Police forces

Opinion: The lockdown and social distancing means trainers and course providers have had to find different ways to deliver their courses. Despite the challenges of moving a CPD-accredited settlement course for leavers to a virtual setting, Mightify's Tom Wheelhouse found many participants preferred this new style of delivery.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Europol on how Covid-19 will shape serious and organised crime landscape in the EU beyond the pandemic.

ANALYSIS: For the final article in our series on police workforce numbers in England & Wales, Ian Wiggett revisits his first article, which forecast likely officer numbers for each force in 2023, to take into account data just published by the Home Office that clarifies the calculations used to measure progress in recruiting the planned 20,000 uplift in officers.

Analysis: Senior Business Manager at Frazer-Nash Consultancy Martin Soltau says that current discussions among chief constables about the future of police air support represent a rare and significant opportunity to transform a service that is exceptionally valuable – and extremely complex.

Analysis: Many countries are beginning to ease lockdown restrictions, but as the world charts a path out of the pandemic, the future remains uncertain for all including policing. Assistant Director of Strategic Foresight for the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Mike Richmond examines the different post-pandemic 'scenarios' that law enforcement may be faced with in the coming months and years.

Analysis: While many forces have trialled alternative energy vehicles, Gloucestershire Constabulary is now the trailblazer for UK policing, with electric vehicles (EVs) making up more than 20% of its fleet. Policing Insight spoke to Head of Transport Services Steve Imms about all things electric – including rural charging infrastructure, range anxiety EV response capability, and the holy grail of alternative fuelling.

ANALYSIS : The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policing are far-reaching. Dr Liz Aston, Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), explores some of them further, particularly from a Scottish perspective.

BOOK REVIEW: Crisis communication strategies are all about processes and systems, but communications expert Amanda Coleman argues in her new book - Crisis Communication Strategies: How to Prepare in Advance, Respond Effectively and Recover in Full - the key to the success of any strategy is how people are treated.

Analysis: In the fourth article of our series looking at police workforce numbers in England and Wales, Ian Wiggett examines the current police funding formula and how it increases disparity between forces, impacting decisions, including recruitment.

Opinion: Tom Nolan, Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College, Boston University, explores how the pandemic is affecting crime statistics in the United States and the impact it is having on the police response.

Innovation: In the second of a series of articles, Charlie Norman, managing director of road safety organisation DriveTech, argues that temporary changes to the way that motoring offenders are dealt with, brought about by the Coronavirus, are proving so successful that there’s a strong case for making them permanent.

Opinion: With some daily headlines in Britain focused on the use of police powers in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Ian Loader from the University of Oxford considers the role of the police and how effective the current police response has been.

Analysis: Dr Alex Oaten from the University of Birmingham and Dr Chris Allen from the University of Leicester consider the principle of policing by consent and whether this has been lost in the policing reponse by some forces to the COVID-19 pandemic.

OPINION: The culture of policing has undoubtedly evolved over the last decades, but what does the latest stage mean? Serving officer Martin Gallagher argues that the 'fourth age' of policing could see mobile working undermine the capacity of senior officers to lead on the frontline.

INSIGHT: A rapid flattening of the now familiar Covid-19 infection curve has enabled the Isle of Man to ease some of the current restrictions, ahead of the United Kingdom. Isle of Man Chief Constable Gary Roberts shares the challenges this has presented and some of the early lessons learnt.

Analysis: Mixed teams of officers and staff are commonplace in UK policing, but civilian staff numbers have fallen significantly while police officer numbers are set to swell by an additional 20,000. In the third article of this series, Ian Wiggett examines the implications this shift towards more officers will have for policing.

INTERVIEW: As the rise of far-right extremism concerns senior counter-terrorism police officers, Dr Rakib Ehsan, terrorism expert from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), explains to Policing Insight the motivations and propaganda that is fuelling recruitment to far-right groups, and how they are weaponising the COVID-19 crisis.

Opinion: As retired police officers are asked to consider returning to their force to help police the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, policing commentator Mark Brown discusses how the UK could develop a resilient and effective policing model able to cope in times of crisis.

Interview: Last month, amid concerns, the Government announced 4,000 low-risk prisoners would be released to tackle the spread of Covid-19. Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons asks West Midlands Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Waheed Saleem, who is leading a multi-agency, regional response, how will the scheme will work.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

Analysis: AUSTRALIA: Following the horrific deaths of four Victorian police officers, Dr. Kelly Hine, a lecturer in criminology at Australian National University, looks at how Australian officers are sustaining injuries and other medical conditions, and how often are officers dying in the line of duty.

OPINION: The UK police service is in the process of developing the Single Online Home, a national, digital counter service offering over forty policing services. But then the world changed. NPCC Lead for Digital Public Contact and Chief Constable of Leicestershire Simon Cole QPM reflects on the progress made and the impact of Covid-19.

Innovation: Scrutiny is a vital aspect of police governance, but how does it work during a pandemic? Last week, Cheshire Police and Crime Panel became the first to use Zoom to question Cheshire PCC David Keane on how the force is performing in these unprecedented times. But can a 'virtual meeting' be a substitute for the real thing?

INTERVIEW: Policing is facing its greatest challenge since the Second World War as officers enforce the lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Bedfordshire Chief Constable Garry Forsyth tells Policing Insight how the Coronavirus has touched every aspect of police business, including challenging accepted working practices.