Topical issues

OPINION: Community scrutiny panels (CSPs) can help to ensure the use of stop and search is fair and proportionate, says Nina Champion, Director of Criminal Justice Alliance – but only if they are representative of their communities, allowed to operate independently, and given the necessary funding, training and access to data.

OPINION: The push for greater efficiency and effectiveness has seen UK police forces increasingly collaborating on areas such as procurement, finance and HR with neighbouring colleagues and public sector partners. John O'Halloran of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) highlights some of the key considerations to ensure back-office unification brings significant benefits rather than additional problems.

OPINION: PCCs (and PFCCs) have a statutory duty to consult the public before drawing up plans and setting out priorities. But in an era of social distancing, greater public scrutiny and an increasing appetite for legal challenge, successfully fulfilling that statutory public consultation duty is more complex than ever, as Anna Collins of the Consultation Institute explains.

ANALYSIS: Launched three years ago, Merseyside Police's innovative Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) Knowledge Hub hosts around 150 pieces of research; in 2019 it staged its first event, showcasing some of the research and their practical applications. PS Andrew Fielding explores the presentations and the benefits of EBP to policing.

ANALYSIS: The speed with which coronavirus legislation was introduced, and its reach, led to calls for additional human rights-based scrutiny of the emergency powers. Solicitor Advocate John Scott QC, who chaired Scotland's independent advisory group on the issue, explains how the group was established and operated, some of the lessons learned, and how Scotland led the way.

OPINION: When it comes to the mental health and wellbeing of officers, former police leader turned development coach Gareth Davies believes there's a significant gap between discussions about the issues, and meaningful action or appreciation of their impact. The first step towards closing that gap is to create a culture where officers can have difficult conversations.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

OPINION: With routine stops escalating into major public order situations, people targeting and baiting officers, and the tension between police and policed now 'palpable', former Ch. Supt. Owen West – a crowd policing specialist – fears the UK is on the brink of serious summer disorder; yet officers must avoid developing a siege mentality.

ANALYSIS: In October 2018, Canada became the first G7 and G20 nation to regulate cannabis. Professor Bill Bogart of the University of Windsor discusses the recent report by Transform, the British think tank focused on the reform of drug laws, which argues that Canada’s programme to legalise and regulate cannabis has gone well.

OPINION: Mark Cooper, Director of Greymalkin Consulting, has been involved in the development of the police and crime commissioner role since overseeing the legislation that introduced them. Following the announcement of the PCC review, Mark considers its implications and offers some ideas to help the process deliver positive change.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this article taken from a series by the UCL Jill Dando Institute focusing on crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Richard Wortley assesses the potential impact of the coronavirus lockdown on child sexual abuse, and highlights prevention strategies.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of our interview with former CACP Executive Director Bill Moore, the veteran officer explores key issues including the role of the Chiefs’ Association, the legalisation of cannabis, and how analytics may have an important part to play in shaping the future of Canadian policing.

ANALYSIS: Police forces and public services around the world prepare for crises such as COVID-19 – but was UK policing ready for the pandemic? Benoit Guerin, senior researcher at the Institute for Government, sets out the findings of a new report which explores forces' readiness and response to the coronavirus, and highlights lessons learned.

INTERVIEW: A week after Paddy Tipping took over as Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Secretary announced a review of the role of PCCs. Undaunted, the former MP has welcomed the news, and believes the APCC has key role to play in promoting good practice, securing funding, and pushing for 'cultural change' on inclusion and diversity.

INTERVIEW: Having recently taken up his post as President of the Disabled Police Association, Simon Nelson talks to Policing Insight's Tina Orr Munro about the 'culture of fear' experienced by some disabled officers and staff, and why disability is still regarded as the 'Cinderella of diversity'.

Opinion: It's 15 years since the 7/7 bombings took place in London. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth looks back at the atrocity and the immediate aftermath, and how it shaped counter-terrorism policing.

INTERVIEW: Canada’s vast landscape and diverse cultures and communities bring with them their own unique policing challenges. In the first half of a two-part interview, Bill Moore, the former head of the country’s police leaders’ association and a veteran officer with a 31-year career, provides an insight into the key issues for Canadian policing.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this article taken from a series by the UCL Jill Dando Institute focusing on crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Gloria Laycock OBE analyses the crime statistics on distraction burglaries and discusses how this type of crime is set to increase during lockdown.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic Dr Michael Frith from the UCL Jill Dando Institute discusses residential burglaries and how lockdown restrictions have forced offenders to change their tactics.

ANALYSIS: Following the publication of the Financial Action Task Force mutual evaluation of the UAE arrangements for combating illicit finance, Deloitte Middle East’s Public Safety leader, Andrew Morley, makes the case for going after the proceeds of crime and identifies the key elements of an effective framework for doing so.

Analysis: The militarisation of police departments in the United States has been a feature of domestic law enforcement since 2001. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College Tom Nolan examines the impact of this approach on civil disorder.

OPINION: With the Coronavirus dramatically accelerating discussions around digitising police legacy systems, Ben Austen of technology consultancy Tisski outlines some of the main benefits – for both the police and the public – of improving cloud-based digital evidence and forensic case management systems.

OPINION: The disproportionate use of stop and search is often a result of either conscious or unconscious bias, and can undermine relations between police and communities. Police ethics adviser Montell Neufville examines the dangers of dismissing disproportionality, and how officers can challenge those arguments.

ANALYSIS: The recently announced review of police and crime commissioners could see an expansion of their role, a raised profile, and a 'potentially explosive' review of their relationship with chief constables, as Ben Twomey, Head of Policy and Research at the National Youth Advocacy Service explains.