Policy and practice

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Police are busy, and always being pulled in too many different directions. There’s not much time for learning – or is there? This Rapid-Fire conference, supported by Policing Insight, breaks the mould: viewers get 10-minute training sessions that cut straight to the point, rather than having to sit through an hour-long presentation only to conclude they didn’t really get anything from it.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former police officer and New York City Attorney Aurora Curtis calls for an expansion of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence High-Risk Response Model, which has co-ordinated a multi-agency approach to targeting the men most likely to kill their partners – with dramatic results.

FEATURE: While the private sector is increasingly recognising and benchmarking the importance of a high-quality workplace environment in achieving improved performance, the public sector his still some way behind; Dubai Police consultant Jorge Román explains how the force is leading the way, by becoming the first police agency to secure accreditation from the Great Place to Work Institute.

Opinion: Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh, a keen geographer with passion for innovation and collaboration, explores how geospatial data provided by the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) helps protect our communities, and innovate and enable better decision making.

FEATURE: In the first in a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the key issue of 'What is policing?' – including the definitions of high and low policing, the five approaches to understanding police activity, and the inherent tensions between coercion and legitimacy.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Michael Jenkins, Associate Professor at the University of Scranton, argues that a return to policing’s traditional roots will curb disorder and, in turn, build stronger, healthier police-public relations with a shared vision for communities.

INTERVIEW: Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, has urged forces to invest in training for specialist teams, more financial investigations and closer cross-border working to tackle the huge but often hidden and complex crime of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Insight: The UK’s Advanced Research & Invention Agency will help to accelerate the digitalisation and technological transformation of policing; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth examines how the new agency will provide forward-thinking innovators with a unique opportunity to revolutionise the service.

OPINION: Jon Parry, Head of Research at Skills for Justice, was part of the conversation at the recent Police Foundation conference exploring the skills and capabilities required to build a workforce capable of meeting the challenges of the next 20 years; here he shares findings from his research, taking an evidence-based, workforce-centred approach to future proofing policing.

INTERVIEW: An Garda Síochána's new Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon welcomes the extra scrutiny she will attract as an outsider joining the top team of the force from Toronto next month. Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons talked to her about her role and how her change management experience and ability to think differently stand to benefit her new colleagues and the Irish community.

FEATURE: There is growing evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are responsible for many negatives outcomes in adult life, including issues such as violent behaviour and drug addiction; and as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports, the failure to address ACEs early can cost society billions of pounds in the long term.

ANALYSIS: A wide range of measures were introduced across the criminal justice system in the UK to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, including greater use of remote legal advice for those in police custody; but as Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice explains, a new report highlights both the lack of meaningful monitoring of such measures, and their potential to compromise justice and jeopardise fairness.

INNOVATION: Digital transformation within policing and the criminal justice system has gathered pace in recent years, and the pandemic in particular has been a key driver; but Raj Singh, CEO of digital transformation specialists Innotatio, warns that successive waves of future transformation will bring with them fresh challenges.

ANALYSIS: In the final part of their trilogy of articles on Canadian policing, Keith Taylor and Dr Barbara Herring of consultants perivale+taylor explore some of the developments and often unique challenges faced by the country’s law enforcement agencies in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professor Gary Cordner, former Maryland police chief and Academic Director of the Baltimore Police Department Police Academy, explains how better police education and training can contribute to reducing violence.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr-Munro explores the growing efforts to understand and acknowledge the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on adult behaviour, and adopt a public health policing approach.

OPINION: Applying and enforcing COVID-19 legislation has been a difficult balancing act for many police forces, but in Northern Ireland the added context of sectarian conflict and discrimination has proved particularly challenging; Dr Kevin Hearty of Queen’s University Belfast believes the recent actions of the Police Service of Northern Ireland could reopen long-standing divisions.

INTERVIEW: In January, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its COVID-19 inspection of fire and rescue services across England and Wales. Catherine Levin talks to two police, fire and crime commissioners to see whether having oversight of both police and fire makes a difference when it comes to responding to a global pandemic.

FEATURE: The Police Foundation’s Strategic Review of Policing is exploring the sort of UK police service stakeholders need and expect over the coming years; ahead of next week’s conference on The Future Police Workforce, Foundation Director Rick Muir highlights some of the key questions that need to be considered.

INNOVATION: Camera technology used in healthcare settings and hospitals to monitor a person’s movement, pulse and breathing is being introduced into custody suites in Devon and Cornwall – the first police use of the new high-tech system – after a successful two-year trial.

OPINION: The world of forensic science in the UK is changing, in the form of a new national network with police forces as members; Jo Ashworth, CEO of the Forensic Capability Network, explains that forces must get actively involved to help shape the future of forensics.

OPINION: The financial impact of global cybercrime is growing at an alarming rate, yet the role of the chief information security officer in both public and private organisations is still largely undervalued and unrecognised; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the growing importance of public-private partnerships in the battle against cybercrime.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Denise Rodriguez, a leading expert on collaborative reform, police accountability and community engagement, explains why improved police-community relations is crucial to reducing levels of violence.

Opinion: The arrest of one of the world’s most wanted alleged drugs lords has sparked debate around strategies to best tackle organised crime and minimise the harm caused to communities; Dr John Coyne, Head of Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, explains the need for a more nuanced approach, rather than simply decapitating OC groups.