United Kingdom

OPINION: Dr Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University provides her review of the #WeCops Twitter debate last week, examining UK police's response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

Opinion: Whilst the police are highly adept at managing emergency calls, data on the many other reasons people call the police is lacking. Crisis Communication Consultant Amanda Coleman, who has more than twenty years experience in law enforcement communications, says it is this detail that is needed for a truly effective call-handling response.

Opinion: In her most recent blog, director of Transform Justice Penelope Gibbs considers the issue of police custody for adults who have been arrested and detained and offers suggestions on how to keep this to a minimum during the Covid-19 crisis.

Opinion: Data is the 'oxygen' of decision-making and is potentially at its most powerful when it integrated with other data. Former Deputy Chief Constable and now strategic adviser on digital policing transformation Paul Kennedy and Managing Director of Microsoft software development company Black Marble Robert Hogg explore how forces can better integrate their data sets to improve outcomes.

Analysis: UK police officers have been given unprecedented powers to curtail personal freedoms as the nation attempts to slow the spread of Covid-19. Former Ch Supt Owen West and Dr Matthew Radburn examine the potential for the principles of procedural justice to enable officers to exercise these powers without alienating the populace.

NEWS: The Coronavirus Act 2020 introduces sweeping powers for public services to tackle the pandemic, but has neglected to include Police and Crime Panels, whose role it is to scrutinise Police and Crime Commissioners, among the list of local authority bodies that can still meet to carry out their work. Policing Insight reports.

Analysis: CoPaCC Director and former chief officer Ian Wiggett examines the policing response to the Covid-19 and what the 'new normal' could look like for policing in the weeks to come.

OPINION: Andy Rhodes QPM is the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, and the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for well being and staff engagement. Here, he provides his thoughts on the organisational impact of Covid-19 on policing and how leaders can make the coming weeks easier for their staff.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

Analysis: With UK police forces struggling to recruit and retain cyber-skilled staff, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth considers what this means for the war against cyber crime and why so many digitally skilled staff are opting for a career in the private sector.

OPINION: Policing Insight's Publisher, Bernard Rix, considers whether the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic will irrevocably damage British policing's "policing by consent" model first set out by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. Can policing emerge all the stronger for the societal challenges the virus will bring?

Analysis: The UK has a wealth of experience in contingency planning, but Covid-19 is unprecedented in terms of scale and complexity. Drawing on interviews with senior contingency planners about the response so far, Professor Clifford Stott and former Chief Superintendent Owen West outline current challenges and offer preliminary recommendations to help navigate the weeks ahead.

FEATURE: In our continuing series aimed at supporting the new police degree entry recruits, Policing Insight's Academic Editor Carina O'Reilly explores other types of evidence and how selecting the right kind of research depends on the question you are trying to answer.

NEW REPORT: Emergency calls to the police have continued to rise whilst 101 calls have fallen, according to CoPaCC's latest thematic - CoPaCC Police Contact Management: Demand Analysis Report - which examines trends and performance in UK call handling and online crime reporting over the last three years.

Opinion: In the time of national emergency, it is vital the public understand what the police expect of them. Crisis Communication Consultant Amanda Coleman, who has more than twenty years experience in law enforcement communications, highlights ways to ensure the messaging is clear, consistent and regular.

Analysis: The police, public health and other public and private sector organisations are facing huge challenges as they tackle the Coronavirus, but how are they managed at a local level? CoPaCC Director Ian Wiggett examines the vital role of the UK's Local Resilience Forums in ensuring a coordinated response to an unprecedented situation.

Analysis: With the police service now tasked with enforcing the lockdown during the Coronavirus crisis, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the role that drones can play in supporting officers in maintaining law and order.

Opinion: The police service is facing its greatest challenge in modern times and is likely to be under considerable strain in the coming months, but there is one group that can help shoulder the burden. CEO of Chorus Intelligence Boyd Mulvey says it is time for private sector police suppliers to step up.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Policy Exchange: Policing a Pandemic - The challenges of maintaining law and order during the Coronavirus response.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT: Babcock security guard vacancies at three RAF locations. Closing date for applications extended to 31st March 2020.

INSIGHT: Despite some concerns around availability of personal protective equipment and staffing levels, it is currently business as usual for operational policing, senior officers leading the policing response to the Coronavirus told a Home Affairs Select Committee today (March 18).

Analysis: The likely impact of the Coronavirus on crime and policing is, as yet, unknown. Policing commentator Ben Twomey explores some of the issues the UK criminal justice system may have to consider in the coming days, weeks and months.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: Operation Limelight, a huge multi-agency operation led by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to prevent girls and young women from becoming victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the eighth of twelve articles focused on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter examines the initiative which led to the signing of a historic intelligence-sharing Proclamation of Interagency Support for investigations between UK and US Law Enforcement.

Analysis: The Coronavirus crisis will test the capacity and capability of all emergency service first responders. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth looks at the pressures facing police leaders in the coming months and how effective collaboration with the military will be vital to managing the response to Covid-19.