Latest News, Analysis and Opinion

FEATURE: A new report from the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre highlights the strong alignment between officers and the public on aspirations for policing in England and Wales; but with operating constraints reducing neighbourhood policing to a “Cinderella service”, it argues for more open and honest communication with the public, as well as a stronger focus on fixing relationships within policing, if trust and legitimacy are to be maintained, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

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: With this week marking Men’s Health Week in the UK, and June dedicated as PTSD Awareness Month, Chartered Psychologist Dr Rachel Rogers explores some of the challenges and ongoing efforts to improve male police officers’ ability and willingness to access mental health support, and shares the personal experiences of three officers who were able to reach out to when their own mental health was suffering.

King's Birthday Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise the policing and public safety recipients of the UK and overseas 2026 King's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: On 29 June, Westminster Insight is bringing together policymakers, senior practitioners, commissioners, researchers, and voluntary sector leaders for a full-day conference examining what the strategy means in practice and how to implement it effectively and equitably.

OPINION: Former long-serving US police officer Keith Lazaron warns that the seeming increase in political influence demonstrated by some district attorneys can have a damaging impact on policing, as communities lose faith, law enforcement agencies lose morale and stability, and victims lose trust in a process where police and district attorneys are operating as ideological adversaries rather than accountable but co-operative partners.

FEATURE: A new study by researchers at Melbourne’s RMIT University, based on interviews with victim-survivors of sexual violence, has called for an independent, alternative investigative support service, training to improve officers’ interpersonal skills, and upgrades to rooms and facilities, after interviewees shared experiences of dismissive and victim-blaming officers, “disgusting” and “intimidating” interview rooms, and having to collate evidence related to the offence themselves, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The recent high-profile embezzlement conviction of former Scottish National Party Chief Executive Peter Murrell, and the investigation of his former wife, previous First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, prompted widespread media headlines and accusations of cover-ups from politicians; former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher believes the case also lays bare the challenging environment and criminal justice system barriers that Scottish officers now have to contend with.

OPINION: The police response to the murder of Henry Nowak by Vickrum Digwa has once again led to accusations of ‘two tier’ policing in the UK and prompted a review by police chiefs of the service’s anti-racism commitment; Dr John Coxhead, Visiting Professor of Policing at De Montfort and Loughborough Universities, argues that a “reset of common sense in policing” is required, to ensure officers get the basics right and deal with the crime in front of them, rather than being expected to address issues of social policy.

INNOVATION: As policing increasingly looks to leverage the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) across a range of roles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth highlights attempts at a European Union level to maximise the potential of the new technology in the community policing environment.

INTERVIEW: The Coalition for Canadian Police Excellence (CCPE) has published a white paper setting out the case for a National Centre for Police Excellence; CCPE President and former Toronto Deputy Chief Michael Federico spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the inquiries that prompted the work, the distinction between education and training at its heart, and the constitutional realities of building a national body in a province-led system.

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OPINION: As the review of the Government’s reform proposals to reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales gets underway, there may be significant learning that can benefit policing from the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) programme that has taken place over the last few decades, says Craig Taylor, CTO of Phoenix Software, who sets out some of the key lessons from the LGR process.

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.

INTERVIEW: Question prompts driven by artificial intelligence (AI) could offer real-time assistance to investigative interviewers and enhance child interview quality, according to a pilot study, but also risk officers’ over-reliance on the new technology; Liisa Järvilehto, a clinical forensic psychologist at Helsinki University Hospital and PhD candidate at Åbo Akademi University, explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons that the ambitious goals around the use of AI in interviewing needed a balance of enthusiasm and care.

ANALYSIS: With nearly 50 million people estimated to be in modern slavery, and global money laundering flows reaching up to $2 trillion a year, the connection between human trafficking and financial crime has never been more consequential for international policing; strategy and reform consultant Kavitha Vipulananda examines how Interpol co-ordinates measurable responses across 196 member states – despite resource gaps, the political misuse of some tools, and persistent corruption continuing to constrain what it can achieve.

King's Birthday Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise Australian policing recipients of the 2026 King's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank them for their service.

INNOVATION: Hate crime investigations are among the most complex and emotionally charged cases for officers, with more than half of cases ending due to victim attrition; Metropolitan Police Inspector Craig Went highlights the results of a new ‘secondary reassurance contact’ approach, developed with colleague DCI Dan Whitten, in which a relatively small change in process is leading to a significant reduction in victim withdrawals.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Bringing together governments, regulators, manufacturers, operators and end-users, Critical Communications World (CCW) is the premier free-to-attend international gathering where every stakeholder in the sector can connect, collaborate and shape the future of mission-critical technologies.

INTERVIEW: Following on from the recent Police Interview Summit organised by interview tools and software specialists Davidhorn, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to company CEO Børge Hansen about the value of closer collaboration and understanding between police and suppliers, the importance of developing investigative interviewing skills through an officer’s career, and why forces should look beyond upfront technology costs to recognise the long-term operational benefits of technology investment.

OPINION: With growing concerns in many countries about the online radicalisation of young people, Dr Soumya Awasthi, a fellow of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation, and Dr Fitriani, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Cyber Technology and Security Program, believe that Australia and India could learn much by sharing their country’s experiences.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime (OC), Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to journalist and author Peter Walsh, whose most recent book is now a major Netflix series, about how he first become focused on organised crime, why capping high-value banknotes could be a key step in tackling OC, and how the kingpin strategy may have led to a rise in drug trafficking.

FEATURE: The nature of digital radicalisation across Europe is changing significantly, reports Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, with the rapid increase in ‘awful but lawful’ content that is ‘gamifying’ extremist violence to ‘seduce’ people – especially children and young people – already acknowledged by European security agencies as a specific threat that needs to be addressed.

FEATURE: This week is the first anniversary of Restorative Solutions delivering the Appropriate Adult Service for vulnerable adults in police custody across West Yorkshire, having launched the service on 1 June 2025; Volunteer Appropriate Adult Dr Kathryn Sharratt and Service Delivery Manager Kate Brooksbank provide an insight into the organisation’s partnership with West Yorkshire Police, the invaluable contribution of volunteers, and the positive difference their support can make to vulnerable adults in police custody.