Police forces - United Kingdom

POLICE FORCE FOCUS: Candidate details for the PCC Elections 2021 in Wiltshire, along with details of previous PCC election outcomes.

INTERVIEW: Channel 4’s To Catch a Copper series revealed shocking incidents of misconduct in Avon and Somerset Police; in a two-part interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, Chief Constable Sarah Crew talks about why she let the cameras in, footage of misconduct by officers that left her feeling “horrified” and “exhausted”, and her views about institutional racism.

OPINION: With the recent report from the Angiolini Inquiry the latest high-profile criticism of UK policing culture, former officer turned police trainer Graham Goulden believes it is time to drop conformity, e-learning and a ‘whack a mole’ approach to misconduct in favour of an active bystandership that will help to instil critical loyalty among colleagues.

FEATURE: The potential of technological advances to transform policing has generated enormous excitement across the sector; but while many in law enforcement are aware of the opportunities offered, much less attention has been paid to the fundamentals needed to actually deliver this kind of tech-driven policing, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explains.

OPINION: A recently published article on Policing Insight regarding modern slavery highlighted concerns about the impact of UK Government reforms on victims of trafficking, but the outcome in Scotland differs significantly to England and Wales, says SNP policing spokesperson Allan Dorans MP, who believes researchers and others need to pay closer attention to the emerging divergence in policing north and south of the border.

FEATURE: A three-month facial recognition trial in Southampton has seen door staff equipped with body-worn cameras to check pub and club goers against a database of excluded offenders; the success of the scheme – described as the first of its kind in the country – has led to suggestions that it could be extended to other areas, as well as to other situations such as preventing those with football banning orders from attending matches, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: When a social media post earlier this month announced Met Police Commander Karen Findlay as the new Assistant Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, the response included a barrage of misogynistic and homophobic comments that drew strong criticism from the leaders of both forces and many other senior officers; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now host of the Protect and Serve podcast, believes more could and should be done to protect officers from online abuse.

FEATURE: Former senior Sussex detective Alison Eaton, and former Cheshire detective Chris Howarth, are working with the Ministry of Defence’s British Peace Support Team (Africa) to deliver ‘train the trainer’ programmes that will help to improve investigative and interviewing skills for officers in sexual and gender-based violence cases in post-conflict countries, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A Metropolitan Police initiative which uses a digital triage approach to identify and maximise the potential of digital evidence in stalking, domestic abuse and sexual offences cases has led to investigation times cut by 75% and a 96% conviction rate for cases going to court – prompting calls for the same approach to be used more widely, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Body cameras have been used in UK policing for nearly two decades, having developed from a small 2005 trial in Devon and Cornwall into a standard tool for officers in the UK and across the world; Stuart Boutell, Director of Evidence Product Management at Motorola Solutions, spoke to Policing Insight about why body cameras are increasingly important and what their new V500 camera can do to help frontline officers, as James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: The UK’s complicated policing landscape of 45 territorial forces alongside specialist services and other national law enforcement agencies has often been regarded as one of the challenges to improving police efficiency and effectiveness; resilience expert Robert Hall, former Head of Analysis at the National Criminal Intelligence Service, argues that now is the time to revisit the potential of a centralised UK police force.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of Policing Insight’s exclusive interview with the new National Police Chiefs’ Council robotic process automation (RPA) lead Gillian Routledge, she spoke to James Sweetland about why she was so keen to take on this role, how she thinks RPA is perceived by those inside policing, and what it takes to actually implement these tools within forces.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the fifth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on a range of programmes tackling violence against women and girls.

OPINION: The ‘New Met for London’ plan is an ambitious turnaround framework for the UK’s largest force, in the wake of a series of critical reports and concerns around performance and public confidence; but former police officer Oliver Laurence, now a consultant and host of the Protect and Serve podcast, fears that poor communications – both internal and external – could derail the plan before it has chance to make real progress.

INTERVIEW: Kurtis Christoforides, CEO of police recruitment and training charity Police Now, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of attracting the “broadest and best” range of talent through a variety of entry routes, the new recruitment programme for specialist counter-terror detectives, and the need for all officers to be supported to ensure a representative service.

INTERVIEW: In an exclusive two-part interview, Gillian Routledge – the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s new Robotic Process Automation (RPA) lead – spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about what RPA can offer policing, why it’s likely to free up police time rather than take out jobs, and her vision for making the most of this exciting set of tools.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the fourth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on violence prevention programmes and police partnership from England, Iraq, Mexico and Fiji.

FEATURE: With elections taking place in the UK and a number of other countries in 2024, the volume and impact of digital disinformation looks likely to reach new levels – and policing is not immune from being targeted by those determined to drive division and hatred, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: An operation launched by Thames Valley Police to use in-house drug testing in possession with intent to supply cases has cut delays in bringing cases to court, improved outcomes and proved effective in taking dealers off the street, with other forces now looking to implement the same approach, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Last month’s Annual Youth Justice Statistics for 2022-23 showed fewer children sentenced or cautioned, improvements in disproportionality, and the lowest number of children in custody, but more children being stopped and searched and arrested, including those entering the criminal justice system for the first time; Keith Fraser, Youth Justice Board Chair and Board Champion for Over-Represented Children believes that while there are “rays of optimism” in the figures, much more need to be done to embed change.

FEATURE: Speaking at a recent Police Foundation event, Mark Evans – Executive Lead for Future Policing at New Zealand Police – explained how forces can build effective partnerships and take steps to improve trust and confidence, the benefits of listening to ‘angry friends’, and what senior officers must do to change the organisations they lead, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In the second half of an exclusive two-part interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, Temporary Assistant Commissioner Nik Adams – the City of London Police lead for fraud and cybercrime – explored the policing response to offences which now constitute nearly 50% of all crime in England and Wales, including the launch of the Government’s National Fraud Strategy and a £150million overhaul of Action Fraud.

FEATURE: The conflict between Israel and Hamas has seen huge increases in hate crimes (both Islamophobia and antisemitism) around the world; but the sharp rise in antisemitic attacks reflects a trend that predates the current crisis in Gaza, prompting the launch of an EU strategy on targeting antisemitism and a call for police and others to collaborate on protecting Jewish places of worship, schools, and community gatherings, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.