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Ruth Halkon

@ruthhalkon.bsky.social
78 followers 61 following 25 posts

Keen cyclist, novel devourer, and mum. Former reporter and cop. Researcher at the Police Foundation. Editor of the SEBP newsletter. All views my own.

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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Thank you @mattashby.com for attending and for your excellent insights from yesterday's Fixing Broken Windows Thirty Years On event organised by @policefoundationuk.bsky.social and hosted by @rusi.bsky.social
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 23/04/2026
Today @rusi.bsky.social is hosting a discussion on 30 years of broken windows policing in the UK. Very interesting to hear from David Blunkett on the difficulties he faced in convincing police chiefs they should focus on prevention of everyday crime!
Former Home Secretary David Blunkett, former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Director of the Police Foundation Blair Gibbs in a panel discussion on a stage
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Proud to be a co-convenor for this brand new group
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Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 23/02/2026
This is one of the most heart-breaking & important articles I have ever read - from someone whose voices are so rarely heard, a teenaged girl. If you want to understand online misogyny in all its devastating impact, please read this shattering piece. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
I am a 15-year-old girl. Let me show you the vile misogyny that confronts me on social media every day | Anonymous
Objectification, hate, rape threats: the politicians debating online abuse mean well, but to truly understand, they need to see what I see
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Caroline Dodds Pennock @carolinepennock.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
This. This is what it means to close ‘regional’ universities.
theguardian.com
‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?
When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...
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Andy Cox @andy-cox.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I’m so saddened to hear of the closure of RoadPeace for financial reasons. The charity did so much good — supporting crash victims, standing with bereaved families at their darkest moments, & tirelessly campaigning for safer roads. I hope one day it can be re-established & continue its vital work.
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 16/12/2025
In a new comic, Liana Finck writes about rediscovering the joys of William Steig as a parent. Read it here: newyorkermag.visitlink.me/Ose0u5
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Delighted to share our article in the IOPC's Learning the Lessons Magazine introducing our upcoming Policing with Compassion guide. This multimedia resource helps frontline workers minimise harm and build trust in encounters with neurodivergent children and young people. lnkd.in/ezHRs3SE
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 05/11/2025
This is a slide I use quite a lot when doing POP training for police. Even when an agency or individual wants to follow SARA properly, there are so many institutional pressures on them to skip steps.
How not to do SARA

Ignore the problem
Try to respond without defining or understanding the problem
Define the problem, but don’t take time to understand it
Don’t assess whether or not the problem has been solved
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Fond memories of this portrait smiling encouragement down at me during a particularly thorny supervision. I liked to think this was Marlowe - and now it seems more than likely
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Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Great investigation of the Nazis, racists and criminals mobilising the flag-on-lamp-posts movement. This is the kind of journalism that the national media could and should have conducted: manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
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Cassia Rowland @cassiarowland.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
There's a huge amount in there, so I'm spreading it out for you with a chart a day for the next few weeks! For now, 3 key messages. 1) Major problem in policing is officer inexperience. Police work is getting more complex with more domestic abuse & sexual violence and forces lack skills to handle it
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Wendy Xu @wendyxu.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
"single-use plastic of the mind" had me GAGGED
But a still graver scandal of AI— like its hydra-head sibling, cryptocurrency-is the technology's colossal wastefulness. The untold billions firehosed by investors into its development; the water-guzzling data centers draining the parched exurbs of Phoenix and Dallas; the yeti-size carbon footprint of the sector as a whole—and for what? A cankerous glut of racist memes and cardboard essays.
Not only is the ratio of Al's resource rapacity to its productive utility indefensibly and irremediably skewed, Al-made material is itself a waste product: flimsy, shoddy, disposable, a single-use plastic of the mind.
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Evidence Base @evidencebasejnl.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
One of our wonderful board members, Marina Rezende Bazon
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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
1 in 3 doctors were born overseas. 1 in 2 builders were born overseas. 1 in 6 nurses were born overseas. 1 in 4 transport workers were born overseas. 1 in 7 UK business founders were born overseas. 1 in 5 university academics were born overseas. The UK would be screwed without them.
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 26/06/2025
Hotspot patrols (🇳🇱) substantially reduced disorder, *but* resident perceptions of disorder in the area and perceptions of police got *worse*. A useful reminder that reducing crime is necessary but not sufficient to improve public perceptions of crime. doi.org/10.1007/s112...
doi.org
Evaluating place-based policing in Amsterdam - Journal of Experimental Criminology
Objectives Evaluate the impact of a place-based, community and problem-oriented policing intervention in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Methods This evaluation is guided by the EMMIE framework, and its…
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Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre @vp-centre.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Read about our latest Translational Fellowship project “Racially Minoritised Women’s Experiences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Reporting to the Police” led by Dr Alishya Dhir from @policefoundationuk.bsky.social: vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/racially-min...
vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk
Racially Minoritised Women’s Experiences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Reporting to the Police - Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre
This project aims to provide a more detailed account of racially minoritised women’s experiences of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence.
