Operational policing

Technology: More and more UK forces are under pressure to move away from using insecure social media apps like WhatsApp towards a secure police-wide communications platform. Andy Lilly, Director and Co-Founder of Armour Communications, explores the issue.

Opinion: Retired Metropolitan Police Service Detective Superintendent Paul Downing is the former head of the MPS Crime Academy Intelligence Faculty. He argues intelligence training has been marginalised in recent years and is failing to keep pace with the changing times.

Opinion: Based on thirty years policing experience and his academic research with the University of Portsmouth, Mark Taylor offers an ethical alternative to the College of Policing’s National Decision Model (NDM) currently used in the police service.  

Analysis: Following the London Olympics in 2012, the Metropolitan Police Service began to struggle to recruit and retain experienced officers in its Public Order Cadre. Birmingham University Senior Lecturer, Dr Amy Fraher has looked into the reasons why.

OPINION: Much has been written on body-worn video and its potential to reduce complaints and enhance police legitimacy. Former Senior Investigating Officer Andy Griffiths argues that BWV also challenges the criminal justice system's reliance on memory - and that it should encourage us to look again at what problems the current system is set up to solve.

Analysis: Since 2010, the police service in England and Wales has been cut by nearly 20 per cent. In a typical ‘can do’ response, chief officers recognised the need to tighten the purse strings and, on the whole, responded gamely to austerity by accepting there were efficiency savings to be had in their force areas. However, in the face of continuing cuts and uncertainty over the police funding formula, against a backdrop of successive terror attacks, the language from the top has undoubtedly changed.  Now the talk is of ‘tipping points’ and ‘cracks’ appearing in our police service.

EXCLUSIVE PCC INSIGHT: In the first of a monthly series of articles exclusively for Policing Insight, Dorset PCC Martyn Underhill sets out his thinking on the security challenges currently facing policing and the country.

Opinion: Confirmation bias runs at a subconscious level and occurs at all times, often harmlessly, but when it is applied to the world of investigation, it can present challenges for the investigator. Neil Beet, Managing Director, Blue Lights Digital, explores confirmation bias in digital investigations and how to mitigate against it.

Analysis: Eye witnesses accounts are regularly relied upon by police and the courts to prove the guilt or otherwise of a suspect, even though psychologists have shown they cannot be trusted. However, recent research has found some people's accounts are more reliable than others.  

Technology: Everything from mobile phones and laptops to cameras and cars broadcast their MAC addresses as soon as they are switched on. Keith Potter examines how Australia's Queensland Police are using the data to investigate serious crime in Australia and whether the UK could adopt a similar approach.

Insight: The world of crime and policing is changing before our eyes – new crimes are emerging and old crimes are being committed in new ways. Richard Williamson, Executive Director, EY, explores how Greater Manchester Police are responding to new trends.

Insight: Criminals prey on the elderly. Coinciding with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Katy Bourne, Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex looks at the scale of the problem in her force area and how Operation Signature is helping to protect the elderly from fraud.

Analysis: Recent events in London and Manchester have renewed the debate on extremism within the UK and how it should be dealt with. Dr Mark Roycroft, author of  Police Chiefs in the UK, Politicians, HR managers or Cops? (2017) examines the current approach to counter terrorism.

OPINION: In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks on the UK, Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University says thank you to those officers who warned the public that police numbers were too low, and who are now working full stretch to protect us.

ANALYSIS: Once again horrific terrorist attacks have taken place in the UK - and once again, the public sector's communications staff have stepped up to the mark to keep the public calm and informed. Dan Slee of comms2point0 analyses the public sector comms response to the Manchester attack.

OPINION: Do scripts - and other similar prescriptive frameworks - undermine police officers' ability to think for themselves? Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argues that officers need to be able to be human, and to make mistakes, and flags up CCCU's June conference on barriers to change.

Interview: Innovative work in Scotland has helped drastically drive down rates of violence, including knife crime. As England’s capital sees sharp increases in gun and knife crime, around 42 and 24 per cent,  according to recent figures released by the Metropolitan Police, can Scotland's experience shed light on how to tackle such a devastating crime? Will Linden, Acting Director at the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) which works with Police Scotland, speaks to Policing Insight.  

OPINION: Some vulnerable individuals can contact the police disproportionately often. Supt. Andrea Barrow and Prof. Stuart Kirby of the University of Central Lancashire explain how Lancashire Constabulary has worked together with partners to set up Early Action Teams to deal with vulnerable callers.

ANALYSIS: What are the implications of Operation Temperer? Ian Wiggett, former ACC and lead for counter terrorism, specialist operations and civil contingencies in Greater Manchester, explores the consequences of a raised threat level to police, the armed forces, and the community.

ADVERTORIAL: Leading practitioners and academics from the policing world will gather at the University of Northampton across June 21st and 22nd for the Public Safety, Crime and Justice Conference 2017: Policing the 21st Century Landscape, which will feature keynote addresses from John Hageman of Interpol and Professor Peter Squires of the University of Brighton.

Analysis: With more and more forces opting to buy unmanned aerial vehicles or drones for air support, Ian Wiggett, a former ACC in Greater Manchester Police, examines their current usage and the implications for the National Police Air Support.

OPINION: What's in the general election manifestos on criminal justice - and more importantly, perhaps, what isn't? Will McMahon, Deputy Director at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, reads between the lines, and says it's time to look more closely at demand.

CONFERENCE: Are we on the cusp of a step change in policing? A two-day conference in Northampton is asking researchers, leaders, frontline officer and research-active practitioners to debate the issues. Supt Dave Hill, Programme Director for the East Midlands Police Academic Collaboration (EMPAC), explains the background.

NEWS: Our first look at the police and policing references in the Liberal Democratic Party's manifesto for the June 2017 General Election