ANALYSIS: In the wake of recent corruption and misconduct scandals in UK policing, the issue of vetting failures has been highlighted as an enabler for bad actors entering and remaining in the police service; but as Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett reports, while more resources and new approaches to risk can partly alleviate the problem, a much wider review of recruitment, training and standards is required.

INTERVIEW: Martin Hewitt, Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, steps down in April after completing his four-year term leading the organisation through one of the most difficult times in UK policing: in this first of a two-part interview, he spoke to strategy and business transformation leader Raj Singh about what drives him, the challenges of leadership, the role of the NPCC, and what the future holds for the organisation.

FEATURE: To better support policing’s evolution to the changing state of the climate and deal with emergency management, the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) recently spoke to Dr Jarrett Blaustein, Associate Professor at the Australian National University, as ANZPAA Policy and Research Officer Rhiannon Van Vliet explains.

FEATURE: After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of collaboration, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

LONG READ: The Home Secretary’s recent call for a review of entry methods into UK policing is the latest twist in the policing degree debate; Nottingham Trent University lecturers Georg Tangen and Phil Rudkin, both former police officers, argue that the consensus of evidence to date shows policing does benefit from a degree level of education, and that the ‘loudest dissenters’ of the degree programme may be representative of the most criticised policing cultures and attitudes.

LONG READ: Despite four decades of recognition of the challenges a policing career poses to officers’ mental health and wellbeing, police organisations still seem to struggle to deliver an effective response for their workforce; new research by Policing Insight’s Dr Alan Beckley and colleagues at the University of Technology Sydney highlights the nature and scale of those challenges, and will explore what interventions work best.

FEATURE: The latest report into use of force by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has recommended reconsidering the issuing of firearms to all officers, and restricting the use of Tasers; but the Police Federation has warned that such moves would lead to more officers being attacked and injured, particularly with the continuing terrorist threat, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: This week saw calls for a ‘leadership style more open to critique’ to address policing’s ‘toxic’ culture; but Policy Exchange Head of Crime & Justice David Spencer, a former detective chief inspector, argues that while a new leadership doctrine is needed, solutions to the current crisis must be rooted in policing’s history and the unique role officers are asked to do.

ANALYSIS: While significant steps have been taken to improve Police Scotland’s response to domestic abuse, a new thematic review of the issue by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland has highlighted outdated and problematic attitudes to the crime, substantial pressure on resources, and significant delays in securing digital evidence that are hampering that response, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The ongoing debate about degree requirements for UK policing recruits took a new turn recently, when Home Secretary Suella Braverman told forces to keep open a route into the profession that didn’t involve a degree; former officer turned policing lecturer Tom Andrews, and branch Federation Secretary Jon Carter-Lang – regular sparring partners in the degree debate – sat down together to consider a potential ‘best of both worlds’ alternative entry pathway.

FEATURE: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley last week unveiled the outlines of a turnaround plan for the force based on “precise community crime fighting”, a new performance framework and new professional values; but just days after the ambitious plan was announced, the force was facing fresh controversy with the conviction of serial rapist PC David Carrick highlighting concerns over vetting, conduct and complaints, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: The Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) has been at the forefront of identifying new and ongoing challenges for law enforcement, as well as the tools, techniques and guidance required to enable officers to meet them; ANZPAA CEO Dr Tracey Green outlines some of the key issues policing will be facing over 2023, and how the Agency is working with practitioners, stakeholders and others to deliver solutions.

OPINION: The last 12 months have been tumultuous for policing in England and Wales, so what challenges will law enforcement face in 2023? Police Foundation Director Rick Muir explores the key issues for policing in the year ahead, including recruitment and retention, reviews and reform, and the potential impact of politics and new legislation.

ANALYSIS: A new joint investigation into the police response to ethnic minority victims of sexual abuse who may be at risk of honour-based abuse has found that inadequate ethnicity recording of victims has become an “intolerable problem”, while a lack of cultural understanding and awareness among police officers and staff has left victims facing “unacceptable” further risks, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: Data obtained from digital devices is now as essential to modern police investigations as DNA evidence or fingerprints; but a recent a report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services presents a damning assessment of how forces in England and Wales are handling digital forensics, and calls for new governance structures and more funding, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Another new report into stop and search has called for major reform and the launch of a taskforce on the topic; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone looks at the findings of the report, the context and application of existing powers, and how – in the absence of any viable alternative – police and communities could help to ensure that stop and search is used effectively to detect and prevent crime and increase community safety.

ANALYSIS: The pandemic presented new challenges for policing across the world, along with valuable lessons around the response; latest research by Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane D Johnson of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL reveals what law enforcement stakeholders thought worked well in relation to Covid-19 (and what didn’t), and how these might shape the response to future threats such as climate change and the technological advances of crime.

INTERVIEW: Metropolitan Police Commander Dr Alison Heydari, the UK’s national lead on out-of-court disposals, is looking to rebrand the sanctions to reduce reoffending, address offender needs and improve public trust, confidence and legitimacy, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons in this second part of her recent interview.

ANALYSIS: With inspectorate reports highlighting concerns over the use of anti-rip clothing in police custody, the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) recently undertook a pilot project with Dyfed Powys Police to improve the monitoring, recording and risk assessments around the use of such clothing, with a long-term aim of ending the measure altogether, as ICVA Interim Chief Executive Sherry Ralph explains.

INTERVIEW: Policing Insight’s Chris Allen regularly speaks to leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, as part of our ‘Spotlight on Organised Crime’ series; this week the spotlight turns on Chris, who answers the same questions he poses to others, this time in his role as Senior Police Practice Tutor at Bucks New University and Director of Criminis Training and Consultancy Services.

FEATURE: A new review by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody has called for closer partnerships between policing, health and other criminal justice agencies to address mental health issues and help to prevent deaths in custody as well as suicides after release from police custody, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The UK Government’s first year report into Operation Soteria highlights victim blaming and a lack of specialist knowledge among officers investigating rape, many of whom are over-worked, traumatised and inexperienced; Chief Constable Sarah Crew, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Adult Sexual Offences, believes that while the report makes difficult reading, it also offers the ‘best opportunity in a generation’ to improve the investigation and prosecution of rape.

ANALYSIS: Senior UK police chiefs met with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary earlier this month to discuss the criminal activism in some recent protests, with Mr Sunak pledging to give police “whatever they need” in relation to additional powers; but Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a subject matter expert on public order policing and protest groups, believes more effective use of existing legislation, together with a stronger response from the criminal justice system, could bring greater benefits than new laws.

FEATURE: With county lines drug trafficking increasingly recognised and understood across the UK, police still face the conundrum of whether children and young people involved in these crimes should be treated as offenders, victims, or both; Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports on a session from the recent 24hr Conference on Global Organized Crime in which Trilateral Research’s Jana-Isabelle Dilger presented guidance for frontline officers making these tough calls.