Police management

FEATURE: The UK Government’s new Road Safety Strategy includes tougher enforcement measures, better use of data to address root causes of collisions, deaths and injuries, and the launch of a new Roads Policing Innovation Programme; but it stops short of introducing the progressive licences and tighter restrictions on new and young drivers that many campaigners had called for, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

LONG READ: With policing facing both growing demand and increasingly complex challenges, the role of leadership has never been more crucial; in this long-read article that draws on his own PhD thesis, Dr Aksar Bashir of the Force Contact Training Academy at West Midlands Police explores the concept of IDEA leadership – which fuses inspirational, distributed, ethical, and authentic leadership – as the ideal approach to equip the next generation of police leaders.

OPINION: The controversial killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has prompted widespread criticism after it was confirmed the 37-year-old mother was shot in her car; Penn State University Assistant Professor Ben Jones highlights that the tactic of shooting at suspects in moving vehicles has been prohibited in use-of-force policies adopted by many US police forces – both to prioritize the protection of human life, and for the safety of officers themselves.

INNOVATION: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes both increasingly exploited by criminals and dishonest actors, and offers significant opportunities for law enforcement, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the latest European efforts to leverage AI in the fight against the growing levels of disinformation – much of which can lead to actions and events requiring a policing response.

OPINION: Law enforcement agencies with “good policies” often continue to get bad outcomes; experienced officer Keith F. Lazaron II, who currently serves with the West Kittanning Police Department in Pennsylvania, explains why policy (what an agency sets out as its standard for behavior) almost always loses out to culture (what officers know gets tolerated) – and what good leaders should be doing to ensure policy and culture align more closely.

FEATURE: A recent Coalition for Canadian Police Reform report and webinar highlighted the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in relation to “system racism” in policing that is “not only historical but ongoing”, and called for the creation of a National Centre for Policing Excellence in an effort to advance reconciliation and improve trust between policing and communities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: As policing in England and Wales moves towards meeting the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing commitment, former South Wales Police detective Steve Dodd, a subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation and advocate of the community intelligence-led policing methodology (CILPM), explores how the approach can re-establish trust between modern-day policing and communities, and prevent neighbourhood policing from becoming a white elephant.

FEATURE: Recent research into the frontline police responses to domestic abuse incidents involving children highlights the inconsistent and sometimes inadequate service provided by officers to young people, with pressure on time and resources, ‘compassion fatigue’, and a lack of confidence or training in navigating conversations with children among the reasons, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: A new report from the charity JUSTICE into international lessons on the policing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how these can be applied to the UK has called for the creation of an independent central body to set minimum standards for the use of AI in policing and act as a repository of good practice, in an effort to remove inconsistencies created by the 43-force structure in England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With more than 60 presenters from police forces around the world, November’s Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Police Conference 2025 explored the core question of what matters most in policing; and while artificial intelligence, technology and digital transformation were all high on the agenda, it was clear that the overriding focus was on putting people at the centre of policing.

FEATURE: A new report from Police Now, marking the organisation’s 10 years of graduate entry recruitment into specialist policing roles – including detectives, neighbourhood officers and economic crime roles – has highlighted the importance of improving representation from diverse backgrounds within forces as the “foundation of better results and higher performance”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Ahead of the publication later this month of his new book on the ongoing roll-out of body-worn cameras, Brandon University’s Professor Christopher J. Schneider explains how research suggests the continuing expansion of the technology is being driven by media coverage and the “new discourse of police reform” focusing on transparency and accountability, rather than evidence of its effectiveness in reducing civilian complaints and police use of force.

INTERVIEW: Following the recent first UK national conference on faith and belief in policing, Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, the NPCC Race, Religion & Belief Portfolio Lead, and the Reverend Matthew Hopley, National Police Chaplain, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of ensuring the faiths and beliefs of police personnel are brought “into the open” so that officers and staff can live their “authentic” lives.

FEATURE: Two recent reports into group based child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in the UK – one by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the other by the Hydrant Programme – have highlighted a lack of data around CSAE, the need for more consistency around understanding and identification of crimes, and the importance of a “robust national solution” to tackling CSAE, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: As law enforcement around the world prepares to face the challenges of 2026, Editor Keith Potter looks back over the key issues Policing Insight covered in 2025 – from structural reform and the approaches to ongoing and evolving crime threats, to workforce wellbeing, the opportunities from artificial intelligence and new technology, and leadership insights – and how these may affect the next 12 months.

OPINION: Recent horrific attacks in Australia and the UK have brought the threat from terrorists back firmly into the public spotlight; research by Dr Sara Fregonese of the University of Birmingham and Dr Paul Simpson of the University of Plymouth suggests that what the UK public fears and assumes about terrorism threats is quite different from reality, with perceptions from culturally diverse demographic groups showing significant variations.

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a four-year strategic plan featuring priorities on public reassurance and code of practice compliance – and which also includes provision for thematic reviews on fingerprints, evidence from body-worn cameras, and retrieving of data from electronic devices – against a backdrop of “exponential growth” in biometrics and databases, and the associated privacy, human-rights, and equality considerations, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A recent report on police performance in England and Wales, published by the Institute for Government, highlights the “ballooning volumes” of digital evidence and more administrative work being undertaken by officers, and the damaging impact on chiefs officers’ ability to set local priorities amid the continuing delays in publishing the plans for police reform, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With UK police forces under growing pressure to increase efficiency and productivity, Darren Nicholas, Assistant Director of Criminal Justice Services at UK social justice charity Cranstoun, looks at the potential for more effective use of out-of-court resolutions – particularly when combined with technology – to save police and criminal justice resources while improving outcomes for offenders and communities.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol’s Innovation Lab on the impact of robotics and unmanned systems on law enforcement highlights the range of new threats posed by technology such as drones and robots generating new types and patterns of crime, as well as the potential for policing to leverage such technology to respond to many of the key criminal challenges, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Canada’s decision to legalise cannabis in 2018 prompted concerns that the move would lead to more stoned drivers on the roads; but research by Brock University Associate Professor Michael Armstrong suggests that the longer-term changes in drug- and drink-impaired driving bore little correlation to the changes in the legal consumption of cannabis, although there was a clearer relationship between provinces catching more drug-drivers and the number of police trained in drug recognition.

OPINION: In June 2024, Paul Anderson retired from his post as Chief Constable of Humberside Police after 34 years in the service, amid allegations of misconduct that an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation declared this month required no further action; in this article he shares his experiences of being on the “other side of the fence” in an IOPC investigation, the length of time such inquiries take, the vulnerable position of chief officers, and the media leaks and manipulation that can make such processes even more damaging.

INTERVIEW: Having recently taken up his new role as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), Carl McLennan spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of sharing and collaboration at regional, national and international levels, the threats and opportunities presented by new technology, and the need to ensure that the frontline are fully engaged with new developments and innovative thinking.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex and APCC Joint Finance Lead, explores the funding challenges facing forces and PCCs in England and Wales following last week’s announcement of the 2026/27 core grant for policing, and highlights extra funding needed to meet government ambitions around issues such as violence against women and girls, and knife crime.