Latest News, Analysis and Opinion

OPINION: The traditional method of disrupting organised crime groups – target the leadership and the organisation collapses – is not the most effective, says organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson, who explores how social network analysis combined with tools including the NCA menu of tactics and the NPCC Serious and Organised Crime Local Policing Framework can deliver more successful outcomes, illustrated by Greater Manchester Police’s targeting of the Adam organised crime group.

FEATURE: A new paper from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, which draws on themes highlighted during a series of recent roundtables on police use of new and emerging technologies, warns that law enforcement needs to recognise digital transformation as a “necessity” that will also require a culture shift away from risk aversion, the safeguarding of human rights, and a focus on improving data if forces are to maximise the technology potential, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

OPINION: London’s response to group-based child sexual exploitation should focus on improving evidence, identification, and protection for all victims rather than fixating on offender ethnicity, argues University of Bristol Professor of Criminology Aisha K. Gill, Head of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research and Co-Editor of the Journal of Gender Based Violence.

FEATURE: With online platforms, smart devices and digital tools offering unprecedented opportunities for the criminal networks involved in human trafficking, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at collaborative efforts by European countries to improve the intelligence picture and strengthen the fight against people trafficking through more effective use of technology, better understanding, awareness raising, and improved training.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: From 6–9 September 2026, the University of Leeds will host LEPH2026, the 8th International Conference on Law Enforcement & Public Health. Bringing together global experts across policing, public health, research and policy, the event provides a unique platform to explore vulnerability and shape forward‑thinking, evidence‑based approaches.

FEATURE: A new report into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within policing is warning of a growing gap between the technical capability of AI and the governance rules needed for its legitimate and responsible use, as well as “performative” human-in-the-loop concepts that exist “in name only”, and the risks of errors that creep into systems being left uncorrected and multiplying in significance as more use cases are connected, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: While public debate around the recent Police Leadership Commission report focuses on proposals such as the National Academy of Police Leadership and new promotion pathways, The Open University’s Professor Clifford Stott, ACC Nick Caveney, Dr Jennifer Norman, and Dr Iain Raphael, argue that the report’s key contribution is on the issue of whether policing has the institutional capability to deliver and sustain the scale of change envisaged by both the Commission and the wider reform programme.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

OPINION: Despite an increasing number of police leadership training programmes, forces and agencies face record officer attrition, collapsing recruitment pipelines, and a workforce that cites its own chain of command as the primary reason for leaving, says former officer and now public safety consultant Tim Kucerovy, who argues that tackling the ‘Promise Gap’ – the difference between what leadership says and what leadership does – is key to addressing attrition, culture, and community trust.

OPINION: The recently published report of the Police Leadership Commission highlights a range of key challenges for the service in England and Wales, explains Commission Co-chair and former home secretary David Blunkett, with “devastating” findings in relation to the recruitment, training and development, promotion, monitoring and appraisal of police officers among the issues addressed within the report’s 27 recommendations.

FEATURE: As police forces in many parts of the world struggle with workforce attrition and difficulties around officer recruitment and retention, a new study by Liverpool John Moores University and Western Sydney University highlights the potential for policing to leverage the potential of anonymous online workplace reviews to better identify factors that have driven officers to leave law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The National Intelligence Model (NIM), launched in the UK more than 20 years ago, was a “quiet revolution” in policing; former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, a senior adviser at Larsen Consultancy which has been working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the reinvestment, relaunch and refocus of the NIM, believes that the renewed model could define the next generation of British policing.

OPINION: AI is playing an increasing role in law enforcement, particular in areas of policing that require the interrogation of vast amounts of unstructured data; Dave Marcos, Senior Director of Responsible AI and Technology Stewardship at Motorola Solutions, believes the AI also has a vital role to play in ensuring both officers and the public can trust its output, by leaving a “digital footprint” of its recommendations and/or actions that a trained officer can review.

FEATURE: A new study highlights the range of both organisational and operational stressors that are having a damaging psychological impact on UK senior investigating officers, with researchers warning that unless forces embark on a process of significant reform of structures, some of these challenges will become “terminal”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Sextortion is a form of image-based abuse that is increasing around the world, with greater access to easy-to-use AI tools exacerbating the problem; new research by RMIT University Professor Nicola Henry, PhD candidate Alana Ray, and criminologist and Research Assistant Gemma Stevens reveals not only the scale of offending, but also the steps that need to be taken – including new laws and regulations, prevention education and improved police responses – to address a complex challenge.

FEATURE: The delays experienced by non-EU nationals at ports and airports due in part to the new Entry/Exit System have made headlines in the UK and abroad, but the system is the latest measure in efforts to provide accurate information about a whole range of potential security threats, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, with a culture of collaboration and co-operation across member states and associated countries a key foundation of the approach.

ANALYSIS: This week saw the publication of the Police Leadership Commission’s much anticipated report; in an exclusive article for Policing Insight, Open University Emeritus Professor Jean Hartley, one of the Commissioners who took a leading role in gathering evidence for this “root and branch analysis” of police leadership in England and Wales, highlights some of the report’s key findings and recommendations.

EVENT INSIGHT: Policing Insight’s Police Digital Experience Survey offers “qualitative, independent data and evidence” that poor digital, data and technology (DDaT) provision are driving officers and staff out of policing, according to one stakeholder at last month’s panel discussion event, while another confirmed senior officers will view the survey findings as a “call to action” to ensure improvements are made to DDaT that will enable officers and staff to better protect the public, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: Following the publication of the report and recommendations of the Police Leadership Commission this week, Supt Nick Smart, President of the Police Superintendents’ Association, highlights the continuing need for a definition of the policing mission in England and Wales, as well as some of the measures required to address the gaps in officer development, the move towards a learning culture, the importance of ensuring reforms are mandated, and the ongoing challenges around inadequate funding.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

FEATURE: Research recently published by domestic abuse and violence against women, girls and children (VAWG/C) specialist Judith Vickress, founder of community interest company RiTA (Rural Initiatives Tackling Abuse), is calling for policymakers and agencies to recognise the “paradox of community” that often means rural domestic violence is "invisible", and to ensure a co-ordinated approach that structures responses around rural reality is incorporated into efforts to tackle VAWG/C, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Many police leaders are keen to improve diversity and representation within their workforce, but such ambitions should not undermine the credibility of appointments nor lead to a false choice between diversity and standards, argues Dr Robin Shusko, Chief of Campus Police at Frederick Community College in Maryland, who draws on her own experiences as well as efforts in Australia and the UK to define steps leaders can take to ensure they select from the widest pool of applicants, and make choices that withstand scrutiny.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Graham Honey, a former HMCE and HMRC officer who specialised in investigating organised crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering, about the many high-profile operations he was involved in, why so many structural changes in the fight against organised crime have been ineffective, and the main organised crime challenges of the future.

ANALYSIS: New South Wales (NSW) Police is facing a $1.75 billion psychological injury bill and a co-responder mental health programme known as PACER that operates in only 12 of 57 area commands almost a decade after its first pilot within the force; strategy and reform consultant Kavitha Vipulananda compares the police approach in NSW with co-responder models in other Australian states and asks what it would take to scale a programme that works.