People development

INTERVIEW: As Cambridge PD’s first female Commissioner, Christine Elow is determined to achieve her career-long ambition to “really make a difference”; and as a woman of colour and a parent to twin African-American 17-year-old sons, she’s also well aware that there are historical scars in the relationship between policing and some communities that are yet to heal, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

ANALYSIS: Three years ago, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the ambitious Uplift plan to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers by April 2023, and despite significant political upheaval since, the Government remains ‘determined’ to keep to its pledge; in the last of this current series on UK police workforce structure, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett assesses whether that target will be met, and what comes next.

INTERVIEW: When the UK Disabled Police Association (DPA) was launched 10 years ago, disability was still not considered a protected characteristic in policing; Supt Simon Nelson, who steps down as President of the DPA after eight years in post when he retires from policing next month, believes the situation has now significantly improved – but as he explained to Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro, there’s still much more to be done.

FEATURE: Law enforcement globally faces similar challenges around officers numbers, diversity and community engagement, yet the crucial contribution of policing volunteers – and the relatively untapped potential – is often overlooked; Dr Iain Britton of the University of Northampton’s Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice reports on recent global gatherings of volunteer policing leaders and academics in the UK, and plans to improve the international sharing of evidence and best practice.

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INTERVIEW: West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson retires next month, after more than 32 years in the service; ahead of his last National Police Chiefs’ Council conference this week, he spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the impact of fresh financial cuts on policing, the importance of chief officers using their voice, and the dangers of policing being used as a ‘football in the culture wars’.

FEATURE: Reporting a crime or seeking help from police can be a challenge for anyone, but for those who have difficulty communicating it can be particularly tough; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Victoria Police and Scope Australia about a new accreditation programme that reassures those with disabilities while ensuring officers have the skills and training to overcome communications challenges.

ANALYSIS: In the fourth in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the unique opportunity offered by the Uplift recruitment programme to increase diversity, the relatively small change that has resulted, and the more noticeable shift in workforce profile to a service that has become younger and less experienced.

FEATURE: New Kenyan President William Ruto has already ordered a police unit suspected of extrajudicial killings to be disbanded; but East Africa crime, justice and policing specialist Professor Naomi van Stapele argues that, far from representing genuine reform, the move simply allows the new leader to bring in his own trusted officers in a country where police killings are systemic.

OPINION: Police officers are regularly expected to use their discretion, policing skills and street craft to achieve the best outcomes for communities and the wider public; but Policing Lecturer and former police sergeant Barrie Archer fears that finding ways to ‘get the job done’ and make a broken system work can lead to noble cause corruption – or worse.

ANALYSIS: In this latest article in a series on 21st century community engagement, Intensive Engagement Managing Director Richard James (a former police territorial commander), Stephen Carr, Transformation Strategy Lead for the Home Office, and Police Foundation Research Director Andy Higgins build on the findings of the recent Strategic Review of Policing to explore local policing and leadership through the themes of people, problems and places.

ANALYSIS: In this third article in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales – and with the Government and current Home Secretary Suella Braverman remaining committed to the Uplift target of 20,000 new police officers by April 2023 – Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the ‘churn’ of officers joining and leaving the service, the increasing number of resignations, and the marketplace for inter-force transfers, and considers the implications of these factors for the service.

ANALYSIS: The contentious nature of policing inevitably gives rise to some complaints, and how those complaints are handled has been an issue of concern for both the public and police in the UK; in this final article in a series reviewing the police complaints process, Dr Rob Heaton and Professor Stephen Tong consider their findings so far, and point to some ways forward that could help to achieve a fair, open and more effective mechanism for dealing with misconduct.

OPINION: While law enforcement has increasingly acknowledged that improving trust and building relationships with communities are key to successful policing, the skills necessary to establish those relationships are often overlooked in police training or dismissed as ‘common sense’; former Arlington County Master Police Officer Dimitrios Mastoras argues that structured training for officers in building relationships with stakeholders could deliver significant benefits for both policing and the public.

ANALYSIS: Teaching methods are constantly evolving, driven in part by the emergence of new technology, and virtual reality (VR) is one of the latest learning tools; Claire Smith, a former police officer and now a Teaching Fellow at the University of Portsmouth, outlines the findings of a recent pilot study into how VR could be used to improve learning for the UK’s new student officers.

ANALYSIS: In this second article in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at police staff and police community support officer numbers, and the overall resource picture; while the public and politicians focus on the amount of police officers, forces are complex organisations, and overall capacity and capability depends on the combined staffing picture.

ANALYSIS: It’s little surprise that the contentious nature of policing will in some cases give rise to complaints, but the way those complaints are handled and resolved has been an issue of concern for both the public and police officers in the UK; in this second of three articles reviewing the police complaints process, Professor Stephen Tong and Dr Rob Heaton explore the nature and psychology of disputes, how similar conflict is resolved in other sectors, and why the assessment of how a complaint should be handled is so crucial.

OPINION: The recent publication of Baroness Casey’s interim report into the internal discipline system of the Met Police found not only an apparent failure to address misconduct by some officers, but little faith in the complaints procedure among the officers and staff of the UK’s largest force; Professor Colin Rogers of the University of South Wales believes that adopting an organisational justice approach could be key to meeting those challenges.

FEATURE: While the latest workplace survey of New Zealand Police’s officers and staff has found that most still feel the force is a great place to work, more than a third having experienced bullying or harassment in the past year – prompting Commissioner Andrew Coster to call for a ‘reset’ of the working environment after two years of unprecedented Covid challenges, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: In this new article in our continuing series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the varying effects the Uplift recruitment programme has had on police officer numbers across different forces, and how potential new challenges around funding could significantly impact on some forces’ ability to meet both workforce and performance targets.

INTERVIEW: The culture of policing continues to be a matter of international discussion, and global law enforcement leaders gathered in Dublin over the summer to move the debate forward; An Garda Síochána Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the issues discussed in Dublin, and how they will feed into efforts to address cultural change, starting with a leaders workshop at this weekend’s International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.

ANALYSIS: It’s little surprise that the contentious nature of policing will in some cases give rise to complaints, but the way those complaints are handled and resolved has been an issue of concern for both the public and police officers in the UK; in this first of three articles reviewing the police complaints process, Dr Rob Heaton and Professor Stephen Tong identify why some policing activity will inevitably lead to complaints, and why attempts to reform the complaints system to date seem to have fallen short of expectations.

INTERVIEW: With the continuing global focus on improving public trust and confidence in policing, the issue of ethics in law enforcement has been central to many discussions; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to Michael Josephson and Jim Dugan of the Josephson Institute of Ethics about their work with policing, the changing perceptions of ethical behaviour, and the challenges created by an exodus of senior leaders.

ANALYSIS: With many police forces around the world facing workforce challenges such as recruitment, retention and attrition, demonstrating the nature of the problem to policymakers and budgets holders is not always straightforward; Policing Insight’s Michael Hardiman, a former economist with Victoria Police in Australia, looks at analytical tools such as Pen’s Parade and Bollinger Bands that can help workforce planning and support resourcing bids.