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Policing Posts

All the latest news: Changing Role Policy Practice Innovation PCCs Statistics

Here you can find over 200 posts tracking every major development in policing since 2011. You can trace the impact of staffing cuts, follow the debate about the role of modern policing and keep up with the latest in digitisation, use of drones & other innovations. If you’re looking for something in particular, try the search box below.

10 key facts from the latest crime figures

There was a 7% increase in police recorded crime compared with the previous year, with 4.4 million offences recorded in the year ending December 2015. Most of this rise is thought to be owing to improved crime recording by the police leading to a greater proportion of reports of crime being recorded in the last year.

The changing face of people smuggling

A recent briefing from the National Crime Agency stated that due to the increasing security measures at ports, people smugglers have started to turn to new and more expensive methods of getting asylum seekers and illegal immigrants onto UK soil.

Violence at work

Police officers and health and social care workers are particularly at risk of violence at work.

Why do we criminalise young people in care?

The children who are being criminalised whilst teenagers are the same children who, when younger, were sympathetically viewed as vulnerable, innocent and highly deserving of society’s help and protection.

Crime accounts for 1.5% of world GDP

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that drug trafficking, counterfeiting and many other forms of illicit trade bring in an estimated $870 billion every year.

What’s in the new policing and crime bill?

The government is not waiting to see what the turnout will be at the second Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 5 May (last time it was less than 5%) but is pressing on now in its desire to expand the role of PCCs.

Where next for Police Commissioners?

Accountability is key. For PCCs to have a proper mandate, turnout at this year’s PCC elections (5 May 2016) will need to be much higher than the (less than) 15% who voted at the original elections in 2012.

drink driving

What do we know about drink drivers?

As always, it is difficult to speculate how accurately these figures reflect the amount of drink and drug driving on our roads. While drivers are routinely tested when they are involved in serious accidents, the majority of arrests for drink and drug driving reflect police activity.

Is car theft a thing of the past?

Why is the technology to overcome electronic immobilisers (in existence and available for some years now) not widely used by car thieves?

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