United Kingdom

OPINION: As successful private sector organisations look to develop customer service models built on a rapid and efficient response, UK policing is finding itself struggling with delays in service, lengthy backlogs, and in some cases no response at all; Devon and Cornwall Acting Superintendent Stephen Lenney argues that by changing to a ‘today’s policing today’ approach, forces could improve service, reduce costs and waste, and increase public confidence.

ANALYSIS: With rising inflation, the continuing increase in energy costs, global supply chains under pressure and a cost-of-living crisis, funding for policing and the wider UK public sector remains extremely challenging; Charlotte Radford, Police Advisor for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), believes there’s a real threat of further cuts to an already over-stretched back office staff – and effective long-term financial planning will be crucial.

FEATURE: The launch in March of the Police Foundation’s influential Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales was heralded by many as an opportunity to rethink and reset some of the key policing parameters, aims and approaches; ahead of next month’s conference focusing on the Review, Canterbury Centre for Policing Research Director Dr Martin O’Neill revisits some of those recommendations, and considers a few of the important questions that will be debated over the two days.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: In the first two months of 2022, Hampshire Constabulary collected over 11,000 pieces of digital evidence from businesses and citizens, each typically consuming an hour of an officer’s time. To address these challenges, Hampshire Constabulary and other SERIP forces have deployed the NICE Investigate Digital Evidence Management solution.

INTERVIEW: NPCC National Drugs Co-ordinator Mark Lay believes the Government’s 10-year, multi-agency drug strategy, with its focus on cross-sector data sharing and wrap around support for addicts, together with programmes to tackle recreational drug use and target those areas affected worst by the drugs trade, leave the UK in ‘one of the best positions in more than 30 years’, as he told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff at Hertfordshire Constabulary, who now have FREE access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community of officers and staff from many other UK and international police forces with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

OPINION: Among the many reasons given for the ‘unacceptable’ levels of police detections of acquisitive crime in England and Wales, effective investigative technology (or the lack of it) has a key part to play; Iain Donnelly, a former digital investigations and intelligence force lead and now advisor to technology companies working with policing, believes a lack of understanding among senior leaders, a default of dealing with large corporates, and the overfocus on digital forensics are among the key issues.

OPINION: The recently published UK Conservative white paper targeting ‘recreational’ drugs users suggests a three-tier approach for offenders, escalating from fixed penalties to passport confiscation; but Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, believes the proposals lack any evidence base, contradict existing government diversion schemes, and are a ‘recipe for confused police enforcement’.

FEATURE: Data is widely recognised as a key enabler in policing’s digital transformation, but the quality of that data is crucial, especially when it comes to location; Phill Ridley of 1Spatial, Durham Chief Constable Jo Farrell, and Teresa Ashforth, PND Data Quality & Standards Lead at the Home Office, highlight the benefits that can be achieved through the use of UPRNs, and the steps that all forces can take to improve their data quality.

ANALYSIS: The CIA’s assassination earlier this month of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri – regarded as the ‘operational brains’ behind the 9/11 attacks – marked another stage in the ongoing international effort to prevent terrorist atrocities; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the impact of al-Qaeda and 9/11 on shaping the UK’s current counter-terror landscape.

OPINION: The recent case of Child Q has highlighted the use of strip searches by police, particularly in relation to searches of children and the disproportionate use of the process involving Black, Asian and minority ethnic people; Matteo Tiratelli, Political Sociology Lecturer at UCL, believes the lack of accurate data around strip-searches in the UK underlines the need for a much wider debate about the issue.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The National Police Chiefs' Council Disability in Policing Conference, supported by Policing Insight, is a unique opportunity improve equality and inclusion for one of the largest protected groups in policing. Register today for the event taking place 28th-29th September at the Holiday Inn Coventry.

FEATURE: With the cyber threat growing continuously and becoming increasingly aggressive, law enforcement and public authorities will need to raise their investment and expertise in tackling cyber criminals; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest funding available from the EU to support improvements in digital investigation tools, techniques, and technologies.

OPINION: With policing seemingly under continuous pressure – financial, political and public – it’s clear that to deliver the best possible service, parts of the job need rethinking, and others a radical overhaul; Iain Donnelly, a former officer and now author, podcaster and policing technical consultant, suggests 10 “relatively quick” fixes which also highlight the need for more common sense in UK policing, especially among senior leaders.

LONG READ: Forensic scientist Stuart Kind, who was brought in by the UK Home Office to help track down the Yorkshire Ripper, is widely recognised as a pioneer of geographic profiling; former Met Police detective Geoff Monaghan and geospatial intelligence specialist Ian Oldfield explore whether the genesis of the geographic profiling concept can be traced back further to a piece of 1920s detective fiction, and the story of a string of animal maimings in Surrey.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Known for its innovative approaches to policing, Northamptonshire Police is always seeking better ways to fight crime and protect people – so they turned to NICE Investigate for digital transformation. Because it sits on top of Northamptonshire Police's other digital evidence systems, NICE Investigate can automate the case building process by searching across connected data sources for evidence. As soon as investigators log in, their digital evidence is waiting in electronic case folders for them. NICE Investigate has also helped the force uncover new lines of enquiry and evidence for complex and serious crimes, which one detective inspector says is “real win-win.”

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff, students and researchers at the University of Tasmania who now have FREE access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community from many other UK and international institutions, police forces and other criminal justice organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

ANALYSIS: With public services under increasing pressure, leaders need to refresh their thinking on harnessing the considerable untapped resources in every community; in the second in a series of articles, Intensive Engagement’s Richard James (a former police territorial commander), Citizens in Policing specialist Dr Iain Britton, and Jayne Pascoe (Neighbourhood Watch Network) suggest there is no shortage of support available – but can leaders turn the key to unlock this resource?

ANALYSIS: Covid fixed penalty notices were issued to BAME individuals in England and Wales at up to twice the rate as white individuals; now a new report has found that officer ‘discomfort and uncertainty’ of the regulations led to a focus on ‘blatant’ breaches, with fines more dependent on the circumstance of the breach and the how officers perceived an individual’s attitude and responses to them, than on the potential risk of harm, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ANALYSIS: Shiaphobic hate crimes were highlighted in the wake of the recent Lady of Heaven film controversy, and came to the fore gain last month with the religious celebration of Eid al-Ghadīr; Michael Dhanoya of the University of Leicester’s School of Criminology explores the context and background to Shiaphobia, and the importance of recording and investigating it as an Islamic sectarian hate crime, rather than as examples of Islamaphobia.

FEATURE: Police protecting spectators and ensuring the safe running of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last week were quick to seize a drone and its pilots after the unmanned vehicle flew dangerously close to crowds; such incidents at sporting events are not new, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, but do highlight the potential threat posed by drones in crowded public spaces.

FEATURE: A new mental health project launched by Cambridgeshire Constabulary to identify frontline detectives suffering from compassion fatigue has found that significant numbers are at ‘high risk’ and will be offered tailored support and treatment, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Police forces across England and Wales have been warned they face a tough challenge to hit the UK Government’s 20,000 Uplift recruitment target as latest figures show a slowdown on new joiners as well as record levels of resignations – prompting fresh calls for forces to improve their understanding of why officers leave the job, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Join us in Cardiff this September for the inaugural National Police Chiefs’ Council Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime (SOAC) Conference 12th to 13th September at the Mercure Holland House Hotel. The conference, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, will bring together law enforcement agencies from across the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as leaders throughout the business world to present our joint approach to SOAC across the UK.