Police management

OPINION: The global response to the Covid pandemic highlighted that in many countries, public health and law enforcement have operated in silos for far too long; Professor Nick Crofts, Executive Director of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association, explores the ever-closer coupling of public health and policing, including a forthcoming forum organised to champion their convergence.

FEATURE: Independent custody visitors (ICVs) have helped to ensure fairer and more effective justice in the UK since independent public scrutiny was first recommended in the Scarman Report; recent surveys of the role and effectiveness of ICVs carried out by the Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) underline the importance of the role, the challenges ICVs face, and potential improvements, as CJA Senior Policy Officer Hannah Pittaway explains.

ANALYSIS: With policing resources under continuing pressure, the 2022/23 financial year is now underway, prompting renewed focus on how police forces are funded across the UK; in this second of two articles, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett focuses on the income raised locally by the forces of England and Wales through the policing precept.

ANALYSIS: With policing resources under continuing pressure, the 2022/23 financial year is now underway, prompting renewed focus on how police forces are funded across the UK. In this first of two articles focusing on police funding, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett reviews the core funding streams from the respective central and devolved governments, and explores why some forces and communities feel unfairly treated.

INNOVATION: With UK police forces looking increasingly to digital channels to expand and enhance public contact and service delivery, Suffolk Assistant Chief Constable Rob Jones shares an innovative project offering a live chat service for victims of domestic abuse that has improved accessibility and consistency, strengthened support and generated the potential for richer evidence to support prosecutions.

ANALYSIS: The UK has seen inward migration for several decades, and the growing refugee crises around the world suggest the number of foreign nationals residing in the country will continue to rise; James Williams, Policing Studies Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, believes police forces in England and Wales could and should be doing more to communicate and engage with the UK’s foreign national community.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: PIER22 is a FREE major policing conference focusing on child protection. It is the first time that speakers involved in leading and overseeing national child protection reviews will be seen and heard together in one session, discussing violence against women and girls, the voice of the victim and multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.

OPINION: With UK policing resources under ever-greater pressure, a multi-agency approach to tackling anti-social behaviour – particularly through the consistent use of much-misunderstood Public Spaces Protection Orders – can have significant benefits for both communities and policing, argues Dyl Kurpil, Managing Director of District Enforcement.

FEATURE: China is increasing its efforts to secure a Pacific islands policing, security and data communications deal; but by working in partnership with island nations to improve gender equality and empower women in policing, Australia could enhance its own influence and support in the region, says Dr Melissa Jardine, an international police consultant and former Victoria police officer.

OPINION: UK police forces are often confronted by generic administrative challenges and financial constraints, yet many opt for their own individual approach to dealing with such difficulties; Tim Scammell of software specialists SAP believes that by implementing the ‘adopt rather than adapt’ backroom mantra of many business organisations, policing could increase efficiencies and improve funding for the frontline.

ANALYSIS: The concept of ‘institutional racism’, particularly in relation to UK policing, has been a controversial one for many years, with conflicting views on both the definition itself, and how the service should tackle the issue; Policing Insight Academic Editor Carina O’Reilly explores the implications of institutional racism, why some are so reluctant to acknowledge its existence, and how the new NPCC Police Race Action Plan could herald significant changes.

INTERVIEW: The extensive and in some cases excessive searches of victims’ mobile phones and medical records in rape and serious sexual assault cases have reportedly prompted many victims to withdraw from the prosecution process; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to UK Information Commissioner John Edwards about his report published today, which sets out new parameters and guidelines on the gathering and use of digital evidence from victims.

OPINION: As the sequel to one of the world’s greatest action movies hits the big screen, Acting Superintendent Stephen Lenney of Devon and Cornwall Police considers what law enforcement can learn from the Top Gun franchise, and why focusing on noise, rather than the object causing it, can create problems for both plane spotting and policing.

FEATURE: Following the mass shooting in Munich in 2016 in which nine people died and thirty six were injured, the Bavarian Police began to examine ways of enhancing their digital radio communications to include visual information.

ANALYSIS: In the last in our series on continuing professional development (CPD) in policing, the team at the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning examine some of the key topics in light of the recent policing reviews.

OPINION: The Police Race Action Plan for England and Wales was published this week. British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi explains what needs to happen to ensure the plan brings about meaningful and sustainable change.

FEATURE: A new €7m European Commission research and innovation initiative has been launched to improve crime scene investigations relating to the transfer, persistence and background abundance of trace evidence, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff, students and researchers from Nottingham Trent University who now have FREE access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community from many other UK and international institutions, police forces and other criminal justice organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Demands have grown but tackling them is so complex that it is undermining common-sense policing, West Midlands Chief Constable Sir David Thompson QPM tells Policing Insight and PolicingTV Publisher Bernard Rix who met Sir David for a walk-and-talk as part of his Policing Friendship Tour across the British Isles and around the world, meeting people across the spectrum of policing.

ANALYSIS: Last week, the Home Secretary announced that volunteer police officers in England and Wales will be authorised to carry Taser, but is it the right move and will it happen? Policing Insight's Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: Last month, Cambridgeshire Deputy Chief Constable Jane Gyford and Detective Chief Inspector Leigh Allman swapped jobs for a day. Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons asked them what they learnt from the experience.

INTERVIEW: People with a disability form the single largest minority group in the US, and their interactions with law enforcement can often have damaging yet avoidable outcomes; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to Dr Stephanie Zoltowski – and some of those she has trained – about the importance of improving police and first responders’ knowledge and understanding of disability and neurodiversity.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores some of the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid development of new technology in the police and law enforcement intelligence field, and how a pan-EU project could help agencies and providers maximise the potential benefits of emerging trends and capabilities.

FEATURE: Should the role of policing be confined to that of a crimefighter? Or should it be more broadly defined? As part of his work on the Strategic Review of Policing, Director of the Police Foundation Rick Muir explores the idea of the police having a 'generalist response function' and whether this could work in practice.