Good practice

ANALYSIS: The latest survey of survivors of rape and sexual assault into their experiences of the response by police in England and Wales has found that overall, Operation Soteria is improving the service delivered, but still only 40% of victims would report another sexual offence because of a lack of trust – although a series of simple steps could dramatically improve that reporting rate, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: An evaluation of a successful street outreach programme – pioneered by Leicestershire Police, but using community outreach staff rather than uniformed officers – has highlighted a significant drop in both the frequency and severity of offences in several city centre crime hotspot areas, as well as considerable financial savings, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland has praised Police Scotland’s “robust and effective” response to missing persons, with the national multi-agency framework driven by the force described as a “particular strength”; but inspectors have also called for more to be done “to ensure that clear leadership and strategic direction is in place”, raise awareness among officers and partners, and address technical and resource challenges, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: With domestic abuse (DA) now recognised as a policing priority for UK forces, a new approach to tackling the issue has been launched by Dyfed Powys Police, with neighbourhood policing teams adopting the 4Ps model (prepare, protect, prevent, pursue) usually associated with terrorism and organised crime to provide an improved service to medium-risk DA victims and target offenders more effectively, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

LONG READ: A record number of police forces in England and Wales have been put into special measures (formally known as ‘Engage’) over the past three years – but what does Engage mean, and how do forces move out of it? Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke to HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke, as well as two Chief Constables who have led their forces out of special measures – Staffordshire’s Chris Noble and Wiltshire’s Catherine Roper – to find out more.

INTERVIEW: With almost half of police forces in England and Wales having adopted and implemented the Operation Soteria model to tackle rape and serious sexual offences, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to City University of London Professor Katrin Hohl and Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Sarah Crew about the continuing roll out of the programme, the expansion of the approach to address domestic abuse, and concerns that an end to funding could threaten the progress already made.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: We have sold out Building Bridges at Blue - Canada’s first in-person Evidence-Based Policing Conference taking place November 7 & 8, 2024, at the iconic Blue Mountain Resort, in Collingwood, Ontario. This event is drawing attendees from post secondary institutions, police agencies and industry stakeholders across Canada.

INTERVIEW: As the new Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), ex-Home Office official Rachel Watson is heading up a body that’s constantly in the headlines; in an interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, she explained the IOPC’s aim to be “really radical in speeding up parts of its investigations”, why a funding boost’s needed to mitigate a 34% real-terms budget cut, and why it’s “healthy” that the watchdog “won’t always agree with policing”.

INTERVIEW: Having experienced plenty of “ugly” and “brutal” racism in her younger life and early policing career, Leanne Liddle has now joined Northern Territory Police Force as Executive Director of the Community Resilience and Engagement Command, with a remit to help reform the force and rebuild trust with the Aboriginal community; and as she told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons, with the NT Police “on the cusp” of important change, she’s not frightened to ruffle a few feathers.

FEATURE: Closer collaboration with social agencies on homelessness, a mindset shift within policing to overcome barriers to change, and the continuing expansion of co-response models were among the key messages from police chiefs, public safety experts and community advocates at the recent Safety of Our Cities conference in Ontario, Canada, as Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood reports.

INTERVIEW: Andy Cooke QPM DL has served as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary since April 2022, leading the body responsible for inspecting police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in the first of a two-part interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, Mr Cooke described the criminal justice system as “the most bureaucratic and the slowest that I’ve ever seen it”, explained why “just saying ‘institutional racism’ isn’t going to change anything”, and shared his concerns that the Police Race Action Plan is “taking an awfully long time to come to fruition”.

OPINION: As Thames Valley Police’s decision to expand its public scrutiny panels to include oversight of officers’ use of force video footage brings the issue of scrutiny back into the media, Montell Neufville, police ethics advisor and Chair of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Scrutiny Panel overseeing road police and armed police across the three counties, sets out five key reasons why he believes oversight and accountability are crucial to effective policing.

ANALYSIS: In the last in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood explores the case for transformational leadership in policing, the differing approaches to leadership training in the UK and Canada, and offers his own practical tips for police leadership development.

INTERVIEW: This week West Midlands Police moved out of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS) ‘Engage’ phase (commonly known as special measures) in record time, after response times improved dramatically, arrest rates doubled, and the force had the largest drop in crime across England and Wales; Chief Constable Guildford told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons the successes – which will now be used as an HMICFRS ‘masterclass’ – were the result of a huge team effort.

FEATURE: The latest survey of victims of crime in England and Wales found that 70% lack confidence that reporting a crime will lead to justice, with 40% of those who reported a crime dissatisfied with police response, and almost half (46%) saying they were not kept regularly informed by police about their investigation – prompting warnings from Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove that “victims deserve better”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: A recent article in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography shared the personal experiences of a senior police officer (‘Phil Corkhill’, a pseudonym) rejoining their force from a College of Policing secondment during Covid-19, and highlighted how leaders often conform to authoritarian and potentially damaging leadership approaches; in this article, University of Portsmouth Criminology Professor Dr Sarah Charman (who co-authored the original piece) explores the issues around prevailing management cultures and the ‘appearance over substance’ concerns of ‘leadership theatre’.

FEATURE: The effect of tiredness and lack of sleep on motorists’ driving ability has long been recognised by police, but less attention has been focused on the effect of fatigue on police officers themselves; Chief Inspector Dr Yvonne Taylor of the National Police Wellbeing Service explores the impact of insufficient sleep particularly on shift working police officers, and what resource are available to officers and supervisors to address the issue.

FEATURE: A mental wellbeing programme that emphasises the psychological impact of organisational stress on mental health is being rolled out in an Australian police agency. Policing Insight's Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: As the latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey reveals strong levels of trust and confidence in New Zealand Police, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Assistant Commissioner Bruce O’Brien, the force’s Senior Liaison Officer for the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, about the importance of delivering on core aims, the need to “get the basics right”, and how social media and crime trends can impact on public perception.

FEATURE: Large-scale events such as the annual Eurovision Song Contest are a key part of the modern cultural fabric, and require complex co-ordination to overcome traditional and emerging threats; Dr Rebecca Phythian and Dr Michael Smith of Edge Hill University researched the multi-agency approaches to the Eurovision events in Liverpool and Malmö, interviewing partners including police, local authorities and event organisers to identify key learning for future events.

INTERVIEW: Following the publication of the recent UK violence against women and girls (VAWG) National Policing Statement, ACC Sam Millar, Strategic Programme Director of the VAWG Taskforce, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about re-shaping the service to victims, the need for greater collaboration and a whole system approach, and the importance of supporting front-line staff investigating often high-harm offences.  

INTERVIEW: Dr Ruth Parkes, senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire and expert on workplace trauma exposure and sexual offending, believes all police officers working with sexual offence material should receive stress inoculation training to be able to deal with the feelings of horror and revulsion they experience, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: Recent riots across many towns and cities in the UK saw a number of mosques targeted by violent protestors; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the situation facing both faith communities and the police in the UK, as well as the European project established by a collaboration of police forces looking to improve safety and security measures for places of worship.

FEATURE: Officers across England and Wales investigating complex child sexual abuse and exploitation cases have been encouraged to access free specialist advice and support from the national Hydrant Programme during their investigations, to improve the outcomes for victims and survivors, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.