People development

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Frontline Fulfilment is a collaborative event between the emergency services and education sectors, highlighting the opportunities for a ‘people-first’ future by exploring both common concerns and potential shared solutions; Mightify CEO Tom Wheelhouse explains the thinking behind next week’s free event, and what it aims to achieve.

OPINION: Debates around ‘warrior cop’ masculinity and excessive use of force in policing have continued in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests; but suggestions that simply hiring more women will change police culture are flawed, says Harvard Masters candidate Diane Liang.

OPINION: The Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA), which represents officers in forces across England and Wales as well as those in the Isle of Man, Bermuda and Gibraltar, recently announced the launch of a programme of CPD events for superintendents, in collaboration with the College of Policing; PSA President Paul Griffiths discusses why the need for professional development never ends, regardless of rank.

OPINION: Paul Odle, Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales’ Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic & Belief group and a serving Metropolitan Police officer, believes that while current unconscious bias training is not fit for purpose, it should be updated and amended, not abandoned.

ANALYSIS: Devon and Cornwall Police recently announced a scheme to pay volunteer special constables an enhanced allowance for completing a minimum number of hours; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett explores whether this could be the first step towards establishing a paid policing reserve, and how other services ensure they can call on vital added experience in times of greatest need.

OPINION: In December the UK Government confirmed that it was scrapping standalone unconscious bias training for civil servants, citing a report that suggested it was ineffective, and could even be counter-productive; but Police Ethics Advisor Montell Neufville believes such training – particularly when delivered as part of wider learning on diversity, cultural competency or risk management – still has an important role to play in policing.

OPINION: Embarking on academic study is challenging, particularly for anyone with a specific learning difficulty and few formal educational qualifications; but with the right support from policing and academia, real achievement is possible, explains Essex Police Sgt Ben Forbes, British Citizen Award winner and now First-Class BSc Honours graduate.

OPINION: Nigerian public protests against the country's notorious SARS police, led largely by young people, seemed to secure a victory when President Buhari agreed to disband the unit; but any sense of celebration has turned sour, with the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) appearing to be a new label for an old institution, says Duke University Assistant Professor Samuel Fury Childs Daly.

OPINION: The balance between professional judgement in policing and following an ethical framework is a delicate one. However, Dr Emma Williams argues that too much focus on consistent professional standards can not only stifle discretion, but can lead to moral distress when officers find that guidance challenges their own moral judgements.

OPINION: Being a police officer was Sam Smith’s dream job, but when his mental health began to suffer as a result of his career choice, the lack of resilience training and minimal support meant the dream turned sour; now the former Hertfordshire PC has launched the Green Ribbon Policing campaign, calling for a mandatory national standard for mental health within policing.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

FEATURE: It’s been a tough year for policing – and for communities generally – around the world, but as Christmas approaches, the police family are digging deep to help each other as well as those less fortunate; Australian-based nurse and mental health champion Melissa Gole highlights some of the many fundraising efforts that those within policing can support this festive season.

Opinion: In Australia, the recent Victorian Royal Commission into Police Management of Informants has highlighted concerns over police accountability, and called for major changes around oversight and transparency; but Professor Jude McCulloch and Professor Michael Maguire, both of Monash University, argue that real progress will require more extensive reform.

FEATURE: In our continuing series supporting new police degree entry recruits, Policing Insight’s Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a final look at evidence-based policing, and the challenges of taking EBP forwards from research theory to embedded, applied practice within policing organisations.

FEATURE: A series of international workshops focusing on policing in the pandemic have highlighted officer wellbeing, new crime threats and a deluge of lockdown legislation as key concerns emerging from the COVID-19 crisis; ahead of a London Policing College conference next week to discuss the issues, Policing Insight editor Keith Potter talks to College President Rod Jarman about the key themes, and lessons for the future.

OPINION: In the latest in his series of bi-monthly blogs, Superintendent Simon Nelson, President of the Disabled Police Association, looks at UK Disability History Month, how far policing has come in relation to diversability and neurodiversity, and what more still needs to be done.

FEATURE: Diversity, equality and inclusion in police recruitment was the key focus for the first @WeCops Twitter chat in November, and with a reach of almost three million – and with contributions from all ranks as well as the Policing Minister – it’s clearly a crucial current topic for policing. @WeCops Supt Katy Barrow-Grint brought together to the main points from the debate in this blog.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: University of Buckingham is launching a new PG Cert and Master’s programme in Transnational Organised Crime. The programmes are aimed at the next generation of police and law enforcement leaders, including officers, detectives and analysts, as well as those looking to gain a qualification that would enable them to build long-term careers in law enforcement, security and intelligence.

OPINION: In recent years major changes to policing have included a transformation of recruitment practises that have changed the workforce demographic; Ian Lithgow, IBM’s Partner responsible for Talent and Transformation, explains how a more strategic approach to workforce planning can make a difference.

OPINION: In the second in a series of articles focusing on wellbeing and mental health, police leader turned development coach Gareth Davies explores the issue of self-compassion, and how it can play a crucial role in reducing anxiety and depression while increasing motivation and happiness.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

OPINION: Headlines talking about the continuing exodus of exhausted emergency services staff raise few eyebrows, suggesting society has become comfortably numb to the plight of frontline first responders; former officer and now Mightify CEO Tom Wheelhouse says it’s time the public sector started investing in the person, rather than the post.

OPINION: The growing suicide levels among police officers and emergency response staff highlight the heavy toll on mental health that these roles can take; in the first of a series of articles focusing on issues such as vulnerability, shame, and self-worth, former police leader turned development coach Gareth Davies outlines some of the key steps forces can take to enable officers to ask for help and support.

ANALYSIS: A quarter of all police officers in England & Wales now have less than five years’ service, and one in 10 is in their first year in the job; in the second of two articles examining the changing nature of the policing workforce, Ian Wiggett reveals the dramatic shift in length of service and experience, the risks and opportunities it creates, and how forces can respond.