Police officers are being targeted by a new fortnightly magazine aimed at keeping them up to date with the latest developments in the profession, including ways to combat terrorism.
Police Professional is the debut title from Network Services International (NSI) Professional Media, the company behind the web portal Police Oracle.
The magazine will be distributed to almost 17,000 police officers throughout the UK from inspector level upwards, via controlled circulation. It will feature news, profiles and the latest advancements in technology and best practice.
Publisher Paul Lander said it differed markedly to Jane’s Police Review because of its frequency and content.
Police Review is a weekly, news-led title that is not afraid to take a controversial stance. Police Professional will be fortnightly and will focus more on in-depth features and analysis.
Lander said the launch had sprung from research that had shown many police officers did not use any journal to keep them updated on developments, especially related to law, best practice and technology.
“The police service did not have something that was referred to on a regular basis. We are hoping to give police officers the confidence that they know what is going on because the feeling at the moment is that they don’t,” he told Press Gazette.
“We are not likely to be controversial because we are highlighting best practices which assist UK police forces and there is an enormous amount of goodwill from policing organisations for this sort of information.”
The magazine has launched in association with Centrex, a governmentbacked organisation responsible for police training in the UK. Centrex runs a number of police training colleges and Lander said it would be able to assist by providing research.
Lander said the launch would also help to strengthen links between forces. “One force may be making certain initiatives, while the officer doing the same job function in another force will not be aware of what is happening. It is very important to communicate like that. There is so much happening in the police force, such as fighting terrorism.
People need to know what is working and what is not.
“Police officers are so busy, they come to work and often they are dealing with crises or emergencies and they need something that can help them quickly,” he added.
The title is being run by a fivestrong editorial team and a pool of contributors, most of whom are former police officers. Managing director of NSI Professional Media, Geoff Hyams, is a former detective inspector and used to head a murder squad for the Met before setting up the Police Oracle site four years ago. Managing editor David Don is an ex-chief superintendent and editor Keith Potter is a former editor of Police Chronicle and an ex-Police Review journalist.
Lander said the company hoped to launch further titles in the future
By Ruth Addicott
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