News
Sharp rise in police Taser use
Police use of Tasers in England and Wales has risen by half over the last five years according to Home Office figures released yesterday. In total...
News
Police too often playing mental health worker role
A review of mental health crisis care in England and Wales by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that the police are regularly the first point of contact for those in mental distress....
News
The police deter crime like nurses deter illness
Our director, Richard Garside, was on The One Show on BBC One yesterday talking about the challenges faced by cuts in police budgets.
'There is no more deterrent from the police just being around,' Richard said, 'than if you have more nurses and people will be deterred from being ill'....
News
Police say more cuts will lead to paramilitary-style policing
The chair of the Police Federation, Steve White, has warned Theresa May that further cuts to police budgets will lead to a paramilitary style of policing, reports...
News
Much 'allo 'allo 'allo about nothing
Our Director, Richard Garside, appeared on the BBC current affairs programme Victoria Derbyshire to discuss falling police numbers. This was in the wake of...
Comment
Falling police numbers: The longer view
The claim by the Chair of the Police Federation, Steve White, that policing in England and Wales was 'on its knees' and could not face further cuts are overstated, I argued in...
Comment
The non-crisis of policing in England and Wales
Last year the Home Secretary Theresa May went to the Police Federation annual conference and gave it a good kicking.
The Police Federation,...
News
Our director co-signs letter on the strip-searching of children
Our Director Richard Garside is among the signatories to a letter published today in The Guardian calling for the strip-searching of children in police stations...
Comment
The dishonest politician's guide to the police
The publication on 18 November 2014 of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s final report of an inspection of crime data integrity in police forces in England and report –...
News
Police 'criminalising' anti-fracking protestors
Sussex police were yesterday accused of using mass arrests and draconian bail conditions as a means of criminalising lawful anti-fracking protests.
A series of trials involving protestors, including the Green MP Caroline Lucas, resulted in only 29 convictions. Lydia Dagostino, a solicitor...
Comment
Police violence at anti-fracking protests
In November 2013 at Barton Moss on the outskirts of Salford, IGas, a company specialising in onshore extraction of oil and gas, began...