Police forces - United Kingdom

Announcement: Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive and Publisher of Policing Insight, provides details of the Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners (OPCCs) recognised for meeting their statutory requirements on openness and transparency.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: Wiltshire Police’s role in leading an extraordinary co-ordinated response to the unprecedented 2018 Novichok attacks in Salisbury and Amesbury was recognised as a winner at the recent inaugural World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture. In the sixth of twelve articles focusing on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at an outstanding multi-agency operation.

Innovation: The number of children missing from care in the UK is on the increase and the sole responsibility for finding them often rests with the police, but Durham Constabulary's Philomena Protocol has managed to reverse this trend and has led to a 38 per cent fall in missing children in care reports since its introduction in 2018.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises the recent PEEL Spotlight publication - Diverging under pressure - which provides an overview of the 2018/19 PEEL inspections alongside emerging themes for police forces in England and Wales.

Opinion: Despite the Good Friday Agreement, dissident violence still poses a threat to peace in Northern Ireland. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth reminds us of the devastating impact of previous IRA campaigns and the present-day factors that could fuel a resurgence in violence.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: A highly complex digital forensic investigation by a UK police team, which helped to crack a global cyber attack against thousands of targets including Sony’s Playstation network, was recognised as a winner at the recent inaugural World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture. In the fifth of twelve articles focusing on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at Operation Polarity.

Opinion: The search for additional savings in policing is becoming increasingly difficult, but the newly-formed BlueLight Commercial is set to transform policing's commercial capability increasing cashable savings and income generation. Chair of the National Commercial Board and Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent Matthew Scott outlines the benefits BlueLight Commercial will deliver.

NEWS: The use of Artificial Intelligence in policing has raised concerns in some quarters. With the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation due to publish a new ethical framework for AI in policing in the coming months, its Executive Director Ollie Buckley says public trust will be vital to its success.

Analysis: This May, in England and Wales, the public will go to the polls to elect their local Police and Crime Commissioner. Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine the lessons to be learnt from the previous two elections in 2012 and 2016 and what prospective candidates are likely to focus on in 2020.

Analysis: As UK police are set to receive new powers to tackle the problem of illegal drone activity, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the risks drones pose to our safety and security and the wider work happening to counteract them.

Analysis: Last week's police funding settlement - the biggest increase in police funding for a decade - has been welcomed by many in the service. While the headline figures are impressive, former Assistant Chief Constable and now CoPaCC Director Ian Wiggett takes a closer look and finds some questions still need to be answered.

opinion: There are 43 Home Office ‘funded’ police forces in England and Wales out of a total of around 50 law enforcement agencies across the United Kingdom. Darren Scates, Chief Technology Officer for the Metropolitan Police Service, offers his personal view on how to deliver technology more effectively in this distributed environment, and asks: "Can we increase the success rate of projects and programmes?"

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: A UK policing initiative to disrupt and prevent crime by combining targeted intelligence with enhanced use of technology and specialist training was, after achieving significant successes across two county forces, recognised as a winner at the recent inaugural World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture. In the third of 12 articles focusing on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at Operation Moonshot.

Analysis: The grooming of children is on the rise across England and Wales. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses this disturbing trend and considers how artificial intelligence is leading the fight against online grooming.

Analysis: Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal areas of the North are becoming violent crime hot spots. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth argues the rise cannot be entirely attributed to 'county lines' and a major rethink is needed on how forces tackle violent crime locally.

Opinion: The hacking of the MPS's social media account by two teenagers has been widely reported in the UK. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines this growing threat and the latest innovations collaboratively developed to combat cyber crime.

Recruitment Advertisement: Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel (PCP) intends to add two additional Co-opted Independent Members to further enhance its capabilities. Applications are invited from those with experience working within the Police or Probation services, or with experience in Accountancy, Estates or Public Scrutiny or from anybody else who believes they have something to offer the PCP.

insight: With all the results of all 45 fire and rescue services inspections now in, Catherine Levin considers how those services under Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners (PFCCs) have done and if those aspiring to become PFCCs may get a boost from the findings. It’s a mixed picture to say the least.

Opinion: Bedfordshire Police Stop and Search Panel has been highlighted as one of the most effective in the country. Panel Chair Montell Neufville explains the importance of being open and transparent with both local communities and police officers.

Interview: As cybercrime continues to rise, patterns of repeat victimisation are being investigated by new collaborative research between Southern Wales Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Cyber Threats Research Centre at Swansea University. Ph.D. Researcher Sara Correia shares with Policing Insight the preliminary findings of this ground-breaking research.

Opinion: In Britain, three quarters of those who die by suicide are male. Prior to taking their own lives, men's behaviour can be markedly different to that of women. As the police service is predominantly male, freelance mental health consultant Toni says it's time the service acknowledges this and develops suicide prevention initiatives specifically for men.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: A scheme that helps support children exposed to domestic abuse scooped 'Overall Winner' at this year's World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture. The awards aim to promote excellence in policing by sharing insight into the winning nominations. In the first of 12 articles focusing on the winning nominations, Policing Insight's Keith Potter takes a closer look at Operation Encompass.

Interview: In 2015, Humberside Police became the first force to be awarded an 'inadequate' in the HMICFRS PEEL Assessments and morale was at its lowest ebb. Since then the force has turned itself around. Policing Insight's editor Tina Orr-Munro interviews Humberside PCC Keith Hunter to find out how the force's morale went from the lowest to the highest in the country.

Opinion: The addition of 20,000 new police officers will coincide with the new degree entry qualification requirements, including degree apprenticeships. Former head of Innovation for Kent and Essex police and now senior consultant at Enlighten Training Martin Wilson considers the potential challenges this presents.