Police reform

ANALYSIS: Approaches and attitudes towards continuing professional development (CPD) vary markedly across sectors and among employers and employees – and as a result, so do outcomes; in the second in a series of articles on CPD, Dr Paul Walley, Director of Learning at the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning, highlights some of the key elements of a successful approach, including organisational and leadership support, and consistent standards.

OPINION: Last week’s joint National Police Chief’s Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners summit once again shone the spotlight on trust and confidence in policing, particularly in relation to violence against women and girls; below is a full transcript of the speech by Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird, one of the key speakers at the event.

FEATURE: The killing of George Floyd and the ongoing debate about police reform pushed Minneapolis Police Department firmly into the spotlight, and prompted a recent vote on significant changes to policing in the city; Professor Michelle Phelps of the University of Minnesota explored the background to why voters rejected the proposed changes, and what that decision means in the wider context of police reform.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair Martin Hewitt believes UK policing is facing a defining challenge in relation to public trust and confidence – one which will require officers and organisations to listen to and learn from those who experience prejudice – as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.

ANALYSIS: Ahead of tomorrow’s London Policing College workshop on UK Policing Legitimacy – the fourth in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Dr Andy Bain, Associate Professor at Ohio’s University of Mount Union, explores some of the key challenges facing policing that, although highlighted by the pandemic, existed before the arrival of COVID-19 and need addressing.

INNOVATION: As delegates gather in Coventry for this week’s BAPCO public safety technology event, Simon Hall, CEO of police digital mobility platform PoliceBox, looks back at the predictions he was invited to make regarding police IT in 2006 – and the success stories, disappearing initiatives and surprise arrivals on the policing technology scene over the intervening 15 years.

ANALYSIS: The recent rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer has prompted a greater focus on police who use their position to commit sexual offences, an area that has been the subject of research by a team at Bournemouth University for a number of years; in this article Lecturer Fay Sweeting, Dr Terri Cole and Professor Peter Hills highlight some key measures that can be taken to address the abuse of position.

OPINION: Despite more than 12 months of negotiations to agree a bipartisan route for police reform in the US, talks between the Republicans and Democrats formally broke down last month, with no end result in sight; but Professor Thaddeus Johnson and Dr Natasha Johnson of Georgia State University believe that while congressional reform may have been doomed to failure, the federal government could still have a vital role to play in supporting change at a local level.

OPINION: In the wake of the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer and the wider debates about misogyny and the need for cultural change in policing and society, West Midlands Chief Constable Dave Thompson sends out a powerful and poignant message to his fellow male officers – along with some simple ambitions that can instigate change.

FEATURE: Latest research on the wellbeing of frontline Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers found that more than three-quarters were experiencing high stress during the second round of the pandemic; but as Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter reports, it was policing culture, the political atmosphere and the lack of resources – rather than the job itself – which were the most stressful factors, even during COVID-19.

Interview: Transferring into An Garda Síochána from Toronto Police, Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon wondered how she would be received as 'an outsider' implementing their reform programme. She needn't have worried. Here she tells Policing Insight's Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about the warm welcome she's received, her frustrations at COVID restrictions limiting her walks on the beat and how the culturally rich policing style has her smitten.

OPINION: Operations by police and security teams to clear homeless encampments around the city of Toronto have been defended as an attempt to ensure the safety of occupants and the general public; however, Professor Joe Hermer of the University of Toronto argues that not only is this untrue, but it also represents a betrayal by police and the mayor, who had previously pledged to listen to and build a relationship with the city’s most marginalised and vulnerable people.

ANALYSIS: With the world watching, the US, UK and allies involved in nation-building efforts in Afghanistan completed a hasty and messy withdrawal as the Taliban returned to power; Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon looks at the lessons to be learned from failed attempts to create a community-based Afghan civil police force focused on crime and disorder, and whether there is any hope for the recent genuine reform introduced by President Ashraf Ghani.

FEATURE: Over the last 40 years American crime rates have fallen significantly – yet so too have levels of trust and confidence in policing; speaking at this year’s Australia and New Zealand Society for Evidence-Based Policing Conference, Professor Tom Tyler, Founding Director of Yale Law School’s Justice Collaboratory, outlined the opportunity for a new approach to US policing, and how evidence could be used to support that shift, as Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter reports

INTERVIEW: Professor Paul Taylor, who became the UK’s first Police Chief Scientific Adviser in May, believes policing leaders recognise that science and technology will be crucial to the service going forwards; he spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about what his role will be, the importance of partnerships with education and industry, and how the National Crime Laboratory will drive evidence-based good practice in communities across the country.

FEATURE: After a turbulent 12 months for policing in the United States, it’s no surprise that President Joe Biden is working on – or has already implemented – a range of measures that will impact on law enforcement; Brady Kirkpatrick, owner and Editor-in-Chief of website Gun Made, highlights the key reforms already introduced by the Biden administration, and those likely to materialise in the coming weeks and months.

ANALYSIS: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professors Richard Rosenfeld and David Klinger of the University of Missouri, St. Louis outline how tackling three key issues – subduing the pandemic, redoubling smart policing tactics and implementing police reform – could provide a three-pronged strategy for reducing violent crime.

OPINION: Police ethics advisor Montell Neufville explores the issue of police legitimacy, what it means and its relationship to building trust and confidence in policing, whose role it is to build that trust and confidence, and the opportunities and recommendations for how this can be achieved.

OPINION: The recent inquest into the Fishmonger’s Hall terror attack highlighted missed opportunities into the investigation of terrorist Usman Khan, and prompted criticism of the police and security services for their failure to share information more effectively; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth believes that, in the light of this inquest and other previous incidents, it’s now time to consider if the present UK counter-terrorism architecture is fit for purpose.

ANALYSIS: While COVID-19 created new challenges for policing globally, many of the key issues in play before the pandemic continue to pose major questions for law enforcement; Dr Victoria Herrington, Director Knowledge at the Australian Institute for Police Management, and ACC Jackie Sebire of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire’s Joint Protective Services Command, believe a policing future which leans into complexity and embraces an expansive role is the way forward.

INSIGHT: Prosecution levels in rape cases nationally have been described as ‘pretty woeful’, and Avon and Somerset had one of the worst charging rates in England and Wales; Project Bluestone has seen the force working with leading academics to assess the problems and address the failings, an initiative which one senior officer said has put ‘fire in the belly of our investigators’, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

Insight: As Operation Uplift continues to attract new recruits, many candidates appear confused about the process and have ill-conceived ideas of what attributes are required to be a successful police officer; former Deputy Chief Constable Alan Baldwin explains how the service and outside agencies can help promote and hone key skills to ensure appropriate representation from diverse communities.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Elliott Averett, a former Seattle Police officer and JD candidate at Georgetown University, explains why rioting, lack of support from political leadership, and the threat of defunding and layoffs are driving good police officers to quit.

OPINION: Later this month the Cumberland Lodge Police Conference will focus on law enforcement and reconciliation, and how to address the complex issues around past harms; Met Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Beckley, currently leading the Operation Resolve investigation into the Hillsborough Disaster, highlights some of the challenges in balancing calls for sanctions, retribution and formal accountability, with the importance of learning, understanding and healing.