Good practice

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The National Vetting Symposium returns for 1st to 2nd June at the Crowne Plaza in Stratford upon Avon with the theme "Protecting the roots in shifting ground – Transitioning good practice whilst embracing change"

OPINION: A Boston police officer has been charged with manslaughter following the recent fatal shooting of an unarmed man, and body camera footage is expected to be crucial in the case; however, the fact that despite widespread calls the footage has not been released highlights the challenges around claims that body-word cameras provide transparency and accountability, as well as the police and public’s different understanding of those concepts, says Brandon University’s Professor Christopher J. Schneider.

OPINION: Policing, like many other organisations, often relies on the ‘don’t do’ approach to communicating and educating ethics to its workforce, with a focus on the punishments and consequences of misconduct and poor behaviour; but Dr Eva Tsahuridu and Jo Kerr of Victoria Police Registration & Services Board argue that while ‘negative ethics’ have a role to play, ‘positive ethics’ that develop a ‘what to do approach’ to recognising ethical issues and making ethical judgements are just as important.

OPINION: The public perception of policing is of a straightforward chain of command; but experienced officer Keith F. Lazaron II, who currently serves with the West Kittanning Police Department in Pennsylvania, warns that in US law enforcement the behind-the-scenes pressure exerted by the ‘stakeholder table’ of elected officials, administrators, insiders and connected community voices can lead to a shift in policing away from professional standards and toward political survival.

INTERVIEW: Having recently taken up his new role as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), Carl McLennan spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of sharing and collaboration at regional, national and international levels, the threats and opportunities presented by new technology, and the need to ensure that the frontline are fully engaged with new developments and innovative thinking.

OPINION: Former New Zealand Police Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming recently pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation and bestiality material, and an Independent Police Conduct Authority investigation shows complaints of sexual misconduct were dismissed or minimised; Dr Anna Marie Brennan, Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Waikato, argues the case highlights that misogynistic attitudes, loyalty to hierarchy and weak whistleblower protections protect those in power, and that a public inquiry into the police is essential.

INTERVIEW: With retail crime reaching “unprecedented levels”, Superintendent Lisa Maslen, the lead of the National Business Crime Centre, is looking to build a repository of best practice and urging forces to “borrow with pride” in an effort to tackle offending that is “organised, prolific and impactive on us all”, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Despite a continuing focus on diversity and inclusion across policing, specialist units in particular remain stubbornly homogeneous; new research within tactical and firearms teams by Dr Ashleigh Bennett, an occupational psychologist with extensive experience in policing and the public sector, highlights the significant cultural barriers officers encounter within these teams, and suggests steps forces should be taking to ensure inclusion becomes simply a matter of how policing operates.

OPINION: Former West Midlands Sergeant Phil Cleary, co-founder of SmartWater and now a published novelist, shares one officer’s account of how underfunded services, not indifference, may have shaped the failures around the UK child grooming scandal that are now widely condemned, explores what could have been done differently, and suggests steps the current Government could take to reset the child protection and safeguarding response.

OPINION: Previous surveys by the Police Federation of England and Wales revealed the impact on female officers of experiencing the menopause while working in policing, and the scale of the problem; now new research by PC Beverley Beck of Dorset Police has highlighted how the institutional neglect of menopause contributes to the early exit of talented and experienced female officers, as well as the good practice underway in some forces to address the issues and support officers.

INTERVIEW: The UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently published new guidance for police forces and other uniformed services on collecting and analysing equality data; EHRC Wales Committee Interim Chair Martyn Jones spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the drivers behind the new guidance, how good data could lead to necessary cultural change, and why police forces need to be aware of their statutory duties around collating and utilising equality data.

FEATURE: The UK’s National Black Police Association (NBPA) is working with academics to design a way to rate forces on issues including trust and representation; the NBPA announced the move at its annual conference this month, where police leaders discussed issues including the exposure of racism at Charing Cross Police Station by the BBC, the Police Race Action Plan, and calls to abolish non-crime hate incidents, as Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports.

INTERVIEW: With policing in many countries increasingly acknowledging the damage to officer wellbeing from “toxic leadership” and “sanctuary trauma”, Laura Kloosterman, Executive Director of independent peer support charity Badge of Life Canada spoke to Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood about the toll of organisational stress, the importance of peer support being provided by an outside agency, and why the focus on both leadership and wellness should start early in an officer’s career.

INSIGHT: The Australia New Zealand Principles for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Policing, published recently by the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), embrace “collaboration, evidence-informed practice, and shared accountability” to provide an actionable, proactive framework for a “modern, resilient, and mentally healthy policing environment”, as ANZPAA Assistant Director of Policy and Projects Jacqueline Durand explains.

FEATURE: The standard of crime recording for forces across England and Wales has improved significantly over the past decade, according to the latest report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services – but there are still concerns around violent and anti-social crime statistics, over-recording, and the use of N100 reports in relation to unconfirmed rapes and attempted rapes, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: In the first in a short series of interviews sharing the views and achievements of recent winners of International Association of Women Police awards, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Detective Chief Inspector James Fox and Sergeant Terry Mole of the Metropolitan Police Service about their work in building the force’s HeForShe allies network, developing the Signa discrimination database, and advocating for greater gender equality.

OPINION: In 2023 the Home Office and College of Policing launched draft national guidance for community scrutiny panels (CSPs), offering a framework for greater public oversight of policing across England and Wales; police ethics advisor Montell Neufville, Chair of a long-standing tri-force CSP for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, looks at the work of his and other panels over recent years, and makes the case for the growing relevance of independent critical platforms in policing today.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The ANZPAA Police Conference 2025 (PC25) will be held in Melbourne, Australia this November. Hosted by Police Commissioners from across Australia and New Zealand, the conference will centre around the theme “Policing for the Future: What Matters Most” - to Commissioners, frontline officers, and the communities they serve.

INNOVATION: The College of Policing’s Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels is calling on police forces across England and Wales to put forward investigations highlighting best practice and innovation as part of a College initiative to create a “national investigation bank” that will improve learning and outcomes while also recognising the stand-out work of officers, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: Craig Naylor tells Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass about His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland’s plans for the next three years – including a focus on police-perpetrated domestic abuse and institutional discrimination – and how the inspectorate is bringing about change.

FEATURE: The Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) approach to responding to those in mental health crisis was adopted by policing across the UK in 2023, and an initial evaluation last year found that forces already perceived a drop in the number of unnecessary call outs; but pioneers of the approach have warned that failing to implement RCRP in line with the developed model “dilutes” the success of the response, as Policing Insight’s Tina Orr Munro reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: From 21 to 22 July 2025, Cambridge will host the most distinguished gathering in the science of policing, as the Society of Evidence-Based Policing (SEBP) welcomes the world to the Global Societies of Evidence-Based Policing Conference. Held at the Clayton Hotel, this flagship event is at the height of the Summer of EBP—a season of cutting-edge events dedicated to sharing the best of research, practice, and innovation in policing and security.

FEATURE: A new review published by Clinks and researched by the Neurodivergence in Criminal Justice Network has highlighted a “pervasive lack of awareness and understanding of how neurodivergent people present” within the UK criminal justice system, and sets out a raft of measures to overcome the significant barriers they experience, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: The Suicide Trauma Education Prevention (STEP) initiative initially launched in Hampshire Police is now looking to extend nationally and raise awareness among senior UK officers; STEP founder Spencer Wragg told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the call for mandatory Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) referrals for every officer or member of staff who attends a suicide, the need for a review of the impact of discipline investigations, and how his own experiences have shaped his approach to the issue.