National security and policing agencies

INTERVIEW: Exclusive: Greater collaboration and more licensing agreements are high on the new head of the Police ICT Company’s to-do list. CEO Ian Bell outlines the direction of travel for the company.

Analysis: Vigilant Research's latest report launched this week examines the current police technology futures landscape and offers a set of objectives towards a centralised police technology futures capability. In the first of three articles, Director of Vigilant Research Stephen Roberts explores the current state of police technology futures operations.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at the NCA's The Cyber Threat to UK Business 2017-2018 which details significant and emerging threats to cyber-security.

INSIGHT: Drones must be managed and maintained to the same exacting standards of manned aircraft. David Hunkin discusses how this can be achieved

OPINION: Management Consultant and former Head of Innovation for Kent and Essex Police Martin Wilson believes simplifying the police's ICT strategy could bring clarity to what the service is trying to achieve and where it wants to be in the future.

OPINION: On 1 December 2017, the Police ICT Company entered into collaboration with a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME). Boyd Mulvey, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chorus Intelligence Ltd describes the journey to becoming an approved vendor with the hope of having a single contract with the police service. He reflects on what it’s like to be one of the first SMEs on board, the requirements placed on vendors, and explains why, although imperfect, the process is worth supporting and will give the police market a nudge in the right direction.

ANALYSIS: The BTP Leaving Home research project investigates the impact of the proposed integration of the BTP into Police Scotland on BTP officers and staff in Scotland, exploring issues of organisational identity, community, and attachment. Independent researcher Dr Kath Murray and Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland explain their findings

ANALYSIS: The Police ICT Company has announced its latest collaboration with Chorus Intelligence which they believe has the potential to save thousands of hours across UK policing. Northamptonshire Police has already successfully trialled the software and is now looking to extend its use. Tina Orr-Munro reports.

ANALYSIS: CoPaCC's Police ICT User Survey had its first public airing this month when CEO Bernard Rix presented its findings to a conference of police ICT suppliers. But what can the service and suppliers learn from the results of the survey?   

Analysis: The way in which the police investigate fraud prompted a member of the Home Affairs Committee to recently wonder if the police could be accused of having ‘slopey' shoulders. The reality is far more complex.

ANALYSIS: There was a sense at this year’s Police ICT Summit 2018 was that there was much to celebrate about the progress police ICT has made in the last few years, but there is still much to do. The ambition and the commitment are there, but are the police service and the public on board?

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.