Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech today on modern public services and, as that is a subject that affects pretty much everyone who reads this blog, I thought it might be helpful to share it with you. No politics. Just trying to be helpful. So:

Prime Minister’s speech on modern public service

I start this year incredibly optimistic about what our country can achieve. Yes, cuts in spending will be felt – and yes, they will be difficult but they are absolutely vital in restoring the credibility and confidence that will mean jobs and growth in the future.

But the scale of this ...

Today (Monday 17th) sees the  pilot launch of MyPolice.org, a website which provides a place for the police and the public to engage in local conversations about the service that’s needed and provided.

MyPolice, the brainchild of Lauren Currie and Sarah Drummond, two service designers focused on using design to transform public services, aims to provide a neutral space where the people receiving the service can tell the story of the service they’ve received, knowing the people who provide the service will read it and it will make a difference.

MyPolice aims to assist service receivers ...

Interview room

Forensic Suite

Check out the LAPD here

Are you a man? Do you own a cat, like anime and science fiction and have a sword, light sabre or other star wars toys? Chances are that the Los Angeles Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force may be knocking on a door like yours sometime soon.

According to the team’s commander, Lt Grossman, experience across many, many cases has shown them that a high proportion of the people they arrest for internet crimes against children share these common traits. Of course the Lt would be the first to say that this is one of those professional ‘rule of thumb‘ things ...

Police forces are a step closer to having equipment to test motorists suspected of drug driving, the Home Office announced on Friday.

The Home Office has produced the specification for a new police station-based drug screening device. This specification sets out what the device will do and the standards it must meet.

Manufacturers will now submit devices to the Home Office for testing. If the specifications are met, a device could then be approved by the Home Secretary for use by police. Once a screening device is approved, officers will be able to use it to test if a person has specific ...

Just a quick correction on the SMiLE Conference post that I put out yesterday.

The twitter hashtag is #smilecon and NOT #smileconf

And there will be American, Dutch, Canadian AND Australian police there.

Other than that, perfect!

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch and sent me material or pointed me in the right direction. All great stuff and much appreciated. Thanks also too the numerous volunteers who have offered to carry my bags…!

Next week I will be talking at the Social Media and the Internet in Law Enforcement Conference in Santa Monica, California (I know, I know, but someone has to…).

The conference has some good topics and speakers. They include:

Creating a Social Media Engaged Agency - Sergeant Tom LeVeque, Arcadia Police

Instant Communications –  Captain Mike Parker, Los Angeles County Sheriff

Cyber Vetting and Posting Policies – Ed Appel, iNameCheck

Social Media Issues in the Law Enforcement Workplace - Chief Tim Jackman, Santa Monica Police; Captain Rich Lucero, Fremont Police; Melanie Poturica, Esquire, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore

Can the Social Media Genie be Put Back in ...

The brutal reality is that all managers in forces are now trying to come to terms with the implications of the significant budget cuts that they face. I’m therefore grateful to HMIC’s Steve Wallace for pointing out these two recent documents which address some of the hard issues.

‘Back from the Brink’ from the HayGroup outlines the research that they conducted across a number of industries and with senior managers and outlines 10 lessons for ‘successfully managing through the crisis’. Steve’s ‘brutal’ summary:  cut early, cut hard and don’t drip feed the pain.

The second paper is from

This is not a political blog.

However, the reality of the moment is that the current political scene (and the decisions in relation to cuts in public spending that are being decided by the coalition government ) is having a direct and significant impact on UK Policing Plc. That’s the nature of politics and policing, no matter the shade of government.

Timing is everything they say, and the season of goodwill to all is now behind us. ‘Fight the cuts’ hostilities were temporarily suspended to allow family over eating and general merriment to take place. Now a different reality is taking shape ...

The Lord Chief Justice has issued landmark guidance that there is no statutory prohibition on the use of live, text based communications ( such as mobile email, social media (including Twitter) and internet enabled laptops) in court.

The ruling will have far reaching implications and opens up a number of interesting debates. Forces and their press offices would be wise to  have thought through their positions and capabilities on what is sure to be a thorny issue.

The guidance states that:

‘Before such use is permitted, the court must be satisfied that its use does not pose a danger of interference to the proper ...