United Kingdom

OPINION: The UK Government’s recent white paper on police reform contained a wide range of ambitious proposals for the future shape of policing; but Dale Peters, Senior Research Director at TechMarketView, warns that unless digital, data and technology developments are an integral part of that reform – rather than a separate workstream – a huge opportunity to structure and equip policing for the years ahead will be lost.

FEATURE: With the latest analyses by both the National Crime Agency and the European Union Drugs Agency highlighting the continuing rise of drug misuse across the continent, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the work of a new project that focuses on upskilling local police, city prevention services, and youth and social workers as part of a multi-stakeholder approach to tackling the impact of the drug misuse.

ANALYSIS: As the dust begins to settle on the proposals laid out in the UK Government’s recent white paper on police reform, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett takes a closer look at the plans, exploring among other things the challenges around force mergers, the creation of a new national police service and the changing constitutional relationship between policing and government, and considers whether the suggested reforms laid out in the paper are simply too radical and too ambitious.

OPINION: While charge rates are often taken as an indicator of a police force’s success in tackling crime, many stakeholders argue that out-of-court resolutions (OOCRs) can provide victims with meaningful justice while reducing the burden on the court system; Ella Thomson, Research and Policy Officer for Transform Justice, sets out the findings of the organisation’s recent research into police use of OOCRs, as well as three key practical takeaways that can help forces to improve and increase their use of the diversionary measures.

INTERVIEW: A series of ‘Gold Standards’ published by the UK’s National Police Chaplaincy service designed to inspire forces “in their care for colleagues and positively impact communities” will mirror many of the aims of the recent police reform proposals in England and Wales, while also helping officers to cope with an emotional weight in modern policing “that is too heavy for many to bear”, as National Police Chaplain Reverend Matthew Hopley explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: Hertfordshire Constabulary Sergeant James Stopford, a full-time Police Federation of England and Wales representative, hopes a personal “passion project” to highlight the risks associated with gambling – which can have a devastating impact on those already affected by trauma – can help to raise awareness of the dangers among colleagues in his own force and others across the country, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: With the hugely concerning levels of suicide among police officers and staff, highlighted most recently by the Police Federation of England and Wales, the service’s response to those struggling with poor mental health is increasingly under the spotlight; former senior Police Scotland officer Ryan MacDonald, now a writer and speaker on trauma and resilience, shares his own experiences of the deafening silence some officers encounter when disclosing their personal mental health challenges.

INNOVATION: A study of drug violence dynamics on Merseyside has highlighted the importance of understanding the “informal governance mechanisms” employed by organised crime groups (OCGs), and has led to the creation of a ‘co-operation index’ tool which can help police to more effectively target resources and prevent increased violence between OCGs, as researcher Dr Andrea Giovannetti explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: From complex crimes and tight finances to emerging technology and the public expectations, policing in the UK is facing a wide range of often complex challenges; in an article drawing on her recent Atkins Lecture, Professor Kate Bowers, Director of UCL’s Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science, sets out some of those key challenges and, in the wake of the recently published white paper on police reform, suggests some potential ideas to address them.

ANALYSIS: The recent UK police reform proposals include a five-fold increase in the number of live facial recognition vans available to forces, and a significant expansion of the use of the technology; new research by Associate Professor Kay Ritchie of the University of Lincoln and Associate Professor Katie Gray of the University of Reading reveals that while the facial recognition technology used by police is now very accurate, public understanding of how it works and how it is used lags far behind.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Philip Seccombe, Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire and the APCC’s Joint Lead on Roads Policing, welcomes some of the measures set out in the UK’s recently published Road Safety Strategy, but urges the Government to go further to protect those who feature disproportionately among the 1,600 people killed on UK roads every year.

