People development

FEATURE: The findings of a year-long review of the UK College of Policing have highlighted concerns over the quality of products, their usefulness, and the College’s remoteness to frontline officers; but its efforts to ‘reset’ the relationship with policing and launch a new four-year strategy have sparked a rebuke from the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INTERVIEW: With increasing demand, limited resources and higher levels of public scrutiny, Denver Police Department (DPD) is facing challenges common to law enforcement agencies around the world; Chief Paul Pazen, the city native now leading DPD, believes the answers include strong community understanding, opportunities for police lifelong learning, and alternatives to traditional police responses, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in this series on continuing professional development (CPD), Dr Paul Walley and Associate Lecturer Laurie Knell of the Open University explore the benefits and opportunities of collaborative learning design between police and higher education, and how a co-creation approach has proved successful for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

ANALYSIS: The often traumatic nature of policing has long been regarded as having a major effect on police wellbeing, but research in recent years has also highlighted the impact of organisational factors; former police officer Mark Brain, now a PhD Researcher at Cardiff University, used narrative interviewing techniques to determine that lengthy professional standards department investigations are one of the leading causes of officer mental ill-health.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Canterbury Christ Church University's MSc in Applied Policing Practice reflects many of the key contemporary issues and themes which shape contemporary British policing and police leadership. The course is flexible allowing exploration of a range of policing problems that students may have identified in the workplace. It supports knowledge development and identification of the best available evidence to examine contemporary policing challenges.

FEATURE: With a diverse range of experiences, skills and backgrounds, apprentices are embraced by many organisations (including emergency services) as an important part of the workforce of the future, but a new survey suggests policing lags behind; Kit Salt, Head of End-Point Assessment at SFJ Awards, looks at the key role apprentices are already playing in some forces, and how they could help to shape the policing workforce going forwards.

OPINION: After a recent IOPC report highlighted racism, misogyny and bullying behaviour by a group of officers at one Met Police station, Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon – an executive coach and leadership mentor as well as former senior officer – argues that leading culture change is everyone’s responsibility, that leadership is not the preserve of senior officers alone, and that the service has been let down by officers at every level.

FEATURE: Stress has long been part of a police officer’s lot, but the added pressures of Covid, shortage of resources and continuous scrutiny have highlighted the damaging effect on officer wellness; Police Insight’s Christine Townsend looks at a new peer-to-peer support programme pioneered by Florida’s South Miami PD, which is attempting to change cultures, improve communication, and enhance officers’ ability to manage struggles.

OPINION: Under the Operation Uplift recruitment initiative, more female officers and staff are joining UK policing than ever before; but Kendal Wright, Dr Sean Bell and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University argue that policing’s maternity policies are in need of an overhaul, with a more personalised approach offering greater chances of securing the commitment, motivation and positive mental health of mothers returning from maternity leave.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in this series on continuous professional development (CPD), Dr Nicky Miller (Director of Knowledge into Practice), Dr Emma Williams (Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships) and Research Fellow Richard Harding of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning explore the importance of reflective practice, particularly in relation to investigations of rape and serious sexual offences.

INTERVIEW: Not all emergency service personnel are comfortable talking to their organisation’s wellbeing teams when struggling with mental health issues or personal challenges; for former Ontario Police Constable Dave McLennan, the answer was straightforward – set up a confidential peer support line – as he explained to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Social Media Guru Hel Reynolds shares her experiences of why now is the time to invest in your social media engagement to enhance your reputation and grow your organisational reach.

OPINION: Police officers often deal with deaths and suicides by detaching and ‘normalizing’ distressing situations, but for former Queensland Far North Sgt Matthew Moloney, the suicide of someone he knew from the local Indigenous community prompted him to embark on an educational and research journey in an effort to change things for the better [WARNING: the article contains a graphic description of suicide that some readers may find distressing].

INTERVIEW: The opportunity to spend a year as a White House Fellow gave LAPD officer Sgt Brian Churchill an incredible insight into leadership, one which he wanted to use to improve leadership training within the force; when the impact of Covid then shifted all learning online, the development of LAPD’s University app and online Leadership Program was the ideal solution, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

OPINION: With UK police forces witnessing a significant churn of experienced officers for new recruits, concerns over confidence, and a continuing challenge to maintain the policing by consent model, Acting Supt Stephen Lenney fears the service could be facing a perfect storm, one which could leave policing all at sea unless there is clarity of purpose and a shared consciousness of the challenges facing officers.

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POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Former Cambridgeshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Alan Baldwin (centre-right in picture) believes clearing the vetting backlogs and attracting the right people into policing – including increased recruitment of under-represented groups – are essential steps for the future of the service in the UK, as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.

FEATURE: The use of learning analytics to measure, collect and analyse data from police learners – with a view to optimising programmes and improving the development environment – could revolutionise policing learning, as Dr Matthew Jones and Prof Bart Rienties of the Open University explain in this latest in a series of articles on police CPD.

FEATURE: Continuing a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the challenges around policing a diverse society, including the issue of institutional racism, the police use of stop and search, and the implications of the latest rulings in relation to hate crimes and free speech.

FEATURE: Police Now’s first Frontline Leadership Programme (FLP) launched in September, and – with applications already now open for the third cohort – in December the organisation ran an online Women in Leadership event to support the application process; Policing Insight spoke to the three officers on the event panel about the challenges facing women in policing, the work of Police Now, and how the FLP could help to change the culture of policing.

ANALYSIS: As the Police Foundation prepares to report next month on Phase Two of the Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales, Research Director Andy Higgins looks back at the turbulent events of 2021 – from Covid to Clapham Common and accusations of institutional corruption – and considers what impact they may have on policing legitimacy moving forwards.

INTERVIEW: When the citizens of Queen Creek, Arizona voted in favour of establishing a new police department, experienced Chief of Police Randy Brice was given the job of creating the organisation; he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the challenges of recruiting during Covid, to a tight deadline, while ensuring the town’s community has a strong voice in the mission, values and vision of its new PD.

FEATURE: Policing leaders at all levels have a vital role to play in creating the right climate for successful CPD; in the latest in this series on CPD, Professor Jean Hartley (Academic Director) and Dr Emma Williams (Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships) of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning highlight the steps that leaders can take – and the benefits that can arise – from ensuring CPD is effectively embedded into officers’ careers.

LONG READ: The death of George Floyd shone the spotlight strongly on police use of force, but many police services and departments had already recognised concerns and were attempting to address the issue; however, the lack of data on the effectiveness of training in areas such as de-escalation have left it difficult to identify what works and why, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr-Munro reports.