PCC / Police Authority accountability

LIVEBLOG: Policing Insight's Live Blog of the Police ICT Summit 2018, organised by the Police ICT Company and the National Police Technology Council.

Analysis: The police use of social media has seen a massive surge in recent years and has given forces, teams and individuals the opportunity to engage with their local communities and beyond in a way never before experienced. It hasn’t always been been a smooth road and there have been some complications engendered by the open and public nature of the medium, says Cheshire Police's Neil Dewson-Smyth who looks at how forces can improve their performance.

OPINION: As the New Year begins, yet another scandal has emerged involving potential Scottish government interference with the operation of Police Scotland. Nick McKerrell of Glasgow Caledonian University warns that the crisis in Scottish policing is a structural one - and that without an examination of those structural causes, these crises cannot be resolved.

ANALYSIS: The latest CoPaCC thematic report 'Police ICT: User perspectives' was published recently. The report provides a unique insight into the views of the frontline on the provision of ICT in their force, based on CoPaCC's national survey. Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, takes a look at user responses to Question 2 (of eleven).

ANALYSIS: Despite the widely acknowledged benefits of working in cross-force collaborations, there remain many obstacles to effective collaborative endeavours between forces. Dr Xavier L”Hoiry of Sheffield University explores the obstacles and proposes ways of overcoming them.

NEWS: Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive and Publisher of Policing Insight, provides details of twenty five OPCCs recognised today for meeting their statutory requirements on openness and transparency.

ANALYSIS: The latest CoPaCC thematic report 'Police ICT: User perspectives' was published recently. Following a survey of police officers from 44 police forces, the report provides a unique insight into the views of the frontline on the provision of ICT in their force. Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive, takes a look at user responses to Question 1 of the survey, and identifies some potential "quick wins" for forces and suppliers.

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.

OPINION: Northamptonshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold says PCCs are best placed to deliver real transformation across the entire public sector.

ANALYSIS: In the fourth of a series of special articles examining the progress of Police and Crime Commissioners as they assume joint governance over police and fire services in their areas, Catherine Levin reports on an increasingly exclusive club of forces intending to take on fire governance.

OPINION: Zoe Dronfield was the victim of a horrific attack by her ex-partner. It later came to light that she was his 14th victim, but she had no idea of his violent past when she met him. Zoe now campaigns for greater protection for all from domestic abuse and stalking, including the setting up of a national stalker register.

LONG READ: The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) was originally envisioned as an apolitical arms-length body providing oversight and accountability of the single police service. Dr Ali Malik explores the SPA's short history, and sets out recommendations aimed at strengthening the body’s legitimacy and increasing public confidence.

ANALYSIS: There is copious research about the phenomenon of domestic abuse, but little that is written from a leadership perspective. Dr Linda Reid examines the leadership of domestic abuse in the context of the police and their partners in a large city in the UK. 

Insight: It is often difficult to find an Appropriate Adult, as required under PACE. Sunderland University, in partnership with Northumbria Police and Vera Baird, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, have developed an innovative solution. Dr Donna Peacock and Dr Faye Cosgrove explain how the scheme works. 

OPINION: Cost-saving measures to be introduced next year will reduce the number of households that the Crime Survey England and Wales can interview. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University and Dr Helen Innes of Cardiff University explain the implications.

OPINION: With some eighty per cent of complainants dissatisfied with the IPCC, is it time for a fundamental change? Emilie Sundorph of the thinktank Reform examines the evidence.

Analysis: Positive information-sharing protocols, closer working relationships with all partners and strong effective leadership are key tackling Child Sexual Exploitation, explains Mark Cooper of GreyMalkin Consulting.

Interview: Four years ago, Matthew Ellis, Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, commissioned a report that would redefine the police service's entire approach to those with mental health problems. Now, just as legislation comes into force banning the use of police cells as a place of safety for under 18s and restricting their use for adults detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, Mr Ellis says there remains unresolved issues and it's time to revisit the debate.  

ANALYSIS: A recent study of the police’s use of data has found that UK police forces had access to a vast amount of digital data, but lacked the technological capability to use it effectively. Alexander Babuta of the Royal United Services Institute explores the opportunities presented by big data policing technologies, and the organisational barriers that must be overcome to make effective use of them.

OPINION: Is the Scottish Police Authority too close to the Scottish government - and if so, what does this mean for holding Scottish policing to account? Independent researcher Kath Murray and former president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents Niven Rennie examine the state of the SPA.

Analysis: The launch of HMICFRS’s consultation earlier this month on the long-awaited force management statements sets out its ambition to use them as the basis for a new, risk-based form of inspection. But what will this mean for forces – and HMICFRS? Mark Cooper takes a closer look.

LONG READ: The experience of terrorist attacks in the US and in Germany shows us how important it is for police and security agencies to share systems. But what can we learn from those countries that have begun the process of harmonising police ICT? In this Long Read,Hans-Jürg Käser of the Swiss Canton of Berne explores what European countries have done towards consolidating police systems and what can be learned.

ANALYSIS: The latest of a monthly series in which CoPaCC's Sandra Andrews takes a look at some of the most interesting and topical issues that Police and Crime Panels across England and Wales are dealing with. This month, Sandra looks at the use of artificial intelligence, and Durham Constabulary's development of the Harm Assessment Risk Tool (HART).

Insight: West Midlands Police launched Operation Close Pass last year to combat the problem of drivers driving too close to cyclists when overtaking them. A year on, the force has seen a 20 per cent drop in cyclists killed or seriously injured, but, as Policing Insight discovered, it has resulted in other unforeseen benefits.