OPINION: Serving police officer Ed Cudmore is completing his Master's degree at Canterbury Christ Church University. In the third of our comment pieces, he examines the response to the College of Policing's announcement about educational qualifications and gives a personal testament to the value of education in policing.

OPINION: Last week the new Police Education Qualifications Framework was unveiled, to a mixed reaction that was at times extremely hostile. Serving officer Gareth Stubbs unpicks the announcement, and punctures some of the myths and misunderstandings around the new plans.

OPINION: Earlier this week, the College of Policing published their "Policing Education Qualifications Framework", widely reported as requiring police officers to have degrees. Serving officer WestCoast Response has two degrees (so, more formally, he's WestCoast Response BA MSc). What does he think of this week's announcement?

OPINION: Earlier this week, Laura Knight, Director of the IPSCJ, outlined some of the barriers to barriers to evidence-based policing and her thoughts on how to overcome them. Here, serving police inspector and police researcher Nathan Constable outlines his thoughts on the challenges of evidence based policing.

OPINION: Earlier this week, Laura Knight, Director of the IPSCJ, outlined some of the barriers to barriers to evidence-based policing and her thoughts on how to overcome them. Here, senior lecturer Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University outlines some thoughts on the challenges of evidence based policing.

OPINION: Laura Knight, Director of the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice, participated in a recent Police Knowledge Fund conference. Here, Laura provides her views on the key findings from the event.

OPINION: Last week the Police Foundation presented new research on the governance of specialist policing capabilities. Ian Wiggett, CoPaCC Associate and former Greater Manchester Police ACC, responds to the report, and examines the difficulties and opportunities offered by national and regional collaboration.

OPINION: College of Police chief executive CC Alex Marshall this week called for an end to the blame culture in policing, and good officers being hung out to dry. Chief Superintendent John Sutherland reflects on the difference between mistakes and misconduct - and the need for police to know that they are supported when doing their jobs.

ANALYSIS: Vulnerability in policing is usually taken to mean the way that the police deal with vulnerable victims. However, as shown by last week's College of Policing conference on vulnerability, increasing attention is now being paid to the vulnerability and wellbeing of police officers themselves. Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University and Dr Ian Hesketh, Senior Advisor to the CoP, explore the issues and call for more research.

OPINION: Evidence-based policing (EBP) is an idea that has been received with enthusiasm among both academics and police officers. But too narrow a definition of EBP could mean missing a huge range of important research. Prof. Simon Holdaway of Nottingham Trent University makes the case for a wider and deeper look at the evidence.

OPINION: Ian Wiggett, CoPaCC Associate and former Greater Manchester Police ACC, casts an expert eye over the Vision published last week by NPCC and APCC, which indicates agreement about the challenges ahead. But will there be sufficient consensus amongst key wider stakeholders to see these challenges addressed?

OPINION: Ché Donald of the Police Federation of England and Wales argues that the much-trumpeted 'uplift' in authorised firearms officers (AFOs) is no uplift at all - and warns that without more Home Office support for AFOs, many may soon down weapons.

OPINION: Police officers who tutor other police officers don't always receive much formal recognition. Serving officer 'West Coast Response' lays out what could be done to recognise and reward the commitment of officers who dedicate their time and effort to coaching and training new cops.

OPINION: A number of stories have emerged in the press over recent weeks referring to police officers accused of sexual misconduct as 'sex pests'. Martin Holleran, former serving officer and now Senior Lecturer in Policing Studies at York SJ, takes issue with this terminology, and calls for a cultural transformation of the police service.

OPINION: What will the police forces of the future look like, and how will we get there? Sussex Chief Constable Giles York, NPCC lead for Workforce, makes the case for change in the recruitment and development of police officers, in order to build a workforce more reflective of the skills and competencies needed for the modern police service.

OPINION: Is promotion through the ranks perceived as a game? In August, @wecops ran a Twitter debate hosted by Inspector Gareth Stubbs (@DedicatedPeeler) on 'The Police Promotion System'. Neil James of @bselectedpolice summarises the debate and discusses some of the key issues raised.

OPINION: ‘Vulnerable’ is one of the most frequently used words in policing today. Ch Supt Paul Griffiths, Vice President of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, considers policing's approach to vulnerable individuals.

OPINION: With increasing numbers of serving police officers undertaking academic study - perhaps for the first time - the College of Policing has set up a new Academic Support Network through POLKA. Dr Ian Hesketh outlines why 'pracademics' might need a source of mutual support, and what the new network can offer.

OPINION: Academics and police are working increasingly closely - but what are the practicalities of such partnerships? How do they evolve over time? Layla Skinns explores some of the issues ahead of next week's international conference at the University of Sheffield, Working with the Police on Policing.

OPINION: What is the proper relationship between police and academia? Could a focus on 'what works' endanger the development of reflective practice? And could the growth in programmes being offered by universities in police-related subjects risk the commodification of policing? Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University examines the evolving relationship between policing and the academy.

ANALYSIS: How is policing responding to the challenges of digital crime? Giles Herdale of the National Police Chiefs' Council lays out the three priority areas that will fundamentally change policing and ready it for the challenges of policing by consent in a digital age.

OPINION: CoPaCC Director, John Tizard, reflects on CoPaCC's recent "Brexit: Implications for policing and security" event supported by leading law firm Fieldfisher. Many policing stakeholders contributed to the seminar discussion, including PCCs, Deputy PCCs, OPCC staff, senior and former police officers, national policing agency and government departmental officials.

ANALYSIS: The HMIC recently released their report on public confidence in policing - and at first glance it seems good news. However, Dr Kevin Morrell of Warwick University and Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University argue that there are a number of issues with the methodology and analysis of the research that means we cannot be entirely confident in reported confidence in the police.

OPINION: The use of controversial spit hoods was suspended last week in London after intervention from new Mayor Sadiq Khan. Nick Alston of Anglia Ruskin University's Policing Institute for the Eastern Region argues that not enough is known of the real risks and benefits of spit hoods, and the College of Policing needs to step up with rigorous evidence of the pros and cons.