Government

IN THE NEWS: Our Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: Charlotte Pickles, Deputy Director and Head of Research at the Reform think tank, looks at the potential for directly elected mayors and identifies lessons from the experience of PCCs

OPINION: Should the use of Tasers be banned on psychiatric wards, as suggested by Liberal Democrat Health spokesman Norman Lamb? Serving officer Nathan Constable says the proposal fails to acknowledge that there are times when people become so dangerous that staff cannot control them, and that simply banning Tasers doesn't deal with the real issues at stake.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: With increasing pressure on budgets, police officers are spending more time dealing with vulnerable people, and are forced to go on patrol alone. Holly Lynch MP was so concerned for the safety of one officer with whom she went on patrol that she rang 999 to get back-up for him. She calls on the government to support the police properly and to empower other agencies to take a lead on dealing with the vulnerable.

Advertisement feature: The Emergency Services Show has a host of new features for 2016 as it moves to the larger Hall 5 at the NEC, Birmingham on 21-22 September. New seminar programmes will cover Lessons Learnt and ICT Innovation, while the Drone Zone brings together everything UAV.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

ANALYSIS: Should the Scottish Government go ahead with its planned integration of the British Transport Police (BTP) into Police Scotland? Kath Murray looks at the implications of the proposal - and warns that the case for integration needs to be made much clearer.

ANALYSIS: The 101 service for non-urgent calls to the police has come under increasing pressure in many forces across the country. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many calls aren't about issues the police can deal with. After analysing data from hundreds of thousands of 101 calls, Michael Sanders and Simon Ruda of the Behavioural Insights Team argue that just a six second ring time could slash inappropriate calls, and free up the 101 service for those who need to get through.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: The latest NFU report on rural crime showed marked variations in some crime types and between local force areas. But which interventions are working? Nick Alston, former Essex PCC and now Chair of the newly launched Policing Institute for the Eastern Region, calls for more research into what works to reduce rural - and other - crime.

OPINION: The Curtis Review on the use of targets in policing was published in December 2015, but little actual change appears to have taken place. Simon Guilfoyle revisits the debate and calls once more for the fundamental transformation of performance management in the police service.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

ANALYSIS: Controversial predictive tools for offender management are increasingly being used in the US to determine sentencing. Marion Oswald (Winchester University) and Jamie Grace (Sheffield Hallam University) examine the use of algorithmic risk assessment tools, and call for an open debate in the UK about where the red lines should be.

EXCLUSIVE: Lord Willy Bach, the first serving parliamentarian to be elected as a Police and Crime Commissioner, talks about the learning curve for PCCs, appointing a deputy, and why 'blue light' mergers could leave the Fire Service as the poor relation.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

OPINION: Arfon Jones, newly elected PCC for North Wales and one of the first two Plaid Cymru PCCs, talks about his background as a police officer, the Home Office's obsession with crime statistics, and his focus on domestic violence and youth justice.

NEWS: Prime Minister Theresa May has completed her first Cabinet reshuffle. Here is the full list of appointments in the departments covering policing and justice policy.

ANALYSIS: Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation, identifies a wide set of challenges faced by police, and argues that tackling those deep rooted problems associated with these challenges cannot be undertaken by the police alone.

ANALYSIS: With the newly elected PCCs coming to the end of their first 80 days in the job, what lessons might there be from the first set of incumbents? Dr Matthew Davies of RAND Europe outlines the findings of his report, Driving accountability from within: Key lessons for newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.

IN THE NEWS: Our new-look Weekly Review, drawing on our popular Media Monitor database, picks up the key news stories and reports of the week, and explains why they matter to you.

ANALYSIS: As new Home and Justice Secretaries take up residence in their new posts, Stephen Roberts of Vigilant Research looks at the implications of these appointments for police and justice technology

NEWS: A transcript of the first speech delivered by Theresa May, as Prime Minister, in Downing Street on Wednesday 13th July 2016

OPINION: What does 'confidence' in policing really mean? Dr Kevin Morrell of Warwick Business School is taking a year's fellowship to explore the ramifications of 'confidence' and to open up dialogue and to develop fresh insights into public confidence in the police.