Regulatory/inspection agencies

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS' fourth inspection of the National Crime Agency which, overall, finds an effective and efficient service, whilst highlighting areas for improvement.

Long Read: In the second of our three-part series on cyber crime and its effects on  UK policing, CEO and co-founder of Cyber Security Intelligence Alfred Rolington offers a detailed insight into the current cyber crime landscape and how UK policing is managing the threat.

Police Governance Summit 2018: At this year’s Police Governance Summit 2018, Kathie Cashell, Director of Strategy and Impact for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) discussed the newly-established IOPC and the implications for police governance. Policing Insight reports on her presentation.

Opinion: Next year, the new Office for Communications Data Authorisations (OCDA) goes live. Interim CEO Shainila Pradhan explains the changes and the organisation's ambition to offer law enforcement a world class service.

OPINION: Can graduates be trained to be detectives in just twelve weeks? Or is the experience gained from time on the street vital to understanding the job? Prof. Stuart Kirby of the University of Central Lancashire weighs the evidence.

ANALYSIS: Neighbourhood Policing guidelines were issued by the College of Policing last week. Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation argues they are not just important for policing on the ground: their success or failure will tell us a lot about the capacity of our national policing infrastructure to deliver real reform.

OPINION: In the wake of the ongoing debate over new police entry routes and the Police Educational Qualification Framework, Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argues that knowledge in policing needs to be recognised as reflexive, and police education as a two-way process.

SPOTLIGHT ON: Policing Insight has over a thousand in depth articles on a wide range of policing issues. SPOTLIGHT ON is a new series which groups articles under one subject heading allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Here, we tackle facial recognition technology which recently hit the headlines raising questions and concerns as to its role in policing.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS's State of Policing report which is HMCIC Sir Thomas Winsor's assessment of the current effectiveness and efficiency of policing based on the Peel Inspections carried out last year.

Opinion: According to Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology, a system deployed by South Wales Police at a football match generated a  92% False Positive Rate. Founder and CEO of facial recognition company Allevate Ltd Carl Gohringer puts the record straight on how the technology works and what the figures mean.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at Big Brother Watch's report on facial recognition technology which it warns is being used indiscriminately and without proper oversight and regulation by some police forces.

Opinion: With Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) now increasingly used in law enforcement, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham says there are many unanswered questions as to how it is deployed, raising concerns about the lack of transparency and governance around its use.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at Amnesty International's Trapped in the Matrix which examines the Metropolitan Police Services' Gangs Violence Matrix which it concludes is unfit for purpose.

ANALYSIS: HMICFRS recently published the annual PEEL performance reports. Despite displaying forces results in the same data tables, there appears to be resistance to facilitating direct comparison of force performance. In the spirit of provoking debate, CoPaCC has converted the PEEL results into a numerical index to identify the front runners and back markers in PEEL performance.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at the NCA's The Cyber Threat to UK Business 2017-2018 which details significant and emerging threats to cyber-security.

ANALYSIS: PEEL's latest report on police effectiveness suggests that neighbourhood policing in the UK is not quite as endangered as the previous year. However, Andy Higgins of the Police Foundation warns that local policing is not out of the woods quite yet.

ANALYSIS: British police chiefs are enthusiastic about the benefits of body-worn cameras, so how do they reconcile the cost of adoption and maintenance with the other budgetary pressures they are facing? In an article from the 2017 CoPaCC thematic report 'Body-worn Video in Policing' , former ACC Ian Wiggett looks at the issues.

INSIGHT: Drones must be managed and maintained to the same exacting standards of manned aircraft. David Hunkin discusses how this can be achieved

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS Peel Effectiveness 2017 which gives a national overview of effectiveness in the police service.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at the NPCC's Livestock Worrying Police Working Group Final Report which has analysed four years of data to determine the extent of livestock worrying and the criminal justice response.

INTERVIEW: HMICFRS recently highlighted Gwent Police for its innovative approach to police training when it became the first force to use virtual reality technology for routine officer training. Mick Keyte, Director at Detect Deter Defend Limited and Tim Luft Director of Virtual Reality Simulation Systems worked with Gwent Police to implement the technology. Mick Keyte explains its benefits.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICS' Strategic Review of Undercover Policing in Scotland which examines the scale and extent of the use of undercover officers in Scotland.

INSIGHT: In an article from the CoPaCC "Bodyworn Video in Policing" thematic report published in September 2017, Gary Mason looks at how police firearms units require a more nuanced approach to body-worn video than their unarmed colleagues. From camera positioning to reviewing sensitive footage, questions about their ideal and fair use persist.

ANALYSIS: Report Watch summarises the main findings of reports that impact on policing and includes responses from the main stakeholders as well as media reaction. Here we take a look at HMICFRS Peel Leadership 2017 which gives a national overview of leadership in the police service.