Operational policing

Project Galileo: Project Galileo represents a fundamental rethink of how we can make a difference to tackling harm on our roads. In the latest in a series of articles on the ground-breaking work of the project, criminologist Dr Helen Wells explains her role as academic adviser to Project Galileo, including the significance of behavioural change and procedural justice approaches to the project’s work.

ANALYSIS: With the on-going debate on the legal status of cannabis, Charlie Lloyd, Geoff Page and Sharon Grace from York University discuss the results of their research in North Yorkshire looking at the day-to-day policing of cannabis possession and analysis of the data on drug possession offences. The research raises important questions about how police forces in England and Wales should deal with this common but to some, trivial, offence.

ANALYSIS: With the end of one World Cup, attention is turning to the next, due to be held in Qatar in 2022. But what is the best way of ensuring a peaceful competition? Lucy Strang and Christian van Stolk of RAND Europe explore the evidence.

LONG READ: International policing missions produce a range of challenges even when the international presence is strong. Joe Napolitano, a former police officer in Northern Ireland, describes the difficulties and successes of policing Kosovo and elsewhere in the wake of conflict.

OPINION: With increasing pressure on police both from budget cuts and rising crime, how can forces best adapt? Giovanni Gaccione of Genetec Ltd calls for a focus on connecting up existing technologies, breaking down silos, and tapping into the vast array of information already available.

Opinion: With twenty-five years policing experience under his belt, Devon and Cornwall Chief Inspector Stephen Lenney takes a closer look at frontline policing and the pressures it faces and asks whether it is time for a complete rethink on policing and its processes.

OPINION: The second of a new series of articles providing a platform for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to look back on the first half of their current term, highlighting their achievements so far and ambitions for the remainder of their term. Hardyal Dhindsa the PCC for Derbyshire gives an example of the PCC's ability to drive change through partnership.

OPINION: With police forces in the U.S. and elsewhere investing widely in technology solutions to tackle crime, James R. Sisco argues that an approach blending technology, data, and human understanding is required to deliver strategies that rebuild trust and set the conditions necessary for policing techniques to be effective.

INSIGHT: The globalisation of mass communication and the permeation of the internet into almost all aspects of society has further enabled serious societal threats to exploit and target citizens, businesses and, through the emergence of online terrorism, democratic ideals. Professor Babak Akhgar FBCS, Director of CENTRIC (Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence & Organised Crime Research) highlights the challenges and introduces a new multi-disciplinary research and innovation project which seeks to address them.

Opinion: Hoax calls are the bane of the emergency services. One force alone received 1,333 such calls in 2017, but how do you stop callers wasting precious police time and resources? Kathryn Jeffrey of APD Communications offers a solution to the problem.

OPINION: Allan Fairley, UK Police & Justice Managing Director for Accenture, works with a range of public sector, police and justice clients. In his latest article, Allan provides his thoughts on how robotics and automation can help officers and staff have more time for engaging with their communities.

OPINION: The first of a new series of articles providing a platform for police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to look back on the first half of their current term, highlighting their achievements so far and ambitions for the remainder of their term. We start with the thoughts of Lord Willy Bach, the PCC for Leicestershire

ANALYSIS: The publication of the latest crime statistics generated intense media scrutiny of police performance, with headlines focused on poor detection rates or outcomes. Former Greater Manchester Police ACC and regular Policing Insight contributor Ian Wiggett looks at the challenge of measuring how good the police are at detecting crime.

INSIGHT: Artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used by investigators but its role in policing is poorly understood, both inside the community and in society at large. Clare Elford Managing Director of Clue, sheds some light on this increasingly important tool

Analysis: In 2012, there were nearly 62,000 scrap metal thefts in the UK. By 2016, this had fallen to around 16,000. Research economist with the London School of Economics Professor Tom Kirchmaier examines how a combination of policing, legislation changes and global commodity prices impacted the crime.

Q&A: Analytical and data processing software firm Forensic Analytics is the latest company to collaborate with The Police ICT Company, having recently been recognised on its Vendor Management Programme. Forensic Analytics Managing Director and co-founder Joe Hoy  gives his insight into the challenges facing policing in this space and how the collaboration with The Police ICT Company has simplified the procurement process.

Long Read: In the second of our three-part series on cyber crime and its effects on  UK policing, CEO and co-founder of Cyber Security Intelligence Alfred Rolington offers a detailed insight into the current cyber crime landscape and how UK policing is managing the threat.

ANALYSIS: The scale of the challenge involved in protecting the UK's borders is unprecedented. Professor Babak Akhgar of Sheffield Hallam University explains how the work of Project ROBORDER - testing innovative surveillance technologies - could help border security address emerging threats.

Opinion: Next year, the new Office for Communications Data Authorisations (OCDA) goes live. Interim CEO Shainila Pradhan explains the changes and the organisation's ambition to offer law enforcement a world class service.

ANALYSIS: In late 2015, coercive control became a criminal offence in England and Wales, but the number of convictions have been low. Now a team at Lancaster University led by Dr Charlotte Barlow have developed a new tool to help train police officers to help victims of the new offence.

OPINION: Can graduates be trained to be detectives in just twelve weeks? Or is the experience gained from time on the street vital to understanding the job? Prof. Stuart Kirby of the University of Central Lancashire weighs the evidence.

Project Galileo: In the second in our series on Project Galileo and its pioneering approach to reducing harm on our roads, team member Andy Dollin (Chief Operating Officer, Tonic Analytics Limited) discusses how lessons from the aerospace industry are helping to demonstrate the value of big data to enable new insights that result in more effective and efficient operations - and can ultimately lead to better outcomes through targeted and more proactive actions underpinned by predictive analytics.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: A fragmented commissioning landscape is contributing to a significant gap in the provision of therapeutic support services for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse. Peter Richards, from the NSPCC’s Scale-Up Unit, explores the impact this has on children and the work that the NPSCC is undertaking to share an evidence-based therapeutic recovery service with organisations such as the Durham Child Advocacy Centre, to help more children rebuild their lives.

ANALYSIS: Neighbourhood Policing guidelines were issued by the College of Policing last week. Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation argues they are not just important for policing on the ground: their success or failure will tell us a lot about the capacity of our national policing infrastructure to deliver real reform.