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
📣 The Police Foundation welcomes Blair Gibbs as incoming Director. Blair is a leading policy advisor and consultant with expertise in public policy and government relations. Read more ⤵️ www.police-foundation.org.uk/news/blair-g...
police-foundation.org.uk
Blair Gibbs appointed Director of the Police Foundation
<p>We welcome Blair Gibbs as incoming Director of the Police Foundation.</p>
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
My article in Policing & Society argues that sustainable reform can best occur through empowering police officers to develop a historical perspective – thinking critically and strategically about where policing is and how it got there.
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Signe Johansen @signesjohansen.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Thought of Jo Cox this weekend when the news emerged from Minnesota about yet another political assassination. These women were forces for good, we should remember them
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
As a neighbourhood officer, I tried hard to avoid using the 1824 Vagrancy Act and find ways to protect communities that avoided criminalising rough sleeping - but austerity made this is a struggle. Hopefully the change in the law will mean more resources to offer support and address root causes.
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
'the police can’t pin all their woes on a lack of cash. Inefficiency is baked into the structure of the service, which was designed half a century ago'. The Police Foundation's Strategic Review of Policing is quoted in this article by @dannyshaw.bsky.social www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06...
telegraph.co.uk
Why a blank cheque won’t solve Britain’s policing woes
The Met Police Commissioner has called for more funding, but experts tell The Telegraph that a lack of money is not the core problem
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
www.police-foundation.org.uk/news/rick-mu...
police-foundation.org.uk
Rick Muir leaves the Police Foundation after 10 years as Director
<p>The Police Foundation has said goodbye to its Director, Rick Muir, who has left the organisation to take up a new role at the Home Office.  </p>
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Come be my boss, it's a wonderful job!
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Many articles on #VAWG etc. describe traumatic content without considering its effect on readers. V. refreshing to see Glitch' report actively acknowledging how heavy the content it exposes is and reminding readers to pause and breathe #reportwritinggoodpractice glitchcharity.co.uk/our-work/res...
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
The @policefoundationuk.bsky.social's Gavin Hales on R4 today talking about the missing neighbourhood police officers
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Rick Muir @rickmuirbskysocial.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Do join me and Gavin Stephens to discuss police reform on the 10th anniversary of the NPCC 👇
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HappyToast @happytoast.co.uk · 04/04/2025
Guardian article on people being arseholes and buying massive, dangerous cars that are too big for the roads
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Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
“Er, my question is really in two parts…” From the new Private Eye, out now.
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
open.substack.com/pub/jamiejba...
open.substack.com
How teachers are trying to outsmart AI
Lessons for us all
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Relevant far outside the scientific community - sticking rigidly to disciplines may enhance individual credibility but it can be a barrier to creativity
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Neil Basu on racism, riots and quitting the Met: ‘When policing is bad, it’s the worst’
He was the most senior Asian officer in British policing, tipped for the top job of Met commissioner. But then came Black Lives Matter and the murder of Sarah Everard – and he couldn’t stay silent any...
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
My dad Peter Halkon was just on Radio 5 Live talking to Nicky Campbell about the amazing Melsonby hoard. Dad said many of the finds had been ritualistically burnt or broken - like someone burning their Rolls Royce to show how wealthy they were. On just after 10am www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 5 Live - Nicky Campbell, Are we pathetic freeloaders? Plus your questions about an amazing Iron Age hoard
Are we pathetic freeloaders? Nicky Campbell takes your calls on the day's talking points.
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Gavin Hales @gmhales.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
New research finds "permanent exclusion is associated with approximately a doubling of the risk of having a conviction or caution for both serious violence and for homicide or near-miss homicide in the 12-month period following the exclusion"
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
"The policing profession has a habit of rolling out new practices without properly evaluating them...We need independent evaluation, supported by police forces, government, and research partners. Without one, we’re flying blind." www.sebp.police.uk/post/proacti...
sebp.police.uk
Proactive Policing Against Predatory Offenders: What Works?
In policing, some of our best innovations come from practical necessity. We see a problem, we adapt, and we act. That’s exactly what happened when Project Vigilant was developed—an intelligence-led, p...
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Ian Loader @ianloader.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
I’ve written a little thing about how cars came to ‘own’ our towns and cities.
