Police forces - United Kingdom

INSIGHT: Policing Insight’s James Sweetland joined officers and staff from the Metropolitan Police for a live facial recognition deployment, to gain a better understanding of the operational benefits and challenges as well as the public response to this new technology.

ANALYSIS: New research undertaken in Cleveland Police into police pursuits has highlighted how forces could target their stretched resources more effectively, and potentially improve training on local and rural roads, as well as indicating opportunities for police to work with manufacturers and other partners to make better use of technology in preventing pursuits, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The recent Counter-Terror Expo in London saw Commander Dom Murphy of the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Command reiterate the vital role played by communities and community policing in defeating the terrorist threat; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the key messages from Cmdr Murphy, and the wider focus on the community model and the ‘golden thread’ of intelligence that is crucial in the UK’s fight against terrorism.

OPINION: The recent dismissal of former Northamptonshire Chief Constable Nick Adderley for gross misconduct prompted many comments from officers and staff who felt let down by his actions; but former Scottish police officer Graham Goulden, now an active bystander trainer, believes it’s important for officers to recognise the need for loyalty to communities, rather than simply blind loyalty to colleagues.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks more closely at why culture matters in policing, and how traits such as solidarity, suspicion, intolerance, and excitement seeking can damage public confidence, while others including conservatism, cynicism, and policing’s ‘masculine ethos’ can create barriers to reform.

INTERVIEW: Former Scottish Lord Advocate Lady Elish Angiolini KC is chair of the eponymous inquiry into the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens; in this exclusive interview with Policing Insight she talks to James Sweetland about the inquiry’s review of Couzens’ offending history, including historic indecent exposure investigations that were “doomed to fail”, “apathy and disinterest” from investigating officers, and flawed vetting processes that failed to pick up critical red flags.

OPINION: National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, believes facial recognition (FR) has the potential to be a game-changer for crime fighting; in this article – which appears as the foreword to Policing Insight’s latest thematic report, Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing – he highlights the potential benefits of FR, and the pledges from UK policing to ensure such technology is used ethically, transparently and responsibly.

FEATURE: Military services details, favourite places, and engagement with support groups are among the details of armed forces veterans entered on a new database under the Forcer Protocol, an approach pioneered by Greater Manchester Police to improve the search outcomes for veterans reported missing, as GMP’s Chief Inspector Mark Mangnall explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: Having had her own battles with anxiety and mental health, Police Scotland’s Sgt Laura Gibson embarked on a Churchill Fellowship study to explore the efforts made by law enforcement agencies in the US to better prepare recruits for the psychological impact of the job, as well as to understand more about why officers do take their own lives – lessons she believes could have real benefits in the UK, as she told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

ANALYSIS: In this second article of a two-part series about the modern ransomware threat, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland examines how law enforcement tries to respond to this challenge and what role policing should play, drawing on exclusive interviews with the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and other experts. 

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.

ANALYSIS: Young male drivers are four times more likely than older drivers to be killed or seriously injured on the roads in the UK, and road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among 17-24-year-olds; Police Foundation Researcher Ruth Halkon explains why her organisation has joined forces with several others to push for the next government to adopt a public health approach to road death reduction, including graduated licences and improved driver education.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This year's Global Collaboration of Evidence Based Policing , supported by media partner Policing Insight, runs from 2nd to 4th September in Melbourne, Australia and is followed by the UK Society of Evidence Based Policing annual conference 11th to 12th September. Mark Evans highlights the themes with the Australia & New Zealand Society of Evidence Based Policing (ANZSEBP) President Dave Cowan and UK Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP) Chair Alex Murray.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a two-part series about the modern ransomware threat, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the development and defining features of this complex crime type – including the effect of bitcoin, the potential impact of artificial intelligence, and the role of Russia – drawing on exclusive interviews with the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and other experts.

ANALYSIS: Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, the National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), has expressed concerns at the “huge shortfall” in wider public sector efforts to combat VAWG in the UK due to a lack of response from government and the Policing Minister over approach, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass can reveal.

INNOVATION: An 18-month sleep, fatigue and recovery biometrics pilot programme run in Merseyside Police by the UK’s National Police Wellbeing Service and Liverpool John Moore’s University has received funding to undertake an evaluation of the benefits of wearable technology, with a view to rolling out a toolkit across the service, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

King's Birthday Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise the policing and public safety recipients of the UK and overseas King's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

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.

INSIGHT: Recruiting and training a diverse workforce with the necessary skills and talents remains a particular challenge for policing; Harry Gooding, Director of Skills and Learning at Hays, explains a new apprenticeship approach which focuses on an individual’s transferable skills, motivation and attitude rather than academic qualifications, and includes a 10-week ‘bootcamp’ providing the coaching and learning required to embark on a range of policing careers.

ANALYSIS: As political parties in the UK begin their election campaigning in earnest, a Conservative proposal for a new national service scheme – which would include options for young people to undertake their service in ‘civic duties’ including policing – has prompted much debate; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at how the scheme might work, what happens elsewhere, and the possible challenges and benefits.

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.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff from the UK Home Office who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of a new department wide subscription. They join a community of readers from many other UK and international government, police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

INTERVIEW: A new report from the UK’s National Rural Crime Network has highlighted the role of organised crime in many of the machinery thefts devastating farming communities; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Northumbria Police Superintendent Andy Huddlestone, head of the National Rural Crime Unit, about the need for better data sharing, more resources, and greater prioritisation by forces to tackle a growing crime trend.