Police forces

OPINION: Policing is a can-do service, but what happens when illness or disability mean that you can't? Colin Paine is a Detective Chief Superintendent in Thames Valley Police. Here he reflects on his diagnosis of ME/CFS.

ANALYSIS: In the mid-2000s, Glasgow was known as the murder capital of Europe. Now London Mayor Sadiq Khan is trying some of Scotland's solutions - but will they travel? Prof. Susan McVie, Ellie Bates, and Rebecca Pillinger of the University of Edinburgh examine long-term changes in violence and ask whether there really is evidence of Scottish exceptionalism.

Analysis: Traditional responses to trafficking focus on disrupting criminal networks and protecting the victims, but a European project is taking a different approach including ways to reduce demand for the services of those who are trafficked. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth explores the drivers of this $12bn a year crime.

ANALYSIS: Media reports suggest a surge in 'Albanian mafia' involvement in drug trafficking and organised crime. However, Anna Sergi of the University of Essex warns that this misrepresents the role of Albanian offenders and networks, and damages our understanding of the complexities of organised crime, and the global Albanian diaspora.

INSIGHT: How do you continue to effectively police a large rural force area when you’ve lost nearly 500 police officers in the last eight years? Devon and Cornwall Police believe they may have the answer with their new community responders - on-call firefighters who are also warranted police officers.

INTERVIEW: The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has launched a major new TV campaign for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to be heard at the Truth Project. Head of Truth Project and Strategy Helen Ryan and Chris Tuck, a member of the Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel and a survivor of child sexual abuse, explain the importance of the Project. 

NEWS: Issues with the Athena system, used by nine UK police forces to share intelligence and build case files, were highlighted on the BBC this week but CoPaCC's Police ICT User Survey shows the problems are not confined to Athena. Scroll down to listen to the Police Federation's Simon Kempton and Policing Insight's publisher and CoPaCC Chief Executive Bernard Rix being interviewed about the challenges facing police ICT.

OPINION: With an increasing emphasis on evidence based policing and greater engagement by police in research activities, Professor Juliet Lodge writes that ethics in police research are just as important as in their operational role.

INTERVIEW: As the Police ICT Summit gets underway this week, Police ICT Company CEO Ian Bell talks to Policing Insight about the challenges he's faced in his first year in the role and what the future holds for Police ICT.

Interview: On the eve of this year's Police ICT Summit Policing Insight talks to one of this year's exhibitors, Simon Hall who is the co-founder and CEO of Coeus Software, about the barriers to police ICT and how their technology reflects the Policing Vision 2025. 

Interview: Following the rogue drone chaos at Gatwick Airport last month, Policing Insight asks international drone detection expert Professor Garik Markarian of Lancaster University, and CEO of Rinicom Ltd, to explain the operational challenges of detecting illegal drone activity and how authorities can develop their capabilities to prevent further incidents.

ANALYSIS: Though the number of recorded crimes is rising, the proportion of those crimes that are detected is falling. Professor Marian FitzGerald of the University of Kent explores the figures.

Opinion: When freelance mental health consultant and writer Toni joined a night shift in December, she found officers suffering 'frustration fatigue' and a job that 'curates and nurtures' poor mental health. However, she argues that solely promoting resilience is not the solution.

NEWS: BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for the first annual "Police Governance" summit, which will take place on Wednesday 3rd to Thursday 4th July 2019. Put the dates in your diary today - and book your place now! CoPaCC Chief Executive and Policing Insight Publisher, Bernard Rix, sets out why you should attend...

LONG READ: Can history help tackle current policing issues? Devon and Cornwall Police Superintendent Jim Gale examines how the police service's rich heritage can support today's police leaders in maintaining the centuries-old 'social contract' between police and public.

OPINION: The issue of disclosure has made its way into the public domain, thanks to the collapse of high-profile trials. Mark Bedding, a former police officer now with Chorus Intelligence, argues that many police officers already have access to the technology they need to make disclosure simpler.

INSIGHT: Cheshire Police is one of three forces trialling different intervention models for stalking. Syreeta Lund reports onthe groundbreaking work of the Integrated Anti-Stalking Unit.

OPINION: As Israel joins the Netherlands and Canada in legalising medicinal cannabis, serving officer Martin Gallagher warns that there are significant and largely unexplored potential consequences of legalisation - not least, the future for organised crime groups currently operating in the cannabis trade.

NEWS: The New Year Honours lists for 2019 recognise the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom. Many congratulations to those in and associated with policing who have been recognised this year...

ANALYSIS: The drone-related shutdown at Gatwick has exposed fault lines in the multi-agency threat and risk assessment prioritisation processes at UK airports. Andrew Staniforth, Board Member and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence & Organised Crime Research (CENTRIC), takes a look at the implications...

2018 REVIEW: As 2018 draws to a close, Policing Insight's editorial team highlight some of their favourite articles from the past year and set them as FREE access for all our readers to enjoy during the holiday period

Interview: Police users have been complaining for years about the fact that systems can’t talk to each other: it’s also been a recurring complaint in Policing Insight’s police ICT user survey. Now a group of suppliers have come forward to say that things don’t need to be this way and the solution is surprisingly simple. Here, Policing Insight talks to one of them, Clare Elford, Managing Director of Clue which supplies investigation case management software to many forces and other organisations.

Opinion: Cuts to vital local community services have put the police service under increasing pressure as it attempts to plug the gaps. Firesouls CEO Dan Ebanks says the Social Value Act 2018 may provide the answer to getting more resources into local organisations that, in turn, would alleviate some of those pressures.

INSIGHT: The College of Policing states officers and staff reporting concerns about a colleague should be fully supported through the process, but for one individual who ‘blew the whistle’ the reality was very different. Here is their story.