FEATURE: A recent report by the Public Accounts Committee is calling for more transparency over what it described as the “hopelessly outdated” funding formula for police in England and Wales which is restricting forces’ ability to recruit the right staff and roll out new technology, and warns that the Home Office needs better understanding of how policy changes impact on policing resources, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Efforts to address the issue of ‘police culture’ are a regular feature of transformation programmes in law enforcement; organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson argues that most culture change initiatives fail because those creating them fundamentally misunderstand what culture is, its complexity, and the importance of recognising and addressing the role of ‘micro-narratives’ rather than trying to engineer new cultures through imposed idealised values and mindsets.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: In just nine months, South Wales Police has dismantled 63 county lines - compared with only three identified four years ago - while freeing 3,276 analyst hours. How? Through the Chorus Intelligence Suite (CIS). Frontline officers now progress investigations in real-time, analysts focus on critical analysis, and previously siloed data surfaces unknown evidence. The outcome: faster and smarter operations that disrupt criminal networks, protect vulnerable people, and deliver measurable results.

OPINION: One high-profile element of the UK Government’s proposals on police reform is the introduction of a ‘licence to practise’ for officers; police ethics advisor Montell Neufville argues that, with a ‘four P’s’ approach – based on promote, praise, prevent and punish – and a tiered accountability framework, the license to practice for police could become a license to trust for the public.

OPINION: In their analysis of some of the key measures in the recent UK Government policing reform paper, Leeds Trinity University Associate Professor Jonathan Jackson and Policing Lecturer Adam Stokes argue that commitment to reform will need to be long-term and cross-party to succeed, and that some of the proposals appear to offer macro solutions to micro problems.

FEATURE: Research by the Youth Endowment Fund among 13-17-year-olds in England and Wales indicates that 240,000 youngsters had been or in a gang, while 440,000 criminally exploited teenagers had been approached to sell or transport drugs, or store drugs, weapons or money; but the study also highlights that more teenagers have left gangs than are currently involved with them, suggesting “timely and co-ordinated support” can give them “a real chance to live a life free from violence”, reports Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: The UK Government’s recently published white paper on police reform included proposals for a Senior National Co-ordinator for public order policing, to be based in the new National Police Service; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a former Metropolitan Police officer and public order specialist, explores the proposals outlined in the paper, as well as setting out the need for a wider review of approaches to public order policing as part of the reform process.

OPINION: With UK police reform now firmly on the agenda, ethics specialist Dr Richard Cockbain sets out why policing needs to shift its focus from the risk-averse approach of minimising failure at all costs to recognising, articulating and learning from successes, and the challenges around culture, structure and incentive that will need to be addressed if reform is to deliver positive transformation.

OPINION: Failures around police vetting in the UK have recently been under the spotlight, particularly in relation to the relaxation of measures in order to hit recruitment targets; Avesta Afshari-Mehr, a Durham University student and scrutiny and accountability volunteer with Durham Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, believes a national vetting standard is essential in light of his own experiences of the application and vetting process.

INNOVATION: A new Wellbeing and Trauma Resilience Programme launched by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) – with funding secured from external sources – is focusing on stepping into the “proactive space” around wellbeing support, with group EMDR therapy, peer support groups, a new app, and psychoeducation for new recruits at the PSNI Police College among the range of measures that are already proving successful, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A report on the scale of violence experienced by young people aged 13-17 in England and Wales – one of four reports drawn from a survey undertaken by the Youth Endowment Fund – found that half of them had witnessed violence, nearly one in five had been a victim, and one in eight admitted carrying out violence themselves, while more than 80% of those aged 13-17 have viewed conversations online about hurting specific groups, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: The role played by artificial intelligence (AI) in the decision by West Midlands Police to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans – a move which led to the retirement of Chief Constable Craig Guildford – highlighted concerns about the police use of AI; organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson applies the latest research framework on the risks AI poses to civic institutions to assess the West Midlands Police case (in an article that itself contains analysis generated by Claude Opus 4.5 AI).

FEATURE: This year will see the launch of two new counter-terrorism initiatives in the UK – a register of specialists who can provide protective security and preparedness advice for businesses and organisations, and a new regulation training individuals to provide counter-terrorism advice and preparedness measures in the workplace – which are both part of the broader response to the Manchester Arena bombing under the aegis of what has become known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.