Operational policing

ANALYSIS: Police forces are increasingly pursuing digital transformation, and encouraging more web-based interaction between police and the public. But how secure are the websites on which those interactions are taking place? Rory Geoghegan of the Centre for Public Safety assesses the state of UK police forces' public-facing digital infrastructure.

ANALYSIS: Body-worn cameras for police officers are being rolled out globally, but until recently, limited evidence was available as to their effects. In one of the largest randomised-controlled trials in criminal justice history, the University of Cambridge and RAND Europe have recently published several papers looking at the new technology - with some surprising results. Alex Sutherland of RAND Europe outlines the findings and their implications.

OPINION: Academics and police are working increasingly closely - but what are the practicalities of such partnerships? How do they evolve over time? Layla Skinns explores some of the issues ahead of next week's international conference at the University of Sheffield, Working with the Police on Policing.

ANALYSIS: How is policing responding to the challenges of digital crime? Giles Herdale of the National Police Chiefs' Council lays out the three priority areas that will fundamentally change policing and ready it for the challenges of policing by consent in a digital age.

NEWS: Lancashire has become the first police force to go live with a force-specific instance of CONNECT, Northgate Public Services' new software platform. The move has seen Lancashire over a million legacy cases, five million associated files and 10,000 live case files.

OPINION: With shrinking budgets, the police are being asked to make hard choices about their priorities. Following last week's Excellence in Policing conference, Rick Muir of the Police Foundation argues that if we are to close the expectations gap, the police need to engage in a major exercise in public education.

OPINION: Some months ago, Jenna Bradley (one of the @wecops team) asked her fellow students for suggestions for an upcoming @wecops debate. Jonny Blackwell, a Chief Inspector for West Yorkshire Police responsible for Safeguarding, suggested Child Sexual Exploitation, or CSE. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University summarises the debate, hosted by Jonny and fellow volunteer Danielle Williams.

ANALYSIS: Interest in heritage crime, any act which ‘harms the value of England's heritage assets and their settings to this and future generations,’ has been slowly gathering pace. Researching this marginalised area, Bethan Poyser found that understandings and perceptions of heritage crime vary greatly between place managers and the police, leading to extreme frustration for both parties.

OPINION: The use of controversial spit hoods was suspended last week in London after intervention from new Mayor Sadiq Khan. Nick Alston of Anglia Ruskin University's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region argues that not enough is known of the real risks and benefits of spit hoods, and the College of Policing needs to step up with rigorous evidence of the pros and cons.

OPINION: Laboratory reports of hepatitis C have almost doubled in three years in London, while some 59% of London's injecting drug users (classically, crack and heroin) have hepatitis C. Rory Geoghegan of the Centre for Public Safety argues that forces need to explain to the public what a spit guard is, how it works and why it is needed - and that spit guards are a no-brainer for effective policing.

OPINION: The 2016 Police Now Summer Academy has just graduated 108 new recruit police officers ready for independent patrol. Chris Heathcote, Director and Gold Commander of the Academy, talks about why he believes passionately in the promise of Police Now and what it can offer to police forces across the country.

ANALYSIS: New research by the Police Foundation and Perpetuity Research suggests up to 45% of fraud is linked to organised crime, a much higher percentage than previously thought. Mike Skidmore of the Foundation argues that police should target the problem, not the offenders.

OPINION: Cop and comic Alfie Moore takes a wry look at police call handling in the strangest of circumstances - "we're like Google with flashing blue lights!"

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.

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.

OPINION: The day-to-day work of policing can be deeply traumatic. In a powerful piece, Sgt Harry Tangye recalls one incident that demonstrates the stark reality of policing for those in the job.

OPINION: Sophisticated data and crime analysis should have transformed policing and criminal justice; but instead, taxpayers are funding bloated criminal justice systems and foot patrols in communities where officers have little to do. Tom Gash argues it's time to replace myth-based approaches with those founded on evidence.

OPINION: Should drug addicts be treated as victims themselves? Research suggests that prescribing pharmaceutical heroin can reduce the use of street drugs and associated levels of crime. Ron Hogg, former senior police officer, now Durham’s Police, Crime and Victims Commissioner, argues that this isn't going soft on drugs, but going sensible.

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.

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: Armed police officers have made headlines again, this time for shopping in Morrisons. Police blogger and serving officer 'Nathan Constable' outlines the the security threat and the professionalism of armed officers, and argues for a grown-up debate about armed response.

EXCLUSIVE: New PCC for Cheshire, David Keane, blogs about his 100-day listening exercise, and why the police need to be based in the heart of the community - not in police stations.

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.

OPINION: Ian Blackhurst, Executive Director for Solutions, Northgate Public Services argues that criminals don’t respect force borders or system silos, and neither should digital evidence.