Police forces - United Kingdom

ANALYSIS: It’s now six months since the largest pro-Palestinian March in London, and the reaction to the policing of the event that led to the departure of Home Secretary Suella Braverman; as protests around the Middle East conflict continue, highlighted recently with the handling of an antisemitism campaigner’s attempt to walk through a march, Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone looks again at the claims of two-tier policing, the difficulties officers face, and the role politicians play in increasing tension.

INNOVATION: As part of a wider initiative to tackle violence in the night-time economy, West Yorkshire Police has used targeted social media campaigns appearing on mobile devices, with impressive results; as other forces look to learn from West Yorkshire’s success, Ch Insp James Kitchen spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the thinking behind the project, and how similar approaches could offer potential in tackling other challenges.

OPINION: UK policing faces a continuing struggle to leverage the maximum effectiveness and efficiency out of the use of new technology, while accommodating concerns around ethics and human rights; Darren Scates, the Met Police Chief Digital Data and Technology Officer, looks at some of the particular challenges around the practical implementation and delivery of innovative technologies, and suggests steps the service could take to improve outcomes.

FEATURE: Last month saw the launch of the Police Scotland Sikh Association, the latest addition to the National Police Sikh Association which has already successfully engaged with the Home Office on issues such as the wearing of the Kirpan and the use of face coverings during Covid; Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher reports on the birth of a new organisation with a focus on support and engagement.

ANALYSIS: With police ‘culture’ the focus of several reports and reviews, and a hot topic for conversation inside and outside the service, many UK forces have been re-examining their own internal cultures and looking for routes to improvement; Richie Maddock, an organisational development and cultural change specialist, explains the work he has been doing with Lincolnshire Police to help the force embark on its own culture journey.

ANALYSIS: With all 37 police and crime commissioners and police, fire and crime commissioners across England and Wales due to take office tomorrow (Thursday, 2 May), Policing Insight rounds up the campaign commitments, pledges and victory comments from the latest cohort of commissioners – including some new names, several familiar faces, and some long-serving office holders.

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.

FEATURE: At a recent meeting of European police chiefs, both Europol Executive Director Catherine de Bolle and NCA Director General Graeme Biggar voiced concerns over the risks of end-to-end encryption undermining people’s safety online; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the public-private partnerships between tech and law enforcement, and how the success of online terrorism regulation could offer solutions.

FEATURE: Chief constables in England and Wales are planning a strategy to promote policing history and say it will link to the National Police Race Action Plan and their work to prevent violence against women and girls; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to national lead on police heritage Peter Gillett and other experts to explore the issue.

OPINION: With many discussions around what policing’s core mission should entail and how it should be achieved, author, lecturer and former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher argues that a more Platonic philosophical approach to the debate could deliver some benefits in determining the role and remit of the service.

INTERVIEW: This month Avon and Somerset Police became the first UK force to launch an advocacy service for victims and witnesses of sexual misconduct within the workplace; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Vicki Moore, the force’s first Sexual Misconduct Liaison Officer, about the support that will be available to those reporting misconduct, the benefits to public trust and confidence, and the potential to expand the service to more issues.

ANALYSIS: While mental health and wellbeing issues have risen up the policing agenda, very little is understood about the impact of pregnancy and becoming a parent on serving officers and staff; Dr Sarah-Jane Lennie and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University, and Dr Krystal Wilkinson of Manchester Metropolitan University, have worked with Greater Manchester Police to undertake research with officers on the issue, and develop a toolkit to improve the response and support offered by forces.

ANALYSIS: A new report by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland has found that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has made significant progress on the “golden thread” of neighbourhood policing, but warns that high levels of officer abstraction, budget pressures and continuing security concerns are threats to the success of the approach, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: With forces facing a range of competing priorities in fighting crime, a dedicated high-harm fraud unit set up by Thames Valley Police is supporting victims and securing convictions against fraudsters targeting vulnerable elderly people with romance and courier fraud, as DI Duncan Wynn explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: In the second of two interviews with long-serving police and crime commissioners ahead of next week’s elections, Hertfordshire Conservative PCC David Lloyd spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about putting victims “at the centre of everything we do”, how officers are now “far closer to society than they were”, and made the case for new PCCs to “be joyful and do the little things”.

INTERVIEW: Voters in England and Wales go to the polls next week in the police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections; in the first of two interviews with long-serving PCCs now stepping down, Labour PCC for South Wales Alun Michael spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the risk of “hubris” among chief constables, why the PCC-chief relationship “shouldn’t be too comfortable”, and his reflections on 12 years as a PCC and 50 years as an elected politician.

ANALYSIS: Members of the public in England and Wales will have the opportunity to cast their vote for either the police and crime commissioner or mayor who will have responsibility for policing in their region; after the 'blue wave' of 2021, Policing Insight looks at the candidates, the political landscape, and the potential outcomes of this year's elections.

FEATURE: A survey carried out as part of November’s Investigator Wellbeing Week of Action has highlighted the need for improved localised support as well as concerns that seeking help can negatively impact career prospects; Policing Insight's Sarah Gibbons spoke to NPCC programme manager Sarah-Jayne Bray and national Investigator Wellbeing lead, Det Ch Supt Martin Brunning, about the findings and what more forces should be doing.

ANALYSIS: When police look to campaign against and raise awareness around knife crime, they often use images of knives and bladed weapons as part of the prevention message; but former police officer and now police trainer Graham Goulden warns that the use of such imagery by policing and other organisations can often have the negative effect of normalising knife-related violence.

FEATURE: In a speech at a recent Staffordshire University conference on police leadership, former West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson called for a “simplified” mission for local forces, with some functions and technologies taken out of local level to reduce “wasted money” and make policing fit for the future, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Next week will see police and crime commissioner, mayoral and local council elections in the UK, with a general election due in the next few months; former police officer Mark Brown, now a policing commentator and associate lecturer at the University of Southampton, looks at the neighbourhood policing proposals being put forward by the two main political parties, and how they could affect frontline delivery.

INNOVATION: Student officers at the Akademie der Polizei Hamburg have become the latest to use virtual reality technology to gain a greater insight and understanding of hate crime, following the success of a similar initiative in Greater Manchester Police (GMP); the Akademie is now looking to incorporate VR more widely in its training and hopes to work more closely with GMP, as Professor Dr Eva Groß told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: In the UK, partners or family members are responsible for nearly half of all female homicides, but there is an increasing rate of statement withdrawal from victims in high-risk domestic abuse cases; the LSE’s Professor Tom Kirchmaier and Dr Ekaterina Oparina highlight the alarming relationship between a police officer’s workload and the rate of withdrawal of statements by victims.