OPINION: As the review of the Government’s reform proposals to reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales gets underway, there may be significant learning that can benefit policing from the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) programme that has taken place over the last few decades, says Craig Taylor, CTO of Phoenix Software, who sets out some of the key lessons from the LGR process.

ANALYSIS: Four months after the UK Government unveiled its proposals for the reform of policing in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett explores the challenges that the process is already facing, from concerns over accountability, governance and the uncertainty around police mergers, to questions over centralisation, the true of costs of reform, and whether the Government will have the political will or resilience to see the measures through to completion.

OPINION: With proposed policing reform in England and Wales indicating a move towards a combination of a national police service, regional forces and local policing areas, Capgemini Director Jamie Robinson explores the experiences of the Dutch transition from regional police forces to the Dutch National Police in 2013, and considers what lessons there could be from the Netherlands for the UK’s reform process.

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.

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: 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.

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.

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: In the wake of last week’s UK Government white paper on police reform, Emily Spurrell, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), explains that while PCCs welcome modernisation of the service, the APCC has concerns over the accountability of policing – and particularly the new National Police Service – under the reform plans, as well as the risks of stifling local innovation, and the need to safeguard the future of victim and crime prevention services pioneered by PCCs.

OPINION: In the wake of the publication of the UK Government’s white paper on police reform for England and Wales, former chief officer Will Kerr highlighted four key challenges, drawing on lessons learned during restructuring in Scotland and Northern Ireland; in this longer-read article, he expands on those points, exploring the challenges facing the reform intent set out in the paper, and suggests steps that can be taken to ensure the process is more effective.

FEATURE: Following the publication this week of the police reform proposals for England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at how community and neighbourhood policing can remain a key focus for law enforcement throughout restructuring processes, and how similar reforms in The Netherlands and the work of the European KOBAN project can provide insights for UK policing.

OPINION: Following the publication on Monday of the long-awaited white paper on reform for policing in England and Wales, Police Superintendents’ Association President, Supt Nick Smart, shares his initial response to the Government’s proposals – highlighting both the challenges and opportunities – and urges the Home Secretary to work more closely with officers in developing a service that is fit for the future.

FEATURE: The UK Government’s long-awaited white paper on police reform in England and Wales, published today, sets out proposals for the creation of a new National Police Service with responsibility for serious and organised crime, counter-terrorism and setting national standards, a move away from the 43-force model to fewer regional forces, the introduction of a ‘licence to practise’ for officers, and powers for the Home Secretary to sack under-preforming chief constables, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.