Governance

ANALYSIS: Four months after the UK Government unveiled its proposals for the reform of policing in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett explores the challenges that the process is already facing, from concerns over accountability, governance and the uncertainty around police mergers, to questions over centralisation, the true of costs of reform, and whether the Government will have the political will or resilience to see the measures through to completion.

INNOVATION: The cybersecurity governance now in place in the NHS has been prompted by a series of painful catalysts, but the end result is a mandatory assessment framework open to public inspection; independent researcher and governance adviser Vsevolod Shabad argues that policing in the UK has plenty to learn from the NHS experience, as well as the opportunity through partnership with government to build something better.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Emily Spurrell, APCC Chair and Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, explores the developments in monitoring police performance already being introduced by the Home Office, highlighting that while performance frameworks and metrics are vital measures of service delivery to the public, getting the balance between national consistency and local flexibility is crucial.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: On 19th June, Westminster Insight is bringing together senior policing leaders, technologists, researchers, and governance professionals for a half-day conference on where AI in policing currently stands and where it needs to go.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Ahead of next month’s SAS webinar on trusted AI for policing, Policing Insight spoke with former long-serving Queensland Police officer John Kilburn about the real impact of AI in law enforcement. The discussion highlights the opportunities AI presents, and the critical need for agencies to be clear about their objectives; it also reinforces that the true value of AI is only realised when underpinned by strong governance, defined guardrails, and complete transparency, building trust within both the police workforce and the communities they serve.

OPINION: Independent researcher and governance adviser Vsevolod Shabad believes the language and internal communications architecture of British policing means that officers who highlight and escalate serious risk don’t always get the necessary response, and lack protection for their actions; with other high-risk professions having identified and addressed the same challenges, he looks at what policing can do restore the right for officers to speak clearly.

FEATURE: Ireland’s Policing and Community Safety Authority, the oversight body established in April last year, has set out new Policing Priorities for An Garda Síochána, focusing on working in partnership to meet community needs, providing a consistent, supportive and quality service, and enabling the frontline, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: As the dust begins to settle on the proposals laid out in the UK Government’s recent white paper on police reform, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett takes a closer look at the plans, exploring among other things the challenges around force mergers, the creation of a new national police service and the changing constitutional relationship between policing and government, and considers whether the suggested reforms laid out in the paper are simply too radical and too ambitious.

INTERVIEW: The launch of the groundbreaking Police Review Commission (PRC) in Alberta, Canada, sees civilian oversight of investigations into allegations of police misconduct, and a 180-day time limit for complaints to be resolved, in a move away from the perception of “police marking their own homework”, says CEO Michael Ewenson; he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons why the work of the PRC is a “good news story” for communities and officers.

OPINION: One high-profile element of the UK Government’s proposals on police reform is the introduction of a ‘licence to practise’ for officers; police ethics advisor Montell Neufville argues that, with a ‘four P’s’ approach – based on promote, praise, prevent and punish – and a tiered accountability framework, the license to practice for police could become a license to trust for the public.

OPINION: In the wake of last week’s UK Government white paper on police reform, Emily Spurrell, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), explains that while PCCs welcome modernisation of the service, the APCC has concerns over the accountability of policing – and particularly the new National Police Service – under the reform plans, as well as the risks of stifling local innovation, and the need to safeguard the future of victim and crime prevention services pioneered by PCCs.

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a four-year strategic plan featuring priorities on public reassurance and code of practice compliance – and which also includes provision for thematic reviews on fingerprints, evidence from body-worn cameras, and retrieving of data from electronic devices – against a backdrop of “exponential growth” in biometrics and databases, and the associated privacy, human-rights, and equality considerations, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex and APCC Joint Finance Lead, explores the funding challenges facing forces and PCCs in England and Wales following last week’s announcement of the 2026/27 core grant for policing, and highlights extra funding needed to meet government ambitions around issues such as violence against women and girls, and knife crime.

INTERVIEW: Following the Government’s announcement last month that the role of police and crime commissioner will be abolished in 2028, Emily Spurrell, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, spoke to Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass about why she believes the Home Office is wrong to overhaul police governance in England and Wales, why it will not save the money cited, and how it could damage other areas of policing.

ANALYSIS: Following the announcement earlier this month that the role of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales will be abolished in 2028, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the background to the decision, reaction to it, and the challenges that will arise – from potential force boundary changes to the likelihood of increased politicisation of governance – which mean that the end of the PCC experiment is going to be much more than just an administrative change.

OPINION: Following the announcement by UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood last week of the abolition of police and crime commissioners as a “failed experiment”, Ron Winch, Associate Professor in Policing at Birmingham City University, considers whether this current decision could indicate a more radical reform agenda to be unveiled in the forthcoming policing white paper, including the replacement of the 43-force model with the introduction of ‘mega-forces’.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Bedfordshire PCC John Tizard, the APCC’s Joint Lead on Performance, Data and New Tech Ethics, looks at the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and technology in policing, and highlights the steps he has taken in his own force around accountability and governance, which could help achieve the APCC’s aim of a roadmap towards a strong ethical governance framework with PCCs at the centre.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Alison Lowe, the APCC’s Joint Lead on Transparency and Accountability, looks at the importance and implications of the recently published ‘Hillsborough Law’, and why accountability will continue to be at the heart of ongoing police reform.

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.

FEATURE: The recently published Queensland Police Service (QPS) Commissioner’s 100-day review has highlighted a force facing “significant mission creep” as officers perform roles outside their core remit, leaving many suffering from fatigue and burnout; the review also puts forward 65 recommendations providing a “fundamental opportunity” for QPS to reaffirm its core purpose and build a “resilient, responsive, and community-focused policing organisation”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 sparked global calls for racial justice and ignited a wave of police oversight reform across the US; but five years on, Hansel Alejandro Aguilar, public sociologist, former police officer, and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, warns that civilian oversight of law enforcement in the US is now dying – but meaningful change can still emerge when residents organize, officials listen, and structures are preserved.

OPINION: The recent joint inspection report published by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services highlighted key challenges for the criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales; Dee Cowburn, communications specialist and police media advisor, argues that alongside a national strategy, clearer accountability and more effective ICT, improved communications are crucial in strengthening the CJS.

OPINION: After significant optimism about the reform of policing in South Africa following the first democratic elections in 1994, the country’s police service has becoming increasingly politicised and under the control of ANC insiders, argues the University of Pretoria’s Dr Ivor Chipkin, with devastating results both for public trust and crime rates.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Avon and Somerset PCC Clare Moody, the APCC’s joint lead on victims and violence against women and girls (VAWG), sets out some of the latest developments in the continuing efforts to significantly reduce VAWG, support victims, and find solutions to a society-wide problem – while reiterating calls for stable, long-term funding to get the job done.