United Kingdom

IN THE NEWS: Michelle Newell reviews the week’s local and national news, including developments on police funding, details of new policing models in two forces, plus the launching of the independent child sexual abuse inquiry.

NEWS BRIEF: Essex PCC Nick Alston announces he will not run in the May 2016 PCC elections

OPINION: Bedfordshire Police Federation Chairman Jim Mallen's view of the Bedfordshire / Cambridgeshire / Hertfordshire control room merger

EXCLUSIVE: Lord Carlile, Chair of the London Policing Ethics Panel, exclusively writes for Policing Insight on the findings of the Panel's first "Police Encounters with the Public" report out today which covers routine and non-covert interactions.

OPINION: Emma Williams, supported by serving officers "Nathan Constable" and "Dedicated Peeler", ask for your participation in a crowdsourcing project in which police change programs are "re-imagined" as staffed by the federated ranks and equivalent staff grades.

NEWS: The Home Office Permanent Secretary, giving evidence at the Public Accounts Committee, provides more details of the police funding formula review

NEWS BRIEF: Derbyshire PCC Alan Charles announces he will not run in the May 2016 PCC elections

OPINION: Patricia Moberly, a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, reflects on the Committee's recently published work examining policing integrity.

ANALYSIS: Dr Timothy Brain examines the impact on policing of the Summer Budget 2015

NEWSLINK: The Home Office publishes statistics on the use of Taser by police in 2014 showing a small decrease of 3% since 2013 but a 50% increase since 2010. In light of the of inquest verdict on the Jordan Begley case, the NPCC responds by defending the use of Taser but calling for the medical evidence to be referred to an independent body for review.

OPINION: On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas, Vice President of the Police Superintendents' Association, reflects on a recent visit to the small town where more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, mostly men and boys, were killed.

IN THE NEWS: Gary Mason reviews the week’s local and national news including a landmark police firearms case at the Old Bailey and a justification for poor arrest rates among Special Constables

OPINION: Richard Rhodes, the Conservative PCC for Cumbria talks about the challenges facing a rural police force and why all merger plans must be resisted.

ANALYSIS: Paul Grady and Stephanie Liu from leading police auditors Grant Thornton, examine the key areas of challenge faced by police audit committees: engaging with the wider organisation; effective risk management; and integrated governance and the role of the audit committee.

OPINION: Matthew Ellis contributes his views to the consultation on a new delivery model for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFARS) and argues that an integrated police and fire service should be considered.

ANALYSIS: Simon Bullock takes a look at the "Reshaping Policing for the Public" discussion paper recently published by the advisory group on the national debate on policing in austerity. Can the report help bridge the fundamental difference of opinion between policy makers and police leaders?

OPINION: Jon Harvey provides his impressions from the launch last week of the report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, on leadership, ethics and accountability in policing plus a personal response by Lord Bew the committee chairman, addressing the six key questions Jon raises.

NEWSLINK: Essex PCC and Police ICT Company Chairman Nick Alston speaks about the Company’s inception, its aims and ambitions for the future.

NEWSLINK: We collate the three reports on child protection looking at the business processes of police forces, the results of a national programme of child protection inspections and a report on the police service’s efforts to tackle online child sexual exploitation plus stake holder responses.

REPORT: Download the latest report covering policing and police and crime commissioner activity during June.

NEWSLINK: Criminal justice agencies must do more to make sure they treat victims with dignity and respect, the Victims’ Commissioner said today.

ANNOUNCEMENT: With the confirmation that PCCs are here to stay, CoPaCC outlines its plans to help declared and potential PCC candidates, policing commentators and interested members of the public prepare for the PCC elections in May 2016.

ANALYSIS: This article, by a former Chief Constable now Chairman of the Yorkshire Ambulance NHS Trust, is the first in an occasional series taking a high level look at the work of key criminal justice, emergency service and other policing partners.

NEWSLINK: Leadership across all ranks and roles needs to change in order to help policing meet challenges of the future, according to a final report published by the College of Policing today.