ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: London Policing College 5th International Conference Nov 2023 is focused on the leadership challenges for police education considering specifically the digitalisation of policing, violence against women and girls, and the response to tactical changes in public demonstrations and disorder. How to manage the transition to a new digital model for policing and its implications for leadership in the law enforcement sector set against lower levels of trust and confidence and challenges to performance.

OPINION: Vernon White, former Chief of Police for Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Hammersmith and Fulham councillor, have previously argued that establishing a college of policing for Canada – similar to the UK College of Policing – could help to create standards and professionalise the policing role; in this second article they look more closely at the UK experience, and suggest where the College of Policing could be doing more to improve law enforcement agencies and the service they deliver.

ANALYSIS: Earlier this year Andy Cooke, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for the UK (excluding Scotland), asked the Home Office for a suite of legal changes, including the unprecedented ability for him to give directions to police forces, the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass examines the calls and reveals how they have gone down within the service, and in Whitehall.

OPINION: In September 2022, Sir Mark Rowley came back into policing after some time away from the job at the end of a 30-year career, to take up one of the UK’s toughest roles as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, who served in the Met Police for 30 years, looks back over Sir Mark’s first year in post, and delivers an annual appraisal of how well the Commissioner has performed against his stated objectives.

OPINION: While police officers accept and understand the physical dangers of the job, David Marshall, a serving officer and part-time policing lecturer and PhD researcher, believes that the constant negative rhetoric, public disdain and media criticism around policing – exacerbated by a lack of effective leadership – is leaving officers exposed to even greater levels of psychological danger and harm to mental health that are fuelling high attrition rates. 

ANALYSIS: New research by Dr Jackie Alexander and Professor Sarah Charman at the University of Portsmouth has highlighted gender disparity in the temporary promotions process in UK policing, which they believe is likely to have as great an impact on gender advancement as the proverbial ‘glass ceiling’; but with forces and the Government “at best ignorant of, and at worst disinterested in” these areas of gender bias, they argue that little will be done to address the disproportionality unless data is collated and examined in more detail to understand the scale of the disparity.

OPINION: The recent trial and conviction in the UK of nurse Lucy Letby, who was found guilty of multiple child murders and attempted murders, has horrified the country, and prompted many questions about the trial process and why her actions weren’t identified and prevented sooner; former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher believes some of those questions are pertinent both for policing and the wider criminal justice system.

FEATURE: Earlier this month WeCops – ‘the Twitter home of continuous professional development for policing’ – held its latest Tweet chat event focusing on communications, hosted by West Mercia Chief Constable and NPCC comms lead Pippa Mills; WeCops’ Sgt Kerri Monaghan looks at the key points and comments made during the discussion, and highlights some of the potential learning that resulted from the chat.

FEATURE: Just a year after completing the Multi-Agency Gold Incident Command Course (MAGIC), David Marshall found himself leading the multi-agency response for a significant major incident; here he reflects on the steps he took as Gold Commander, how the MAGIC training and Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles proved vital in shaping and delivering that response, and the lessons learned from the experience.

FEATURE: A recent report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services into the effectiveness of UK police firearms deployment has highlighted shortcomings in the training and selection of firearms commanders, a lack of shared learning and force collaboration, and the need for greater chief officer involvement in communication processes, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: When former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher attended a reunion dinner with the officers from the first shift he had led as a sergeant, it was an opportunity to look back at some of the experience and guidance he had passed on to those younger in service, and also to consider what principles, fundamentals and approaches were integral to being a successful skipper.

OPINION: PTSD can have a devastating impact on police officers’ wellbeing, and lead to problematic behaviours including risk-taking and poor decision-making; former paramedic and New Zealand Police officer Allister Rose, Managing Director of the Hatikvah Blue Hope Foundation, believes NZ Police should learn from the experiences of policing in other countries including the UK, and take steps to prioritise the mental health of its officers through early identification, intervention and support.

OPINION: The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) was set up in 2021 to investigate workplace violence and related misconduct in the RCMP, following a landmark lawsuit that led to a payout of more than $125 million; but University Canada West Associate Professor Dr Jason Walker believes the ICHR is failing in that mission – and that action is needed urgently to rectify the shortcomings, both for the sake of the organisation and the communities it serves.

INTERVIEW: With the Uplift recruitment programme creating a “dramatically changing workforce”, Cambridgeshire Constabulary set about engaging both the workforce and the community in drawing up a force culture statement; one result was the launch of a force-wide Leadership and Culture Programme which is already proving to be a “game changer”, as Ch Supt Becky Tipping explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Recruitment and retention continue to be challenging for policing in the UK and internationally, including for London’s Metropolitan Police Service; Vernon White, former Chief of Police for Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, argue that addressing low morale is essential to overcome those challenges – both for the performance of the force, and for the communities that it polices.

OPINION: Durham Chief Constable Jo Farrell was recently announced as the successor to Sir Iain Livingstone, Chief Constable of Police Scotland, who retires next month; former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an Associate of the London Policing College, looks at the challenges that will await CC Farrell when she takes up her new post.

FEATURE: Following the statement by Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone that the force is “institutionally racist and discriminatory”, a new report finds that the culture in Scotland’s single force is plagued by misogyny and sexism – with female staff paying the price, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: With policing facing significant challenges around growing volume and complexity of demand, effective collaboration between forces and with other agencies is moving higher up the agenda for delivering an effective service to the public; Hexagon Director Nick Chorley spoke to Policing Insight about the opportunities for successful collaboration, the barriers to implementation, and the drivers for change.

INTERVIEW: In the second of a two-part series marking the 10th anniversary of the College of Policing – the professional body for officers in England and Wales – Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to Chief Executive Andy Marsh about how it has performed so far, its degree entry programme, plans for vetting units, direct entry and more.

FEATURE: In his first State of Policing assessment report as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke has warned that public trust and confidence in policing is “hanging by a thread”, with the service having a “limited window of opportunity” in which to act; he also called for change to start from the top, and for more powers for the Inspectorate to be able to direct forces to rectify problems, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: The continuing debate about institutional racism and policing remains under the spotlight following last month’s statement by Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone that the force is institutionally racist; but former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an Associate of the London Policing College, believes that the real problem lies with individuals rather than institutions – including a number of senior leaders.

OPINION: With British policing facing ongoing challenges around trust and confidence, as well as seemingly endless media scrutiny and criticism couple with frequent political attacks, the service is struggling to reconnect with the communities it is there to serve; David Marshall, a serving officer with more than 30 years’ experience who is also a part-time policing lecturer and PhD researcher, sets out the steps he believes policing needs to take to reset those connections and address the challenges.

FEATURE: The Casey Review highlighted issues of “institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia” in the Met, and sent a message to the service more widely about the need to address these and other issues; at a recent Birmingham City University online panel, current and former police officers joined academics to discuss the implications of the Review, with several emphasising the need to focus on the challenges rather than the terminology, as Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: In January this year, four years after the suicide of Vancouver Police Constable Nicole Chan following her devastating experiences of bullying and harassment at work, a coroner’s inquest delivered 12 recommendations highlighting severe systemic issues within the Department; University Canada West Associate Professor Jason Walker argues that this latest example of the toxic side of cop culture and the ‘blue wall’ of silence is more evidence of the need for a lawmakers’ response to preventable violence at work.