FEATURE: One of the key recommendations from the recent report into the police response to violence against women and girls was the need for a ‘whole system approach’ to reduce and prevent harm; Greymalkin Consulting Director Mark Cooper, former head of the Government’s Ending Violence Against Women and Girls programme, looks at what that means in practical terms, and the steps agencies can take to implement the approach.

FEATURE: Alongside the COVID-19 health crisis, devastating natural disasters and criminal threats ranging from cyber attacks to terrorism have left policing and protective forces around the world – including the UK – at full stretch; now a call for evidence to develop a new UK National Resilience Strategy is underway, and as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains, input from the country’s emergency responders will be vital.

OPINION: As the public head to the polls today to vote in local council and police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections, two-term North Yorkshire PCC (becoming one of only four Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners) Julia Mulligan – who is not standing again this year – looks back at her time in office, and explores how commissioners can champion causes, change priorities, focus minds and deliver results as catalysts for reform.

Feature: As the Inquiry into the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack continues, there is work behind the scenes to update the Joint Doctrine, the interoperability framework for UK emergency service responders; Carl Daniels of JESIP spoke to Policing Insight’s Catherine Levin about the consultation and how it has never been more important to work together.

INTERVIEW: Following the Home Secretary’s confirmation last week of the recommendations of part one of the police and crime commissioner review, Paddy Tipping, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, spoke to Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter about the implications of the review for PCCs, and what the second stage of the process could mean.

INTERVIEW: In January, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its COVID-19 inspection of fire and rescue services across England and Wales. Catherine Levin talks to two police, fire and crime commissioners to see whether having oversight of both police and fire makes a difference when it comes to responding to a global pandemic.

FEATURE: COVID-19 has represented a major challenge to the emergency services, but has also led to an acceleration in collaborative working; now a new survey aims to capture and share successful collaborations, as a foundation for future workforce transformation

INTERVIEW: Peter Prater, Chair of the International Critical Control Rooms Alliance (ICCRA), chaired the inaugural global Control Room Summit in Amsterdam earlier this year. In this interview for Policing Insight, he discusses the changes he has seen in 35 years in control rooms, the potential to learn from other sectors, and the technologies he thinks will shape the future.

Analysis: This May, in England and Wales, the public will go to the polls to elect their local Police and Crime Commissioner. Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine the lessons to be learnt from the previous two elections in 2012 and 2016 and what prospective candidates are likely to focus on in 2020.

Opinion: Deloitte Public Safety and Justice Lead for the Middle East Andrew Morley argues that the emergency services have an important role to play in working with other agencies in delivering public safety.

insight: With all the results of all 45 fire and rescue services inspections now in, Catherine Levin considers how those services under Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners (PFCCs) have done and if those aspiring to become PFCCs may get a boost from the findings. It’s a mixed picture to say the least.

INSIGHT: Staffordshire is one of the few forces that has successfully pressed ahead with merging police and fire governance. With Phase 1 now complete, Senior Project Manager Richard Battams and Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis offer a unique insight into the process and what has been achieved so far.

ANALYSIS: When most people are preoccupied with thoughts of summer holidays, there is change afoot in the world of PCCs and fire governance. Briefly thwarted by judicial reviews, both West Mercia and Cambridgeshire PCC can now make progress but, as Catherine Levin explains, it won’t be a smooth ride for either of them.

INSIGHT: Can a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) make a difference to how fire and rescue services are run? Each of the four PFCCs set out a local business case that said yes, they could do better and save cash along the way. Policing Insight takes a look at what progress has been made in the early stages of the transition to the new governance model for fire.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) are pleased to announce we will be holding a conference on PCC Fire Governance on 28th March at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire.

ANALYSIS: The road to police fire governance is a bumpy one as the last few weeks has demonstrated. With one PCC restarting, two stopping and two others mired in controversy, what may have seemed like a good idea to some is not winning any new fans. In her latest update of the Policing Insight series looking at PCCs and fire governance, Catherine Levin reports on the ups and downs of the last few weeks.

ANALYSIS: Managing Director of Xnet Carl Roberts has spent a decade working with forces on collaboration projects. Here he outlines the questions forces need to ask themselves before embarking on a project and reveals the areas most likely to yield success. 

ANALYSIS: One year on from the launch of the Policing Insight series looking at PCCs and fire governance, Catherine Levin finds that the road to fire governance is fraught with obstacles and these will likely discourage other PCCs from following any time soon.

Opinion: Henry Rex, Programme Manager for Justice & Emergency Services, techUK, the trade association for digital and hi-tech companies, explores the key issues that would enable greater sharing of data across public sector organisations

OPINION: Following HMICFRS' observation that forces are not prioritising crime prevention, Evan Morris MBE, former Head of Community Safety for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers' Association lead on Ageing Safely Strategy suggests a multi-agency, intelligence-led demand reduction strategy based on WHO Injury Surveillance data could offer a way forward.

ANALYSIS: In the fifth of a series of special articles examining the progress of Police and Crime Commissioners as they assume joint governance over police and fire services in their areas, Catherine Levin reports on the latest PCCs to gain government approval.

OPINION: Last month, the Police Foundation’s annual conference focused on effective collaboration between the police, partners and communities. In his opening presentation, Dr Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation offered a number of ways in which this could be achieved.

ANALYSIS: In the fourth of a series of special articles examining the progress of Police and Crime Commissioners as they assume joint governance over police and fire services in their areas, Catherine Levin reports on an increasingly exclusive club of forces intending to take on fire governance.

Insight: West Midlands Police launched Operation Close Pass last year to combat the problem of drivers driving too close to cyclists when overtaking them. A year on, the force has seen a 20 per cent drop in cyclists killed or seriously injured, but, as Policing Insight discovered, it has resulted in other unforeseen benefits.