United Kingdom

NEWS: Lancashire has become the first police force to go live with a force-specific instance of CONNECT, Northgate Public Services' new software platform. The move has seen Lancashire over a million legacy cases, five million associated files and 10,000 live case files.

ANALYSIS: Do we really understand unconscious bias in police recruitment? Serving officer Gareth Stubbs argues that 'weak' social ties with serving officers can predict applicants' success in the police recruitment process, potentially undermining attempts to widen the diversity of police forces.

OPINION: The House of Commons Justice Select Committee in September published its report on restorative justice. Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg welcomes the report, and outlines the way that Durham has led on the development of restorative approaches.

IN THE NEWS: Our Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: CoPaCC Director, John Tizard, reflects on CoPaCC's recent "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event supported by leading law firm Fieldfisher. Many policing stakeholders contributed to the seminar discussion, including PCCs, Deputy PCCs, OPCC staff, senior and former police officers, national policing agency and government departmental officials.

OPINION: With shrinking budgets, the police are being asked to make hard choices about their priorities. Following last week's Excellence in Policing conference, Rick Muir of the Police Foundation argues that if we are to close the expectations gap, the police need to engage in a major exercise in public education.

NEWS: Policing Insight's rolling coverage of the Police Foundation's fringe event at the Labour Party conference, "Reducing crime through innovation, the role of PCCs"

OPINION: Under the current funding model, Lincolnshire is projected to face a £6 million shortfall within the next three years - more than the entire pay bill for all of the force's PCSOs. Chief Constable Neil Rhodes outlines the urgent need for an interim solution.

OPINION: Self-leadership and resilience expert Kim Adams provides an Australian perspective on policing leadership, drawing on a professional career in performance and evaluation psychology plus eight years leading research and evaluation for the Queensland Police Service.

OPINION: Brian Langston, retired Assistant Chief Constable and former member of the National Black Police Association Executive writes that the current quest for representative 'Identity' diversity in the police service is misguided and unachievable, and it should be replaced with 'Cognitive' diversity.

OPINION: Some months ago, Jenna Bradley (one of the @wecops team) asked her fellow students for suggestions for an upcoming @wecops debate. Jonny Blackwell, a Chief Inspector for West Yorkshire Police responsible for Safeguarding, suggested Child Sexual Exploitation, or CSE. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University summarises the debate, hosted by Jonny and fellow volunteer Danielle Williams.

IN THE NEWS: Our Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

BREXIT - Implications for policing: Former ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde's keynote speech to the CoPaCC "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event on Wednesday, 14th September 2016

ANALYSIS: Ian Wiggett, CoPaCC Director and former Greater Manchester Police ACC, reflects on the learning from CoPaCC's "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event last week, and asks PCCs and police chiefs, "What is the plan?"

ANALYSIS: The HMIC recently released their report on public confidence in policing - and at first glance it seems good news. However, Dr Kevin Morrell of Warwick University and Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argue that there are a number of issues with the methodology and analysis of the research that means we cannot be entirely confident in reported confidence in the police.

ANALYSIS: The recent substantial drop in police numbers led the Police Federation of England and Wales to study the impact of austerity on the welfare of officers. Mary Elliott-Davies of the Federation describes the fascination of watching results coming in - and the stark message of the early findings.

BREXIT - Implications for policing: Dorset PCC Martyn Underhill delivers his keynote speech to the CoPaCC "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event on Wednesday, 14th September 2016

NEWS: Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, invites every OPCC to participate in this year's review of PCC and OPCC transparency

ANALYSIS: Interest in heritage crime, any act which ‘harms the value of England's heritage assets and their settings to this and future generations,’ has been slowly gathering pace. Researching this marginalised area, Bethan Poyser found that understandings and perceptions of heritage crime vary greatly between place managers and the police, leading to extreme frustration for both parties.

BREXIT - Implications for policing: Policing Insight's rolling coverage of the "Brexit: Implications for Policing and Security" event

IN THE NEWS: Our Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: The use of controversial spit hoods was suspended last week in London after intervention from new Mayor Sadiq Khan. Nick Alston of Anglia Ruskin University's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region argues that not enough is known of the real risks and benefits of spit hoods, and the College of Policing needs to step up with rigorous evidence of the pros and cons.

OPINION: Laboratory reports of hepatitis C have almost doubled in three years in London, while some 59% of London's injecting drug users (classically, crack and heroin) have hepatitis C. Rory Geoghegan of the Centre for Public Safety argues that forces need to explain to the public what a spit guard is, how it works and why it is needed - and that spit guards are a no-brainer for effective policing.

NEWS: MayorWatch's Martin Hoscik reports on news of more than 4,000 Black and Minority Ethnic officers now serving in the Met Police's ranks