OPINION: The August Bank Holiday weekend saw huge crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival, and while many were there to celebrate, others were intent on violence, with eight stabbings, two fatalities, more than 50 police officers injured, and 334 arrests; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now Managing Director of the Public Safety Foundation, believe it’s time to take a new approach to making the event safer.

ANAYLSIS: A review of stalking in London, carried out by the city’s Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, describes the response to victims as “woefully inadequate” and calls for legislative reform, increased awareness and training, and updated protocols from police chiefs and prosecutors to improve criminal justice outcomes and support for victims across England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: In his first interview in the role, Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board Tijs Broeke spoke about his goals for the force, how a shocking homophobic attack encouraged him to get involved in policing as a special constable, and why politicians focusing on wokeness in policing are “wasting their time”, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: A new report from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties claims that Ireland’s An Garda Síochána has yet to make significant progress on addressing a number of human rights concerns highlighted six years ago; but the force has strenuously defended its approach, pointing to a number of developments around cultural awareness, community and diversity as evidence that human rights remain at the heart of the Garda’s role, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: With UK police forces working hard and looking at innovative approaches to improve the victim experience and enhance public trust and confidence, Jamie Robinson and Saman Ridha of Capgemini Invent look at the latest digitally-driven communications portals being pioneered by Thames Valley Police and others to create a more effective victim-centric approach.

OPINION: In a response to an earlier article exploring the strategic direction of Police Scotland, former President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents Prof Niven Rennie argues that financial constraint – both in policing and across the public sector – is a key factor in determining the priorities for the force, and calls for support for Chief Constable Jo Farrell’s efforts to navigate these challenges, as well as a more unified public sector approach.

OPINION: With communities across Canada considering whether the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should be responsible for municipal policing, the city of Surrey in British Columbia has become one of the first to look to replace it with a newly-formed Surrey Police Service; but Royal Roads University Lecturer Dr Bryce Casavant believes the controversy and conflict between the RCMP and Surrey Police highlights the challenges around the transition.

ANALYSIS: Last week’s PCC elections in England and Wales were a combination of predictable wins, surprise victories and tight contests, against the backdrop of a low turnout and minimal media coverage; Policing Insight’s Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a closer look at the policy and political implications of the results, and whether this year’s outcomes could affect campaigning techniques and voting intentions in future PCC elections.

ANALYSIS: With the major media focus and political campaigning around the local council and mayoral elections last week, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections which were running in tandem slipped past largely unnoticed outside policing circles; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the significant ‘red tide’ that replaced 2021’s ‘blue wave’, as well as the challenges facing the new office holders, and the concerns over low voter turnout.

INTERVIEW: This month saw the launch of the new Inspectorate of Policing and the appointment of the first Inspector General (IG) of Policing for Ontario; Ryan Teschner, who has taken up the IG role, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the background to the changes, what he is hoping to achieve, and the potential benefits of improved oversight of policing in the province.

FEATURE: The latest Assurance Review by the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has called for stronger governance of biometric data – particularly images – held by the country’s law enforcement agencies, while restating the Commissioner’s opposition to UK Government plans to give police forces access to passport and driving licence images for use with tools such as facial recognition, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: GardaSAFE, the new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system rolled out by An Garda Síochána, has been described by senior officers as “far and away better” than previous systems, and praised for delivering “continuous improvement”; but a recent report raised concerns that a review of the system was not able to monitor live calls because of data privacy fears, an approach which the review team described as “retrograde and risk averse”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A recent survey of An Garda Síochána officers and staff highlighted concerns around training, a lack of performance culture, and poor change management, while at a Policing Authority meeting discussing the report, Commissioner Drew Harris told Authority members that 27% of the force’s staff had applied to transfer ahead of a new bill which would remove their Civil Service status, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: The ‘degree-entry’ debate can often be too focused on England and Wales, but research from former police officer turned academic Dr Andy Tatnell doesn’t have that problem; his thesis looks at the interesting differences in how Scotland, Sweden and Finland handle the complex work of training up their new frontline cops, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In this first in a two-part interview, City of London Police Temporary Commissioner Peter O’Doherty spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the unique challenges of policing London’s Square Mile, efforts to rebuild trust and confidence with the public, and his personal reflections on taking over a major force for the first time.

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: Responsibility for policing was taken by the office of the elected mayor of London in 2016.

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: Responsibility for policing was taken by the office of the elected mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2016.

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: The election for the first York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor will take place on Thursday 2 May 2024. The powers of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to oversee the Police and Fire services in York and North Yorkshire will be transferred to the new Mayor once elected, along with the Commissioner’s role as the Fire Authority.

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: The election for the South Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor will take place on Thursday 2 May 2024. The powers of the Police and Crime Commissioner to oversee the Police services in South Yorkshire will be transferred to the new Mayor once elected.

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: The office of West Yorkshire police and crime commissioner was abolished on the date of the 2021 elections and the role was taken up by the office of the to be elected mayor of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

OPINION: The debate around gender identity principles and their impact on police guidance and processes is proving challenging for UK public sector organisations including policing; but Dr Kath Murray, policing researcher and part of the MurrayBlackburnMackenzie policy analysis collective, believes Police Scotland’s approach to the gender identity debate – driven in part by a risk-averse culture reflecting its difficult start and recent controversies – will prove particularly problematic for the force and the community.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reveals how many candidates have applied for each of the top jobs in policing in England and Wales over the past three years, and finds out what the likes of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Chair Donna Jones and others believe this shows about the state of the process.

FEATURE: Artificial intelligence was a major item on the agenda at this month’s Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council Partnership Summit, where a panel including Policing Minister Chris Philp, National Police Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Paul Taylor, West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor Alison Lowe, and Professor Marion Oswald of the Alan Turing Institute explored how this technology will transform policing, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: A new study from Crest Advisory on the impact of devolving justice approaches to local areas has highlighted the positive outcomes of initiatives aimed at reducing reoffending and supporting specific vulnerable groups in four case study areas, with particular success for “whole-system approaches” delivered under police and crime commissioner and mayoral protocols, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.