I've updated my analysis of charge rates for rapes recorded in successive financial years in England and Wales, incorporating the most recent data (published 23 July). Charge rates continue to improve.
Gavin Hales
@gmhales.bsky.social
Researching/discussing policing, crime and the criminal justice system. Senior Associate Fellow @policefoundationuk.bsky.social but my own views. Based in London, UK.
I haven't seen any reporting about this yet, but the drought seems to be taking a toll on housing - a couple of end terraces near me with large cracks on their flank walls, presumably a result of clay soil shrinkage. I'm sure I read something fairly recently that said it was a big problem in 1976.
I've updated my analysis of charge rates for rapes recorded in successive financial years in England and Wales, incorporating the most recent data (published 23 July). Charge rates continue to improve.
I'm blown away by the camera on this really quite modest phone.
Where will the £2bn come from?
Danny Shaw@dannyshaw.bsky.social · 2w agoNEW Merging police forces across England & Wales will cost £2 billion up-front. That's the figure given by GMP Chief Sir Stephen Watson... Also, new details about plans for the National Police Service - and who will lead it. My thoughts … free to read! www.dannyshaw.net/post/what-wa...
Where will the £2bn come from?
Danny Shaw@dannyshaw.bsky.social · 2w agoNEW Merging police forces across England & Wales will cost £2 billion up-front. That's the figure given by GMP Chief Sir Stephen Watson... Also, new details about plans for the National Police Service - and who will lead it. My thoughts … free to read! www.dannyshaw.net/post/what-wa...
The Home Office has published terms of reference for the End-to-end review of the police accountability system www.gov.uk/government/p...
End-to-end review of the police accountability system: terms of reference
gov.uk
The latest IOPC 'Deaths during or following police contact' report has been published for 2025/26 (covers England and Wales). Always worth a close reading, esp Ch5 on deaths in or following police custody. Mainly drug/alcohol/MH involved cases, some with underlying health issues.
‘The hackers have also breached the police national legal database (PNLD), which provides legal assistance to UK police forces. The cybercriminals claimed to have taken 135,000 pieces of data’
Hackers steal sensitive data from Department for Education and police
Details of parents and staff, including email addresses and phone numbers, are among data taken by cybercriminals
theguardian.com
ChatGPT requests are starting to turn up as evidence in criminal trials and these ones are going to be hard to beat
Now offences involving knives or sharp instruments. The similarity of the trends in the Met and West Midlands seem notable.
Some notable consistencies between the MPS and Merseyside in particular, apart from the surge in firearms offences in Merseyside that peaked in the year to Q2 2022/23 (coinciding with when 9-yr-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel was murdered).
I've been having a rummage through the latest police recorded crime data published by the Home Office on Thursday. I thought this was interesting - looking at how trends in offences involving firearms compare between the MPS and comparator forces.
If you missed it, the Home Office recently published revised Most Similar Force groupings gov.uk/government/p... These are more properly thought of as most similar force areas, as they take no account of resources etc. The Met (London) is not very much like anywhere else.
I've been having a rummage through the latest police recorded crime data published by the Home Office on Thursday. I thought this was interesting - looking at how trends in offences involving firearms compare between the MPS and comparator forces.
‘The Duke of Sussex is being forced to wait for a decision about his security arrangements in Britain while officials grapple with protecting an unprecedented nine former prime ministers at once’
Prince Harry’s security review delayed as nine former PMs need protection
The Duke of Sussex was promised a risk assessment last year, but was still waiting in June as officials struggled to cope with record demand
thetimes.com
The London Policing Ethics Panel has published a new report on AI in the Metropolitan Police. www.policingethicspanel.london/uploads/4/4/...
Interesting case of lethal force used in self-defence 'BBC News - Farmer to face no action over 2024 Whaley Bridge burglary shooting death' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Farmer to face no action over 2024 Whaley Bridge burglary shooting death
The man was arrested after 19-year-old Marcus Smith sustained a fatal gunshot wound in 2024.
bbc.co.uk
News outlets are leading with modelling suggesting 2,700 people may have died from heat-related causes during recent heatwaves. And yet recent death rates are the lowest on record. A short thread on what recent mortality data actually tells us. Spoiler: not much! 1/5 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Thousands will have died in UK's unprecedented May and June heatwaves
An early estimate suggests more than 2,700 people will have died from heat-related causes during the UK's exceptionally hot weather in recent months.
bbc.co.uk
It should hardly need saying, but "no evidence at this time to suggest x" and "keeping an open mind" are both entirely compatible with a change of emphasis in a police investigation should new evidence come to light.
It should hardly need saying, but "no evidence at this time to suggest x" and "keeping an open mind" are both entirely compatible with a change of emphasis in a police investigation should new evidence come to light.
Revisiting an old blog on 'making sense of "senseless" youth violence' www.police-foundation.org.uk/2015/12/maki...
'Facewatch, a facial recognition system used by more than 100 businesses... to monitor thieves, said it was launching a UK-first feature to “alert police instantly when the most serious offenders trigger a live facial recognition match”.'
"Afterwards, gang members bragged about the murder in drill rap videos, jurors heard." Were those lyrics art or evidence? BBC News - Drill rappers jailed over gang row teen murder www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Interesting to read the Met's response to MOPAC in relation to the proposed Palantir contract, which I hadn't seen before www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAsset...
One question I have on police leadership is whether the promotion system is too focused on demonstrating change (hence endless projects as fodder for promotion applications)? Are the right attributes selected for, to develop/produce effective leaders?
Gavin Hales@gmhales.bsky.social · last mo.Reading the new Police Leadership Commission report, published by the College of Policing, and I can't help reflecting on the failed experiment with professionalisation that was supposed to help policing meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
One question I have on police leadership is whether the promotion system is too focused on demonstrating change (hence endless projects as fodder for promotion applications)? Are the right attributes selected for, to develop/produce effective leaders?
Gavin Hales@gmhales.bsky.social · last mo.Reading the new Police Leadership Commission report, published by the College of Policing, and I can't help reflecting on the failed experiment with professionalisation that was supposed to help policing meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
The teenage millionaire hacker from Tower Hamlets who took down TfL from his family’s flat - then was undone when he got hungry and bought a takeaway gift card. www.londoncentric.media/p/thalha-jub...
The teenage millionaire hacker from Tower Hamlets who took down TfL
Traced through his takeaway order • Began playing Roblox • Allegedly handled £200m in Crypto • Based in his family flat near Bow Road station • One of the county's leading hackers
londoncentric.media
I'm old enough to remember the last leadership review in 2015 and I'm not sure what difference it made. I need to read more of the new one, but I guess the initial question on my mind is: what's going to be different this time?