Police forces

Opinion: When a police officer is killed in the line of duty, it sends shock waves throughout the police service and the wider community, but how can we ensure their sacrifice is not forgotten? Australian-based Police Mental Health Champion Melissa Gole explores the different ways Australia honours its fallen officers.

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.

NEW REPORT: CoPaCC publishes in-depth individual analyses of the police ICT provision in 10 police forces providing the largest response to the CoPaCC National Police ICT Survey in 2018. The 'Police ICT: Forces in Focus' reports are the latest in the CoPaCC Police ICT: User Perspectives series based on the Survey results. These reports are critical reading for anyone with an interest in improving police ICT provision.

Opinion: Last month, Sir George Hamilton, recently retired Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, delivered a keynote address at the annual Police Foundation conference. Published here in full, Sir George explores what the Peelian principle - 'the police are the public and public are the police' - means for 21st century policing.

Opinion: Cybercrime is notoriously difficult to prevent and police. James Slessor, Managing Director of Accenture Public Safety, considers the complexities of digital policing across borders and the effectiveness of the current policing model in combating this.

Analysis: Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick explore how hate crime has evolved since the Second World War, the impact of the more recent rise of far right extremism and the challenges facing policing in the current political climate.

Insight: The Dubai Police Youth Council was set up in 2017 to enable young people to have a greater say in policies that impacted them as part of a wider UAE initiative. Dubai Police Consultant Jorge J. Román Ph.D explains how the Council works and the impact it has had.

ANALYSIS : Vigilante paedophile hunters are playing an increasingly mainstream role in the prosecution of perpetrators of child sexual exploitation. But how should the police deal with them? Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou of the University of Essex explores the benefits and the dangers of working with these controversial groups.

INTERVIEW: In an exclusive interview with Policing Insight, NPCC International Policing Lead and Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police Andy Marsh QPM highlights the crucial role of the Joint International Policing Hub in preventing crime reaching the UK and his ambitions for its future.

Analysis: New research on peoples' experiences of policing at anti-fracking protests has pointed to an increasing criminalisation of non-violent protest. One of the researchers, Dr Will Jackson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University, explores the police's approach to protesters and the implications it has for police legitimacy.

OPINION: While the focus of attention is on the upcoming general election, candidates for the next round of PCC elections are also becoming clear. Nina Champion, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, and Phil Bowen, Director of the Centre for Justice Innovation, look at how the race could affect criminal justice policy.

Interview: Technical Expert for Thekking* Steingrímur Fannar Stefánsson tells Policing Insight about an award-winning project to share sensitive digital evidence between the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police and the National University Hospital of Iceland.

ANALYSIS : The way that policing is presented to the public affects public understanding and confidence. Yet documentaries such as The Met often give a very limited and stereotypical account of police work. Dr Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argues that police and the documentaries that follow them need to focus more on innovative programmes addressing problems at their origin.

Analysis: Last month's publication of the Government's Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy is a welcome step towards tackling the increasing menace of rogue drones, but is the police service in a position to deliver its objectives? Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth takes a closer look.

Analysis: As the Hong Kong demonstrations continue unabated, Military Historian and independent consultant Dr Jill Russell examines the historical context for the current disorder and the wider challenges of policing political protests.

INTERVIEW: The scale and cost of Police ICT makes it a highly risky venture with no guarantee of success so how does the police service embrace new and emerging technology without risking vast amounts of money? Policing Insight talks to Assistant Chief Officer Hacer Evans, Director of the Digital Policing Portfolio, about the 'Digital Policing Accelerator'.

OPINION: Though many new technology programmes introduced to policing have been plagued with difficulty, one recent programme has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Chief Inspector Martin Gallagher, Deputy Business Lead for Police Scotland's Mobile Working Project, describes its success.

CONFERENCE REPORT: The number of countries that attended this year's Australia & New Zealand Police Society of Evidence Based Policing Conference in Canberra reflects a growing understanding of the importance of embedding evidence based policing in wider law enforcement activity. Dr Steve Watts gives a flavour of this year's conference.

Analysis: Police officers carrying firearms is an area that has undergone considerable legislative changes in Australia. Professor Rick Sarre, Dean of Law at the University of South Australia, examines what effect these changes have had on officer safety and public protection.

Analysis: The influx of thousands of new police recruits in the next three years will transform Human Resources in policing. Head of Policing for KPMG in the UK Andrew Lea explores the challenges ahead and offers ways in which HR can rise to them.

Analysis: Following research commissioned by the National Police Chiefs Council into diversity in policing, Research Director for Crime and Justice at the National Centre for Social Research Dr Jeffrey DeMarco examines the issues impacting diversity and how they can be overcome.

analysis: The final paper in our series on Police and Crime Panels by Dr Roy Bailey explores the governance role of Police and Crime Panels and whether they are effective in holding Police and Crime Commissioners to account.

Opinion: Former Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire and now a strategic adviser on police and technology Paul Kennedy explores the potential of AI and automation for policing and whether the service is positioned to embrace new technologies.