Operational policing

OPINION: "Technology is changing fast and it’s essential that we keep a handle on the police ICT user experience, so we can better understand the challenges facing users and look for solutions" says Ch. Supt. Paul Griffiths, Vice President of the Police Superintendents Association in his foreword to the CoPaCC Police ICT: User Perspectives 2018 report.

ANALYSIS: Mental health makes up an increasing part of demand on the police service, and various methods are being trialled to try to improve the police response, including triage. In the first of three blogs, Daniel Moloney of the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice at the University of Northampton examines factors affecting demand.

Opinion: Four years ago, US State Troopers in Connecticut were trained and licensed to carry Naloxone Hydrochloride which can reverse opoid overdoses. The move is thought to have saved 268 lives. Former Detective Sergeant and now chairman of LEAP UK Neil Woods explains why it's time police officers in the UK are trained and equipped to carry Naloxone.

OPINION: The idea of unconscious bias has increasing traction in policing, but what if we're looking in the wrong places? Dr Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University discusses different types of diversity and how internal bias could be affecting both leadership in the police and how certain roles are valued.

INSIGHT: Earlier this month, Lancashire Constabulary held a Blue Light Innovation Summit 2018 to explore the role of innovation in policing, but, in an environment of constrained budgets and mounting pressures, can the police service create the right environment to innovate?

OPINION: The task of policing has become increasingly regulated over recent decades, largely for well-understood reasons. But has this regulation stifled creativity, autonomy, and the development of 'natural' police officers? Serving officer Martin Gallagher makes the case for a bit more chaos.

Opinion: Earlier in the summer techUK brought together a group of senior police officers, civil servants, and tech industry leaders to explore how technology can best be harnessed to combat fraud. techUK's Henry Rex shares the group's recommendations.

Opinion: With Brexit issues dominating proceedings at this year's party conferences, there was room for little else. However, the Liberal Democrats took the opportunity to renew their call for the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners. Ed Davey, MP for Kingston & Surbiton and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs explains why.

INSIGHT: Published today, the "Police ICT: User Perspectives 2018" report includes articles providing a range of views on the results and what should happen next. Policing Insight's editor, Tina Orr Munro, here acknowledges that some progress on police ICT has been made since last year's survey - but widespread frustrations reveal the police service still has a very long way to go.

NEW REPORT: The results of this year's Police ICT User survey have now been published, with police officers and staff expressing deep dissatisfaction with ICT provision in their forces. They tell a story of badly specified, out-of-date equipment, slow and unreliable systems with poor integration combined with a lack of suitable training and support.

ANALYSIS: There are growing financial and operational pressures on policing. Senior figures are calling for a new vision, but as the president of the PSA said earlier this month, there is a void at the centre - and no prospect of a Royal Commission to provide answers. The service can, however, start preparing options now. The themes that come up time and again are structure, accountability frameworks, and workforce. What is the service’s own future vision for these?

Analysis: Following catastrophic bush fires in 2009 which killed 173 people, Australia implemented a mobile phone alert system so the emergency services could directly contact and advise the public during a major incident. The system has already saved lives and has now been implemented in other countries, so why not the UK?

ANALYSIS: Understanding of evidence-based policing has come a long way, but many police leaders are still looking for a 'silver bullet' - strategies that will just work. Prof. Jerry Ratcliffe of Temple University explains why the silver bullets don't exist, but that EBP is still a valuable tool.

Prize Draw Winner: As the second CoPaCC Police ICT User Perspectives Report is about to be published, we’re delighted to announce the winner of our prize draw. Congratulations to Detective Constable Ed Middleton from Gwent Police who has scooped an Apple iPad 2. Tina Orr-Munro speaks to DC Middleton about his experience of ICT in his day-to-day role as a financial crime investigator.

ANALYSIS: Recent events have highlighted the need to approach radicalisation not just as a security issue but also as a social and psychological one. Professor Babak Akhgar FBCS, Director of CENTRIC (Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research) at Sheffield Hallam University, explains how the MINDb4ACT project is addressing these concerns.

INSIGHT: The latest in our SPOTLIGHT ON series focuses on the barriers to chief constable recruitment. Following the issuing of a statement by the National Police Chiefs Council, the College of Policing and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on the challenge of chief officer recruitment, we revisit a range of expert articles that explore the subject in more depth.

INSIGHT: The Dutch National Police issued its officers and staff with 63,000 smartphones. The move opened up opportunities to complete tasks more quickly, but also to do things differently. Commissaris van politie and Mobile Programme Manager Edwin Delwel says mobile technology can be a game-changer for policing, if implemented well.

OPINION: The latest National Audit Office report released this week adds to the evidence that policing is in crisis. Former Chief Superintendent John Sutherland warns that the lack of a national vision for policing is punishing the very people holding policing together.

ANALYSIS: With the use of automated facial recognition technology under challenge, video surveillance specialist Cloudview asked leading cyberlaw academic Professor Andrew Charlesworth to assess the regulatory position. His report concludes that an independent review is the only way forward if the technology is to be used without alienating the public.

ANALYSIS: The way ambulance services use social media has lessons for police - particularly in their focus on the humanity of paramedics. Dan Slee of comms2point0 looks at the best of ambulance service communications and what other blue light services can learn.

OPINION: In a report out today, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) argues that - through an approach called Group Violence Intervention (GVI) - it is possible to change the dynamics in gangs and drive down violence. Rory Geoghegan, Head of Criminal Justice at the CSJ, sets out the background to the CSJ's latest report, and argues that failing to implement GVI will consign more young people to a lawless existence.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Policing Insight has over a thousand in depth articles on a wide range of policing issues. In our SPOTLIGHT ON series we group articles under one subject heading allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Here, we tackle spit guards or hoods which have recently returned to the spotlight following the MPS' decision not to issue them to frontline officers.

OPINION: After two and a half years as a Chief Inspector overseeing Paisley, serving officer Martin Gallagher is moving on. Here, he describes the lessons he's learned about leading police officers in one of the busiest Sub-Divisions in the country.

ANALYSIS: Knife crime is rising, and many have speculated about the causes of the rise - but what do we actually know about the reasons young people carry weapons? Dr Iain Brennan, Reader in Criminology at the University of Hull, explains his important new research.