Policy and practice

OPINION: The recent final report of the Baroness Casey Review into standards of behaviour and internal culture in the Metropolitan Police Service included findings of “institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia”, and of a force that is “losing its way”; ahead of a virtual panel exploring these issues later this month, former Met and West Midlands officer Ron Winch, now Senior Teaching Fellow in Policing at Birmingham City University, looks at what needs to be done to get the force and policing back on course.

OPINION: Police are increasingly the first point of contact to respond to those in mental health crisis, but when restraint has been the focus of such a response, some cases have led to tragic consequences; Lynn Emslie, Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, believes a partnership response from policing and health services could help to avoid future fatalities.

OPINION: While the debate continues around UK police education and the various entry routes for recruits into policing, former officer and now University of Central Lancashire Policing Lecturer Derek Flint argues that the ‘precious union’ between policing and academia needs to be maintained and strengthened to ensure the service has constables with a ‘professional curiosity’, and a desire and a determination to find out ‘why’ things are happening.

OPINION: With the police Uplift programme to recruit 20,000 ‘additional’ officers across England and Wales due to have hit its target at the end of March, change management consultant and former police officer Tom Wheelhouse looks at what the initiative has achieved – and the challenges that have arisen – around the issues of recruitment, retention and resettlement.

ANALYSIS: The Mass Casualty Commission into the April 2020 Nova Scotia shootings that left 22 people dead has made a range of recommendations around tighter gun control, particularly of the most powerful and potentially destructive weapons; Professor Blake Brown of St Mary’s University believes the non-partisan nature of the Commission will give its findings added weight – but if and how quickly they are implemented by the federal government remains to be seen.

FEATURE: While police agencies have increased their supportive responses to the trauma that can damage staff wellbeing, the role of leaders and managers in taking a preventative approach to organisational stressors has been largely overlooked; now a new paper from the Australian Institute of Police Management and Griffith University sets out a Leadership for Wellness Strategy that could address those gaps, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: The relationship between the police and the media has always been complex, but recent coverage of high-profile crimes involving officers, along with a raft of inquiries and reviews, has prompted concerns that the current reporting of law enforcement is negatively biased and contributing to the fall in public confidence; in the first of two Policing Insight opinion articles on the issue, former officer and regular ‘police commentator’ Graeme Wettone looks at how the relationship has changed – and what can be done to improve it.

ANALYSIS: Ten years after the pilot of the first Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) in England and Wales, this vital safeguarding tool is now on the statute books; while other countries around the world have introduced similar schemes, Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou of Essex University believes the approaches adopted both in England and Wales and South Australia  around who can be given information, and when and how disclosures can be made, set an example for other countries to follow.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This one day event, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, will be a mixture of briefing by keynote speakers and audience participation to obtain ideas and views on next step activity for the National Tutelage Service in 2023 and beyond. It is an exciting opportunity for some innovative thought and discussion to build on what is universally acknowledged as a highly effective roads policing intervention. Register to attend 19th April 2023 at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in Oxford.

FEATURE: Hampshire Constabulary’s new Policing PLUS entry route – which enables officers to join without a degree, and those on degree routes to transfer – has been hailed a “game changer” by the chief constable, while the police and crime commissioner believes it could “shape national plans”; but those opposed to moving away from mandatory degrees say returning to traditional police training is both regressive and nonsensical, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: The recent Casey Review of the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service focused mainly on the damning findings around behaviour and culture, with little mention of drugs; but former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher argues that the policing of drugs could be a key contributor to negative public perceptions and lower levels of trust in the force, and removing the drugs market from criminality could be the ‘huge and radical step’ required to help regain trust among London’s black community.

FEATURE: The College of Policing, the first professional body for police in England and Wales, has now been operational for a decade; in the first of a two-part series of features marking the anniversary, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass gauges the views of its creator Peter Neyroud and other important figures about how it has performed in that time.

OPINION: The findings of Baroness Casey’s review of the Met Police were difficult reading for many, and described a force in crisis; John Fox, Senior Lecturer in Police Studies at the University of Portsmouth, believes the situation calls for strong measures – including the polygraph testing of applicants, better support for whistleblowers, and creating a hostile environment for toxic behaviour – to drive essential cultural change.

INTERVIEW: A traumatic experience early in Vernon Herron’s policing career gave him a personal insight into the services officers need to maintain their mental health and wellbeing; now he uses that experience, and many others gained during more than 30 years in policing, to ensure Baltimore PD officers have the right safety and wellness support, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

OPINION: This week’s damning Casey Review into the Metropolitan Police Service has highlighted major concerns over racism, misogyny and homophobia, the neglect of basic command units in favour of elite units, and a broken misconduct system; with calls from some quarters for the Met to be broken up, Police Foundation Director Rick Muir says it’s essential for the force to reinvent itself if it is to survive.

INNOVATION: Although the prevention element of policing is as old as the Peelian principles, Merseyside’s pioneering prevention strand is driving the message across the force to deliver real community benefits; Chief Constable Serena Kennedy (pictured) and Chief Superintendent Andy Ryan spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the culture change required to embed the approach, and the successes that are already evident.

OPINION: Former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher argues that the ‘war on drugs’ has largely failed and is drawing to an inevitable close; but he also believes that concerted efforts to divert current drug barons away from criminality, as well as clearly articulated international guidance of where drug policies should now go, will be essential if police and society are to successfully move forward.

FEATURE: As the discussion continues around the role of education and degrees within policing in the UK, the policing education qualifications framework (PEQF) has remained contentious; Dr Emma Williams and Jennifer Norman explore the current situation regarding the PEQF and police qualifications, and where the debate about professionalisation in policing goes from here.

INNOVATION: A new set of simple digital tools used to arrange police interviews and organise officer appearances in court are now being rolled out to forces across England and Wales by the Police Digital Service; although still in the early stages, it’s been estimated that the Video Enabled Policing programme could save more than £60m a year and free officers up to handle more complex tasks, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Disability hate crime has increased significantly in recent years, with autistic people and those with learning disabilities often targeted; Dr Mark Brookes, Advocacy Lead at support and campaign group Dimensions UK, outlines some of the work the organisation is already doing with policing to improve the response to disability hate crime, and the resources and training opportunities available that could help police to tackle such crimes and provide better support to victims.

ANALYSIS: In the third of a month-long series of articles celebrating International Women’s Day, Kendal Wright and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department share an insight into a ground-breaking study exploring women’s experiences of motherhood in the police.

FEATURE: UK national policing targets and league tables – supposedly scrapped by the Government more than a decade ago – now look set to return; Police Federation of England and Wales National Board Member David Bamber, and University of Sunderland Policing Lecturer Adrian Smiles, explore the previous impact of a target-driven culture on policing and the public sector, and what the consequences could be for today’s service.

FEATURE: A new Independent Public Advocate scheme which will work on behalf of victims and families bereaved by major disasters has been launched by the UK Government, to provide support and hold agencies including the police to account – although not all campaigners believe the new initiative goes far enough, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Recent high-profile sentencing hearings involving individuals responsible for the shooting murders of multiple victims in the US have brought the term ‘lone wolf’ back into the media focus; but Rutgers University Professor Alexander Hinton believes the term is misleading – with violent extremists almost always part of a pack – and its use could impede efforts to combat far-right extremist violence.