent, and failing to capitalise on the unfulfilled potential that exists on the front line." Leadership coach and former ACC Brian Langston argues for the scrapping of OSPRE Part 1 as an outmoded memory test.

OPINION: Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive and Policing Insight Publisher, draws on the first day of the Police ICT Summit to examine why the Police ICT Company has substantial challenges ahead, and calls on PCCs and Chief Constables to show that they support the Company in its work.