2026: The Year Everything Changes in Policing?
Welcome back to your first Leapwise blog of 2026! We hope you had a good break – especially readers working hard in public services where December often means higher demand, rather than slowing down. In our most recent blog – published just before Christmas – we reflected on all the ways in which Leapwise has […]
Looking Back Across 2025 – A Leapwise Year In Review
As we approach the end of the 2025, we wanted to take the chance to look back at what has been a huge year for Leapwise. We not only grew as a consultancy, delivering all kinds of impactful public sector-oriented client work, but have also expanded our thought leadership, team, and audience across this period […]
The Case for Radical Reform: Why We’re Launching the First Ever Leapwise Advisory Council
Last week, the Leapwise team attended this year’s APCC-NPCC Summit (you can read our takeaways here). There was a lot of attention – understandably – on PCCs and other high-profile topics. But for me, the backdrop to the Summit was a broader, wide-ranging sense of a criminal justice system in crisis. Across policing, justice and […]
Event Write-Up: Leapwise at the APCC-NPCC Summit 2025
This week, Leapwise attended the APCC-NPCC Partnership Summit, meeting with chief constables, PCCs, and other key stakeholders to discuss the state of policing and the agenda for change across the sector. It was, unsurprisingly, a tense affair. Last week, the Home Secretary announced that PCCs are being abolished and their role taken on by deputy […]
Examining Officer and Staff Requirement: Insights from the Police Service of Northern Ireland — A Leapwise Case Study
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) plays a critical role in tackling crime, ensuring public safety, and supporting peace, security and community cohesion in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland had a ‘severe’ terrorism threat for 9 of the previous 10 years, due to which PSNI officers and staff worked in a uniquely challenging context: PSNI officers routinely need to check under their cars for explosives, and require additional security officers to safeguard police vehicles when attending areas with terrorist […]
Refreshed Perspective – A New Era of Police Efficiency: Savings Beyond the Salami Slicer
We’re less than two months out from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget on the 26th November. It’s universally recognised that the Government has a tough task to balance the books. At Leapwise, leaders we speak to across policing, security and justice are also feeling the pinch. It’s got us thinking about this blog we published […]
A New Model for Secure Care and Custody for Children in the West Midlands – A Leapwise Case Study
One of the more high-profile challenges inherited by the new Government was the prisons crisis. With overflowing cells and poor conditions for many prisoners, a programme of early releases has taken place to try and ease the pressure. But children’s custody and care also faces profound challenges, reflecting what the Prisons Inspectorate have called “a decade of […]
Police Reform at a Crossroads: One Year On
Labour’s 2024 manifesto wasn’t short of ambition around policing. In fact, with missions that committed to funding 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel, identifying major efficiencies, and halving knife crime and violence against women and girls, they were clearly pushing the limits of what seemed achievable. One year into the Government’s term, still further commitments have […]
A New Guide for Devolution of PCC Powers – A Leapwise Case Study
The government’s devolution agenda in England is set to transform the landscape of policing and crime governance. As part of this plan, more mayors will take on the responsibilities of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) – starting with five of the six areas shortlisted in the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme, where new mayors could be […]
Refreshed Perspective – Case Study: Delivering Maximum Impact with HM Prison and Probation Services
It’s nearly a year since Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party were elected with a huge majority, promising ‘mission-led government’ that would “move away from sticking-plaster politics”. In other words, there would be – its supporters argued – significant benefits for people across the UK through the delivery of big, ambitious national missions. At this crucial […]