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Last year I wrote a piece for the Youth Endowment Fund toolkit on the best use of stop and search. It's worth a reread as the Met launches its new Charter, which aims to ensure better use of the tactic by listening to the public and improving the quality of encounters. rb.gy/imr5ma
rb.gy
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Want to win a signed copy of the best selling book 'Blue: A Memoir - Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces'? Sign up to our next #PFFridayExchange with @johnsutherland.bsky.social (happening this week) and you'll be entered into a free draw! ⤵️ www.tickettailor.com/events/thepo...?
Front cover of the book 'Blue: A Memoir' showing a fallen toy police officer.
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
NEW blog from our Research Director Andy Higgins 'Should retailers adapt to prevent shoplifting?' He argues that large retailers shouldn't just expect the police to deal with shoplifting. There's plenty that can be done to prevent it too. www.police-foundation.org.uk/2025/02/shou...
police-foundation.org.uk
To prevent shoplifting we must unpack the retail crime settlement
<p>Narratives that shoplifting is all about rampant criminals, disinterested policing and lenient magistrates only tell part of the story and distract us from finding other ways of addressing this cri...
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 04/09/2024
"It is impossible to be a top-line manager and administrator and mentor and researcher and writer and outreach officer and IT expert and online instructor and pedagogical innovator and recruiter and teacher and marker and external examiner and press pundit and grant bidder and editor."
voicesofacademia.com
It’s Not Your Fault That Academic Life is Getting Harder by Glen O’Hara
Universities are in trouble, and it’s not just money we’re talking about. They are living through something of a crisis of confidence, even of trust and faith. More and more, I find myself, and my col...
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Ian Loader @ianloader.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
My paper on the car as a criminological object has found its final form and a parking spot (I know - sorry!) in the latest volume of the Annual Review of Criminology www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
annualreviews.org
Concerning Cars: Automobility and the Contours of Control, Order, and Harm | Annual Reviews
Criminology has been coincident with the motor age, at least in the Global North. The history of automobility is bound up—in mutually conditioning ways—with changing patterns of crime and social contr...
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ETSC - European Transport Safety Council @etsc.eu · 30/01/2025
"The most successful road safety intervention in modern times" BBC News - Welsh 20mph limit: 100 fewer killed or seriously hurt in first year
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Welsh 20mph limit: 100 fewer killed or seriously hurt in first year
Ex-minister says it shows policy was the most successful road safety initiative in modern times.
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Neighbourhood policing is a philosophy all in policing should stick to...It's about seeing everyone as human. Having the same officers in a sector each day, so the public know them and know they're working to solve local problems. Chief Terry Monahan on what drives #TrustandConfidence in policing
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Dr Carole McCartney 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ @ctmccartney.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Having spoken with a lot of detectives (what is the collective noun?), some today even, I totally endorse this message.
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Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre @vp-centre.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
📣 Calling all PhD students 📣 Join us for an upcoming webinar with @the-sipr.bsky.social “Neurodiversity: Navigating the criminal justice system at the intersect of policing and health”. 📅 Tuesday 28 January 2025 🕐 1pm-2pm GMT 📍 online Register below 👇 www.tickettailor.com/events/scott...
tickettailor.com
Select tickets – Neurodiversity: Navigating the criminal justice system at the intersect of policing and health – Microsoft Teams
Policing and Vulnerability Doctoral and ECR Webinar Series People with a neurodiversity or neurodisability are overly represent...
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policefoundationuk.bsky.social @policefoundationuk.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
‪The Police Foundation‬ ‪and TSO are delighted to launch the new #Roadcraft app. Developed with the police, other emergency services, and driver training specialists, it's an essential reference tool for emergency responders. Find out more ⤵️ www.safedrivingforlife.info/blog/cars/ne...
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Scottish Institute for Policing Research @the-sipr.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
We're very proud of @lizaston.bsky.social for delivering a stellar inaugural professorial lecture on "Policing, power and the Public" For anyone who didn't make it you can see a recording of the lecture here (watch out for the magic word)! www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Ms...
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Ruth Halkon @ruthhalkon.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Growing up in Hull in the 90s and 00s, John Prescott loomed large over my childhood. Though I had to go to Freetown in Sierra Leone to actually meet him - we were both there to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery in 2007. A great man in many ways whose impact was felt globally.
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Rick Muir @rickmuirbskysocial.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Article on @policinginsight.bsky.social by me and Tom Gash setting out the case for a new national police body to drive change in terms of technology, forensics, data, leadership and coordination around key priorities, operational support 👇👇👇 policinginsight.com/feature/opin...
policinginsight.com
Fit for the Future: The case for a reformed national policing landscape
To coincide with the launch of a discussion paper on a stronger national centre for policing in England and Wales – jointly published by the Police Foundation and consultants Leapwise – Foundation…
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