FEATURE: As countries around the world mark Women’s History Month, with many also celebrating International Women’s Day on Saturday, 8 March, University of Leicester Associate Professor of Law and Policing Dr Sarah Jane Fox looks back at the roots of women in policing, and how this is reflected in modern efforts to achieve gender equality in law enforcement.
FEATURE: Recent events in Manchester highlighted the strained relationship between police and members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities; Lee Curran, Lecturer in Policing at Liverpool John Moores University, Dr Dan Allen, Principal Social Work Lecturer at Liverpool Hope University, and Dr Julie Feather, Senior Research Fellow at Edge Hill University explore the reciprocated tension, fear and mistrust between community members and law enforcement, and outline the suggestions for a four-step framework to improve that relationship.
ANALYSIS: With police forces in England and Wales already voicing fears over funding for the coming financial year, the autumn budget statement and additional £1 billion for policing announced just before Christmas eased some concerns, but still highlighted significant differences in financial resources; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at what the budget and announcement means for forces, why some will benefit while others struggle, the vagaries of the police funding formula, and the challenges ahead.
INNOVATION: The UK’s first team dedicated to investigating crimes committed by registered sex offenders, launched by Greater Manchester Police initially as a pilot project more than two years ago, has now hit a 90% solved outcome rate for investigations, and has become a permanent part of the force structure, as unit head DI Marc Baker told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.
FEATURE: As law enforcement around the world embarks on meeting the challenges of 2025, Editor Keith Potter looks back over the key issues Policing Insight covered in 2024 – from technological threats and opportunities, to workforce wellbeing, the role of leadership, and the increasing focus on reform – and how these may affect the next 12 months.
FEATURE: A 27-year-old paedophile was creating cartoonish pseudo child abuse images and distributing them among an online network; Detective Chief Inspector Jen Tattersall from Greater Manchester Police’s online child abuse investigations team tells Ian Weinfass how the force managed to bring a case against the offender, and safeguard real children at risk.
INNOVATION: A new police digital academy providing officers from five forces in north-west England with easily accessible short sessions on retrieving evidence and digital safeguarding in domestic abuse cases looks set to expand to cover other crimes and be made available to other forces, after feedback from the initial programme highlighted improvements around understanding and awareness among officers, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.
ANALYSIS: The latest police workforce data for England and Wales shows the roller coaster ride for resources during the 2010 to 2024 Conservative-led governments, with numbers dropping sharply followed by a rapid but partial with the Uplift after 2019; in this last of three articles, Ian Wiggett looks at changing trends in workforce profile across England and Wales, and how this may affect resource management.
ANALYSIS: The latest police workforce data for England and Wales shows the roller coaster ride for resources during the 2010 to 2024 Conservative-led governments, with numbers dropping sharply followed by a rapid but partial with the Uplift after 2019; in this second of three articles, Ian Wiggett looks at the current workforce mix across England and Wales, and the recruitment and retention challenges.
ANALYSIS: The latest police workforce data for England and Wales shows the roller coaster ride for resources during the 2010 to 2024 Conservative-led governments, with numbers dropping sharply followed by a rapid but partial rise with the Uplift after 2019; in this first in a series of three articles, Ian Wiggett looks at the changes in workforce numbers over the past 14 years.
19th September 2024
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Managing large public events such as the Parklife Music Festival present police forces with significant challenges. To ensure safety at these events, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) turns to the Axon Ecosystem, and leverages body-worn cameras (BWCs) with live-streaming capabilities to improve situational awareness and attendee safety. This case study explores the impact of body-worn camera technology on agency communication, debrief efficiency, and subject behaviour.
FEATURE: As the latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey reveals strong levels of trust and confidence in New Zealand Police, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Assistant Commissioner Bruce O’Brien, the force’s Senior Liaison Officer for the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, about the importance of delivering on core aims, the need to “get the basics right”, and how social media and crime trends can impact on public perception.
INTERVIEW: After the launch of the first Police Race Action Plan Progress Report, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to Programme Director, Temporary Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari, about losing the support of a key staff association, institutional racism, and the future of the race action plan in the face of funding uncertainties.
OPINION: With the proliferation of mobile phone and CCTV footage capturing physical and sometimes violent confrontations between officers and suspects, former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher fears that, unless the service and the wider criminal justice system can underline the importance of public co-operation with the police – and explain that in certain circumstances such confrontations are necessary and inevitable – the British model of policing by consent could soon disappear.
FEATURE: The Protect Duty under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) draft bill, known as Martyn’s Law, was drawn up in response to the death of Martyn Hett and 21 other innocent victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attacks, and was one of the key topics discussed at the recent Counter-Terror Expo in London, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.
ANALYSIS: Police Foundation Senior Associate Fellow Gavin Hales believes the change of UK government arguably offers the best opportunity in years for a revised police funding formula to be implemented – but also warns that such changes won’t address wide inequalities in funding, the balance between government and council tax precept revenues, or whether overall resources are sufficient.
FEATURE: Military services details, favourite places, and engagement with support groups are among the details of armed forces veterans entered on a new database under the Forcer Protocol, an approach pioneered by Greater Manchester Police to improve the search outcomes for veterans reported missing, as GMP’s Chief Inspector Mark Mangnall explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.
ANALYSIS: Last week’s PCC elections in England and Wales were a combination of predictable wins, surprise victories and tight contests, against the backdrop of a low turnout and minimal media coverage; Policing Insight’s Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a closer look at the policy and political implications of the results, and whether this year’s outcomes could affect campaigning techniques and voting intentions in future PCC elections.
ANALYSIS: With the major media focus and political campaigning around the local council and mayoral elections last week, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections which were running in tandem slipped past largely unnoticed outside policing circles; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the significant ‘red tide’ that replaced 2021’s ‘blue wave’, as well as the challenges facing the new office holders, and the concerns over low voter turnout.
ANALYSIS: While mental health and wellbeing issues have risen up the policing agenda, very little is understood about the impact of pregnancy and becoming a parent on serving officers and staff; Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University, and Dr Krystal Wilkinson of Manchester Metropolitan University, have worked with Greater Manchester Police to undertake research with officers on the issue, and develop a toolkit to improve the response and support offered by forces.
ANALYSIS: Next week will see police and crime commissioner, mayoral and local council elections in the UK, with a general election due in the next few months; former police officer Mark Brown, now a policing commentator and associate lecturer at the University of Southampton, looks at the neighbourhood policing proposals being put forward by the two main political parties, and how they could affect frontline delivery.
INNOVATION: Student officers at the Akademie der Polizei Hamburg have become the latest to use virtual reality technology to gain a greater insight and understanding of hate crime, following the success of a similar initiative in Greater Manchester Police (GMP); the Akademie is now looking to incorporate VR more widely in its training and hopes to work more closely with GMP, as Professor Dr Eva Groß told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.
17th April 2024
ANALYSIS: In the UK, partners or family members are responsible for nearly half of all female homicides, but there is an increasing rate of statement withdrawal from victims in high-risk domestic abuse cases; the LSE’s Professor Tom Kirchmaier and Dr Ekaterina Oparina highlight the alarming relationship between a police officer’s workload and the rate of withdrawal of statements by victims.
