OPINION: Ethnography has one of the longest traditions in police research. Dr Mike Rowe of Liverpool University explains how ethnographic research can offer an understanding of the work and role of police officers that other types of research cannot reach.
Analysis: England and Wales' Policing Vision 2025 and Scotland's Policing 2026 outline where the police service sees itself, both north and south of the border, in ten years time. Former Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett assesses both strategies and considers whether ambition can be turned into reality.
ANALYSIS: Following the recent critical reports on police effectiveness from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), Warwick Business School Professor Kevin Morrell analyses how the pressures of austerity have affected both what the police can do and what HMIC can measure.
OPINION: NPCC lead for child protection, Simon Bailey, recently hit the headlines for suggesting police needed to focus limited resources on those who had physically abused children. Dr Natalie Mann of Anglia Ruskin University warns that those who view images often go on to abuse children, and what's needed is sufficient funding to treat all sex offenders equally.
OPINION: The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners' (APCC) ‘Policing Vision 2025’ sets out a vision of transformational change across the whole of policing. Dr Stephen Brookes, Senior Fellow in Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Manchester, outlines the key leadership questions that will shape policing over the course of the next ten years.
13th March 2017
ANALYSIS: Recent revelations of abuse by football coaches highlights the vulnerability of children to exploitation. But are the police as well prepared as they could be to deal with such allegations? Dr Graham Hill, founder of Behaviour Analysis at the UK Child Exploitation Online Protection centre (CEOP), argues that police need to improve their understanding of why perpetrators abuse children, if they are to improve child protection.
OPINION: Taser has been a hot topic in recent weeks, with surveys suggesting that both police officers and the public want to see more Tasers on the streets. Steve White of the Police Federation argues that more open public engagement is needed - as well as sufficient resources - to make sure officers get the kit they need.
OPINION: Is policing losing a sense of its past? As a military historian who has worked closely with the US and UK military, and who has also had insight into UK policing, Dr Jill S. Russell is convinced of the value an ‘official history’ approach would bring to policing research, professional development, and policy.
ANALYSIS: The Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland have set out their strategy for policing in Scotland over the next ten years - Policing 2026. Independent researcher Kath Murray analyses the strategy and what it really means in the long term for policing in Scotland.
Feature: As the shortage of detectives reaches crisis levels, according to HMIC, some forces are turning to direct entry schemes to fill the gap, amid concerns the scheme ignores the value of time spent in a uniform and resources are already too stretched to successfully implement the programme.
OPINION: Last week's HMIC police effectiveness (PEEL) report painted a worrying picture about the state of policing. However, Gavin Hales of the Police Foundation argues the demands of HMIC may be impossible to meet for some forces - and that the report should be seen as a warning flag to the Home Office and Treasury that all is not well.
ANALYSIS: Research on body-worn cameras has shown mixed results. Oh the one hand, complaints against police officers dropped spectacularly when the cameras were used; but on the other, rates of assault against officers during arrest were actually higher. Dr Alex Sutherland of RAND Europe examines police discretion as part of the explanation for these different outcomes.
ANALYSIS: Is the way that we think about domestic abuse fit for purpose? Simon Kerss of Cambridgeshire County Council argues we need to differentiate between different types of domestic violence – and calls for a revision of national police guidance that will help forces break away from a monolithic response.
OPINION: Policing is being asked to move in two different directions at once: to grapple with geographically mobile crime, and to deal with increasingly complex issues requiring complex local solutions. Rick Muir of the Police Foundation makes a powerful case for deeper collaboration between agencies to tackle the challenges ahead.
OPINION: Taking on a 45,000-strong organisation, with a budget of more than £2.5 billion would stretch the most seasoned corporate executive - and the Met faces some serious challenges in the years ahead. Nick Alston of Anglia Ruskin University's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region warns that the role may be too demanding for any senior officer.
Opinion: Sir Hugh Orde OBE QPM, former chief constable of PSNI and head of what was then the Association of Chief Police Officers explores the challenges facing Cressida Dick, the newly-appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, and the skills and attributes she brings to the role.
OPINION: The use of spit hoods has become steeped in controversy in recent months. For officers, they are vital protection against contagious diseases such as HIV and Hep C, but for others they are primitive and are being introduced without proper consultation. Policing Insight takes a look at both sides of the debate with Ian Pointon, chairman of Kent Police Federation and leading human rights lawyer Chris Topping presenting opposing views.
OPINION: Cressida Dick has today been appointed as the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, replacing outgoing Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. Chief Superintendent John Sutherland takes an insider's look at what will be waiting in the new Commissioner's in-tray.
OPINION: With the announcement today of Cressida Dick as the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Rory Geoghegan of the Centre for Public Safety offers an account of the four major challenges facing the new Commissioner and the Met in the years ahead.
ANALYSIS: Though football crowd violence is less of a critical issue in the UK than it was in the 1980s, it remains a key concern in countries such as Sweden. Professor Clifford Stott outlines how partnership between academics and police forces has led to the development of theory and practice in reducing crowd violence, and flags up an upcoming CPD event at Keele University.
ANALYSIS: DCC Louisa Rolfe oversees West Midlands Police's WMP2020 change programme that features 33 individual projects designed to make the force more agile when fighting crime and more accessible to the public. Here, she explains how the force's innovative collaboration with Accenture is progressing.
OPINION: The College of Policing recently announced three future entry streams to policing, one of which was a pre-entry degree qualification. Serving officer Rich Honess outlines his suggestions as to how those degrees might be structured, based on his previous experience of teacher training.
ANALYSIS: Last week the Police Foundation published its latest paper, A Natural Experiment in Neighbourhood Policing, from its Police Effectiveness in a Changing World project. Andy Higgins of the Foundation outlines the ramifications for neighbourhood policing, as the Foundation launches its new research project to explore its future.
