National security and policing agencies - United Kingdom

LIVEBLOG: Policing Insight's Live Blog of the Police ICT Summit 2018, organised by the Police ICT Company and the National Police Technology Council.

OPINION: Newly-retired chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Steve White, says the service is still in need of radical reform. Here, he suggests a way to drive change.

ANALYSIS: The recent NCA report on County Lines highlighted the disturbing trend of children being targeted to work for drugs' gangs. In the second of two articles, highlighting those children most at risk and the work underway to tackle the problem, Tina Orr-Munro interviews Andy Passingham and Paul Maslin, co-founders of www.safeguardinghub.com and experienced police officers specialising in safeguarding.

ANALYSIS: The recent National Crime Agency report on County Lines highlighted the disturbing trend of children being targeted to work for drugs' gangs. In the first of two articles, examining the nature of County Lines, Tina Orr-Munro interviews Andy Passingham and Paul Maslin, co-founders of www.safeguardinghub.com and experienced police officers specialising in safeguarding.

Opinion: Smart data analysis technology has existed for many years so why haven't forces made the most of it? Clare Elford, Managing Director of Clue which provides investigative software, explores the challenges faced by forces and offers a solution.

OPINION: Following the publication of David Anderson QC's review of the four terrorist attacks this year, Ian Wiggett, formerly Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, examines the wider issues. While counter-terror policing relies on striking the balance between resources, powers and human rights, local policing teams can expect greater demands to be placed on them. 

ANALYSIS: The vast majority of UK forces now have drone capability, but whilst the emphasis has been on their potential to assist policing, little attention has been paid to whether their presence compromises people's privacy and undermines basic Peelian Principles of policing by consent. Inspector Darren Green says it's time to have the conversation. 

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders and media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS' report on police air support which raises serious concerns regarding the ability of National Police Air Support to deliver a consistent service to forces.

Analysis: The results from UK policing's first independent ICT User Survey - published today - are already having a positive impact thanks to the quality of the data, but it is just the beginning of the journey, according to the police associations that have lent their support to the survey.

Interview: This weekend (9-10 December), in the wake of the College of Policing’s Everyday Innovation conference and in the run up to CoPaCC’s thematic report into police ICT, Hack the Police 2 will bring developers and frontline officers together to take innovative ideas and put them into action in a sequel to the UK’s first and original policing hackathon. We interview one of the organisers, Edwin Burns of the Forensic Psychology Unit at Goldsmiths (University of London), ahead of the event.

Analysis: The new Strategic Principles for Police ICT make good common sense, and are hard to argue against.  We can all agree on the importance of interoperability, good management of data, user-friendliness, and the ability to switch across different platforms.  Efficiency, effectiveness; a rounded view of value for money; future proofing: what’s not to like? Yet the principles also present challenges, and following them will not be straightforward, explains former Greater Manchester Police ACC Ian Wiggett.

Analysis: The recently-published ICT Strategy, drawn up by the National Police Technology Council (NPTC), contains 26 principles designed to guide forces through their approach to ICT. But, when 43 police forces in England and Wales have 2,000 separate ICT systems, can it succeed?

Opinion: Hosted by the Police ICT Company, the National Police Technology Council and Cityforum, the third annual Digital Policing Summit gathered technology and security professionals, police policymakers and government representatives to discuss the digital challenges, changes and opportunities faced by UK police in 2017. Thomas Drohan, Commercial Director for Clue, outlines five critical issues raised by the event.

ANALYSIS: A recent study of the police’s use of data has found that UK police forces had access to a vast amount of digital data, but lacked the technological capability to use it effectively. Alexander Babuta of the Royal United Services Institute explores the opportunities presented by big data policing technologies, and the organisational barriers that must be overcome to make effective use of them.

NEWS: The results of the first annual police ICT user survey will be published shortly. Undertaken by CoPaCC and supported by the Police Federation of England and Wales, the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, the survey provides a unique, independent insight into what police officers really think of their police ICT systems. Policing Insight talks to senior stakeholders involved in the survey about its potential impact and what needs to change. We also announce the winner of the survey prize draw for an iPad.

LONG READ: The experience of terrorist attacks in the US and in Germany shows us how important it is for police and security agencies to share systems. But what can we learn from those countries that have begun the process of harmonising police ICT? In this Long Read,Hans-Jürg Käser of the Swiss Canton of Berne explores what European countries have done towards consolidating police systems and what can be learned.

INSIGHT: Oliver Gower, Deputy Director of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit warns cybercrime is escalating, its impact on victims is significant and the time is right for forces to ready themselves to meet the threat.

ANALYSIS: Following the RUSI's publication of a paper on police use of data, Former GMP Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett explores its potential applications and limitations. 

INTERVIEW: As individual forces explore the ways in which they can use drones in everyday policing, Gary Mason talks to Russell Woolford, Assistant Operations Director with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) about the role to be played by the organisation, which currently manages helicopter and fixed‑wing aircraft fleet across England and Wales

Opinion: Cleveland Police has become the first force to buy in Sopra Steria's Predikt, a web-based police resource and demand modelling  tool. Kathryn Howe, head of public sector marketing for Sopra Steria, explains how PrediKt takes the guesswork out of predicting demand on the service.

EXCLUSIVE SURVEY ANALYSIS: Many forces are just beginning to explore the potential and possibilities of police drone operations. The latest CoPaCC Thematic Report "Drones in Policing" surveyed drone use by UK police forces. Tina Orr-Munro analyses the results showing the extent of current capabilities and how they are being deployed

OPINION: The National Police Air Service was formed in 2012, serving all 43 forces in England and Wales. With recent technological advances, and in particular the advent of drones, @wecops recently held a discussion on the current state and future of air support, hosted by Chief Constable Simon Byrne. Serving officer Dan Reynolds summarises the debate.

OPINION: What do Brexit and the transfer of British Transport Police’s functions to Scotland have in common? Kath Murray warns that there are worrying similarities between the two processes - and dangers ahead if either goes badly.

News: There are a number of information-sharing forums available to the service, but Police ICT believes that when it comes to ICT more could be done to share best practice, facilitate collaboration and enable access to private ICT providers.