Preparing the bonfire
The APA-ACPO 2010 conference saw senior leaders debate how best to put
discretion and professionalism ahead of risk-aversion while the chief
HMI called for a cull to the guidance tying officers to bureaucracy.
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Debating governance
As the coalition government fine-tunes its policy on changes to
governance arrangements, senior police officers, authority members and
politicians gather in Manchester to debate the implications and the
wider challenges for policing.
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May’s deal for policing
The Police Federation conference saw rank and file police officers
debate key issues with the new government, asking them to sign up to
cuts in return for greater freedom.
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Influence from scrutiny
Rob Garnham was elected chair of the Association of Police Authorities (APA) in mid-September, promising to increase the organisation’s service and support to police authorities. That aim will be tested to the limit as the organisation faces huge challenges this year. He spoke to Police Professional ahead of his organisation’s annual conference.
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Source to street
How to achieve sustainable reductions across a number of crimes that
are intrinsically linked to the illegal drugs markets will be the focus
of this year’s Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) drugs
conference. Titled ‘Dealing with Demand – From Local to Global’,
delegates will hear first hand how initiatives across the country are
deploying appropriate and successful tactics to better combat harm
caused by drugs, both on the ground at a local level and higher up the
criminal hierarchy.
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Leading from the front
Police leadership is in a better position than it has been for some time and the service should not beat itself up unduly was the message delivered, as detailed plans for the National Police Leadership College were revealed.
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Qualifications, assessment and accreditation
Wendy Walker, assistant chief constable at Lancashire Constabulary, believes that operational policing must be supported by learning and development and that a new framework will provide a single and flexible assessment strategy capable of use across all accreditation requirements.
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Efficiencies could put 20,000 officers back on the beat
Simple efficiencies could lead to an extra 20,000 sworn officers on the streets by 2013, according to Chief Constable Roger Baker.

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Service is a triumph of process over outcome warns Baker
The police service has “lost the plot” and has become a triumph of “process over outcome”, according to Chief Constable Roger Baker.
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Commitment to streamline ‘frustrating’ charging process
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith promised delegates at this year’s Police Federation conference that “more commonsense” initiatives for policing will be delivered by the Government, including cutting bureaucracy and “streamlining” the charging process.

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