Topical issues

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Opinion: Henry Rex, Programme Manager for Justice & Emergency Services, techUK, the trade association for digital and hi-tech companies, explores the key issues that would enable greater sharing of data across public sector organisations

ANALYSIS: The proposed absorption of British Transport Police into Police Scotland appears to be steaming ahead regardless of unresolved problems, deep opposition from BTP officers, and ever-increasing reputational risks. Independent researcher Dr Kath Murray and Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland explain the ongoing issues.

Opinion: Forces are increasingly turning to technology to help tackle the steep rise in online child abuse. Zoe Rooke, of Future Digital, explains how safeguarding software can be used to monitor registered sex offenders' activity to ensure they don't re-offend.

NEWS: The Police and Crime Commissioner of Dorset Police has officially announced at the CoPaCC Police Governance Summit, that Dorset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police are set to merge into a single force by May 2020 when the next Police and Crime Commissioner elections are due to take place. 

ANALYSIS: More than three quarters of shop theft and burglaries are carried out by drug-addicted offenders - but many existing sanctions like short-term prison sentences have little effect. Rory Geoghegan, Head of Criminal Justice for the Centre for Social Justice, calls for a new two-year 'Second Chance' programme in a new report, Desperate for a Fix.

ANALYSIS: In the final extract from Vigilant Research’s in depth report on police futures technology, Director Stephen Roberts explores the threat from future technology-enabled criminality.

BOOK REVIEW: Independent Chair of Lincolnshire Police Ethics Panel Cate Moore finds Professor Kevin Morrell and Professor Ben Bradford's 'Policing and Public Management: Governance, Vices and Virtues' takes a fresh approach to some familiar problems.

Interview: As Rob Wainwright leaves his post as director of Europol to take up a new role with Deloitte, he tells Policing Insight how better intelligence sharing has changed the face of cross- border counter-terror and child sexual exploitation investigations and how it could do the same for financial crime.

Interview: Vanessa Soames, Graduate Recruitment Director, at Police Now, has spent nearly 18 years working in student recruitment. She joined Police Now two years ago, where she developed a new recruitment campaign to attract diverse graduates into policing, especially graduates who would never have thought of joining the police. She tells Policing Insight about the campaign and why the Police Service needs it.

ANALYSIS: The Scottish town of Paisley has experienced troubling increases in violent crime over the past year, prompting a robust response from the local division of Police Scotland. Martin Gallagher and Del Middleton, two of the architects of this response, provide the context and outline of this policing initiative. Dr Colin Atkinson of the University of the West of Scotland reflects upon the impact of this work for local communities and, importantly, for the police service itself.

OPINION: Other European countries face football-related violence - and often respond to it in similar ways to the UK. However, ENABLE, a research project on football policing, is seeking to explore new ways of policing football fans. Ch. Supt. Owen West describes the project's latest visit to see how Swiss police deal with their 'Ultras'.

OPINION: The Metropolitan Police's use of a 'gang matrix' has sparked concern from Amnesty International, which has warned that it could be discriminatory. Daragh Murray and Professor Pete Fussey of the University of Essex explore the issue, and the wider human rights risks of using big data in policing.

ANALYSIS: In the second of three extracts from Vigilant Research’s latest in depth report on police technology futures, Director Stephen Roberts examines futures capability in other public sectors.

Opinion: To coincide with National Mental Health Awareness Week, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and national mental health lead for Police and Crime Commissioners Matthew Scott details some of the work going on nationally and in Kent to try to reduce the time police officers are spending dealing with cases involving mental health.

LONG READ: International policing in a post-conflict scenario presents huge challenges. Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Manuel Lobato Barradas, a Riot and Crowd Control Unit Commander in the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) in Portugal, describes the difficulties of translating knowledge to the local context of East Timor.

ANALYSIS: What kind of structures might help deal with a crisis like the murder of Lee Rigby or the Grenfell Tower disaster? Martin Gallagher, a serving officer with Police Scotland describes Grey Space, a group he set up to monitor community tensions - and how he tested its capacity.

NEW SERIES: 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 allowing you quick and easy reference when you need it. Articles on the mental well-being of officers and staff are among some of our best-read features so we begin the series with a roundup of articles examining mental ill health among police employees and the service’s response.

INTERVIEW: Director of Staff Absence Solutions Ltd Mark Eastwood has worked in the rail industry for many years treating employees following traumatic rail-related incidents. Now working with police forces, Mr Eastwood tells Policing Insight how, with the right support, officers and staff can recover from psychological and physiological conditions caused by work.

ANALYSIS: Recent high profile rape cases and other serious crime trials collapsing due to issues around the examination and disclosure of digital evidence have sent shock waves across the criminal justice system. Policy Advisor and Co-chair of the Independent Digital Ethics Panel for Policing Giles Herdale outlines the benefits of E-disclosure tools and the need for standards.

INTERVIEW: Exclusive: Greater collaboration and more licensing agreements are high on the new head of the Police ICT Company’s to-do list. CEO Ian Bell outlines the direction of travel for the company.

ANALYSIS: How can police forces ensure deaf people can access their frontline services? Robert Skinner of Heriot Watt University explains his research into how video-mediated interpreting (VMI) services can be used to aid access to Police Scotland.

OPINION: The murder of Stephen Lawrence 25 years ago changed Britain - and British policing - for good. Benjamin Bowling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, King's College London, recalls the case, and reflects on the challenges still facing policing today.

Analysis: Vigilant Research's latest report launched this week examines the current police technology futures landscape and offers a set of objectives towards a centralised police technology futures capability. In the first of three articles, Director of Vigilant Research Stephen Roberts explores the current state of police technology futures operations.