Analysis: Police Scotland’s efforts to address concerns and potential weaknesses in policing football across the country have been given strong backing by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS). Policing Insight's Keith Potter examines the details.
Analysis: The Police Innovation Fund was introduced in 2013 and replaced by the Police Transformation Fund in 2016, but how successful has it been in bringing the latest innovation and technology to police forces? Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth argues the time is now right for a full evaluation.
INTERVIEW: Warwickshire OPCC are to fund 11 road safety organisations as part of a major strategy to reduce casualties following a 160 per cent increase in road this year. Warwickshire PCC Philip Seccombe explains how the strategy will work and Annette Lloyd who runs The Honest Truth tells Policing Insight why her organisation was chosen.
analysis: Independent police and crime panel members are generally younger, more diverse, better skilled and more representative of their communities. In his fourth paper, based on his research into police and crime panels, Dr Roy Bailey evaluates the effectiveness of independent panel members.
ANALYSIS : With extreme weather and Brexit dominating the headlines, it might seem sensible for emergency planners to advise people on what to do in a crisis. But when Police Scotland did just that with their #grabbag tweet, it got all the wrong kind of attention. Dan Slee, co-founder of comms2point0, examines the fallout.
Opinion: The high-profile case of a 15 year-old convicted of trying to build a bomb has highlighted the importance of early intervention to combat extremism, via the Government's Prevent strategy. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth outlines the tension between free speech and trust in the classroom and the importance of preventing the ever-increasing radicalisation of young people.
Innovation: Domestic homicides in the UK have reached a five-year high. Lucy McDonald, SafeLives’ Programme Lead for Scotland, highlights the organisation's groundbreaking work with Police Scotland to train its officers to recognise the early warning signs of domestic abuse and safeguard victims earlier.
1st October 2019
FEATURE: Each week, in the lead up to the inaugural World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture in November, Policing Insight will be publishing details of the 54 finalists. This week, the outstanding nominations include a police cadet scheme for adults with learning difficulties, a new mobile fingerprint reader, a drink awareness project in Australia and many more.
OPINION: The number of rapes reported has soared but convictions are at an all-time low. Ian Wiggett highlights the challenges of a Crown Prosecution Service under pressure, growing demands of disclosure in a digital world and police forces struggling with demand and a shortage of resources.
ANALYSIS: The Whaley Bridge crisis could have been a disaster - but strong communications work by the emergency services helped keep a community together. Dan Slee, co-founder of comms2point0, looks at the social media effort to show where it all went right.
OPINION: Racial disparities in stop and search has hit the headlines once again in response to an upsurge in violent crime. Dr Rashid Minhas of the University of West London suggests that a lack of diversity in police forces themselves could be contributing to the difference in experiences of stop and search.
Interview: In the second part of our exclusive interview, former Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Jon Boutcher talks about his current role leading the independent investigation into the activities of ‘Stakeknife’, a state agent involved in kidnap, torture and murder by the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland in the 1980s.
24th September 2019
FREE ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and from Suffolk Constabulary, who now have FREE access to Policing Insight with the start of new organisation wide subscriptions. Policing Insight is now available FREE to officers and staff in many UK forces and in other police and criminal justice organisations - read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.
24th September 2019
World Class Policing Awards: From missing people to reducing offending to fulfilling potential in the work place and fast-tracking detectives – Policing Insight is delighted to publish a series of six weekly articles highlighting the 54 finalists for the inaugural World Class Policing Awards. We present the first nine in alphabetical order.
Opinion: Home Secretary Priti Patel recently announced section 60 Stop and Search powers would be relaxed to make the process quicker and more effective. Stop and Search Lead and Chair of Bedfordshire Community Scrutiny Panel Montell Neufville questions this approach along with other 'myths' surrounding stop and search.
INTERVIEW: As terrorists continue to hijack social media to recruit and spread propaganda, cyber terrorism expert Professor Stuart Macdonald tells Policing Insight how terrorists are exploiting smaller platforms and the continuing challenges social media companies face in removing online terrorist content.
Interview: In the first of an exclusive two-part interview, newly-retired Bedfordshire Chief Constable Jon Boutcher tells Policing Insight why race has to be a priority for policing and why, as a 28-year career detective, he’s backing direct entry detective schemes.
NEWS: All forces in England and Wales have received national guidance on the menopause after 44% of female officers surveyed revealed they considered quitting because of their symptoms. The move follows considerable efforts by many including the Menopause Doctor Dr Louise Newson who highlighted the importance of this issue for the service in her March 2018 interview with Policing Insight.
analysis: In the second of five papers on Police and Crime Panels, Dr Roy Bailey explores their structure and organisation alongside a range of challenges including the impact of high panel member turnover, poor attendance, limited training and restricted funding.
Opinion: Current and newly-retired officers will be able to gain a BSc (Hons) in Policing Studies after completing a one-year 'top-up course' at the University of East London. Director of Policing at the UEL's Centre of Professional Policing (CoPP) and former police officer Dr Sarah Jane Fox explains why it is important that, as the new degree entry scheme comes into being, 'no-one gets left behind'.
Innovation: As part of a campaign to raise awareness around vulnerability, Northumbria Police conducted a social experiment to see how many people would stop and help a man apparently suffering early onset Alzheimer's. Northumbria Police's Engagement Advisor Jemma Woolley and Ch Insp Steve Wykes speak to Policing Insight about why the force took this approach.
insight: As the largest ever haul of heroin is seized in the UK this week, Policing Insight's Keith Potter reports on Deputy Director Investigations at the National Crime Agency Matt Horne's Police Governance Summit presentation on the continuing threat of serious organised crime, hostile states and the importance of a collaborative approach to catching organised criminal groups.
INNOVATION: West Yorkshire Police's imaging team has developed an innovative approach to blending 3D laser scanning with CCTV imaging that has led to a raft of convictions. Mike Skicko from Leica Geosystems, which supplied the technology, explains how the process works.
Opinion: Police recruitment methods have failed to deliver on diversity. With 20,000 new police officers about to join the service, Chartered Psychologist Dr Pete Jones, who specialises in implicit bias around recruitment selection and assessment, warns the service not to squander this 'once in a generation' opportunity to get it right.
