INTERVIEW: Sex work liaison officers (SWLOs) exist in fewer than one in four forces in England and Wales, but a new study evaluating approaches to violence against sex workers in Gwent highlights the “transformative” nature of the role; University of the West of England Assistant Professor Duncan McPhee, who led the team carrying out the research, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about how SWLOs can restore the “trust deficit” between police and sex workers, and why the role should be formalised across forces.

FEATURE: A recently published Performance Improvement Review of New Zealand Police warns that an integrity reset is “urgently needed” within the service and is a “mission-critical challenge”, while concerns over “tribalism” – particularly at senior levels – as well as skills and training gaps, “underpowered and undervalued” corporate foundations, and the increasingly complex digital and transnational crime threats are all highlighted in the review, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A new resource package for forces in England and Wales is designed to improve the response to cases of witchcraft, spirit possession and ritualistic abuse (WSPRA) includes an operational briefing, case studies and academic research, along with calls for police and other statutory agencies to shed their “institutionalised disbelief” of WSPRA reports in an effort to improve awareness and recognition of an offence that is barely reflected in recorded crime figures, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: An evaluation of the first two years of the pilot of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) across four forces in England highlights an increase in the number of people reoffending – attributed largely to an increased focus on enforcement against high-risk individuals by police – but a limited impact so far on deterring serious violence, and suggests the lack of a rehabilitation element to SVROs needs to be addressed, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Police forces need to ensure that evidence-based policing approaches – including independent academic evaluation and a clear decision framework – are applied to new technology projects, says Hertfordshire Constabulary ACC Dr Nick Caveney, Policing Chair of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research & Learning, to enable forces to “stop early, learn transparently, and reinvest wisely” when innovation is not delivering the desired results, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Europol’s latest Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) highlights the rapidly expanding cybercrime threat, and underlines the need for law enforcement agencies to harness technology, push for tighter regulations and work more closely with the private sector in order to deal with that threat, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: An Adult Sex Work Referrals Hub created as part of Operation Pluto is partnering with the Changing Lives charity to source intelligence anonymously from sex workers that can enable police forces across England and Wales to identify and disrupt offenders, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The latest report from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) on AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) highlights an “alarming” rate of growth in imagery that is leaving investigators facing a “needle-in-a-haystack challenge”; the IWF is urging governments, tech companies and institutions not to waste the opportunity to act now on AI CSAM imagery, and that ignoring the risks would be “failing children and ourselves”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Nicole Simpson has been named the International Association of Women Police’s Officer of the Year, after demonstrating “exemplary leadership and investigative skills” in a series of high profile cases; she spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the need to “think outside the box” and leave rank “at the door” when it comes to investigations, and the importance of instilling pride and confidence in young-in-service officers.

FEATURE: A report from the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency exploring the ‘megatrends’ facing policing over the next five years and beyond is warning that as demand for policing becomes increasingly fragmented and shaped by external forces, law enforcement agencies will need to limit the expansion of their roles for the benefit of both the public and the workforce, while also addressing skills gaps and improving community collaboration, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

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.

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.

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.

INTERVIEW: A new organised supply chain crime intelligence desk has been launched by Opal, UK policing’s national intelligence unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, which will develop strategic and tactical intelligence packages for forces to help them tackle the increasingly sophisticated efforts of organised crime groups that divert goods through cybercrime, create ghost companies to steal contracts from businesses, and target warehouses and depots, as Opal Head Jim Taylor told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: Proposals for an Animal Protection Disclosure Scheme, known as Holly’s Law and modelled on Clare’s Law (the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme), could soon be debated in the UK Parliament; former police officer Mark Randell, a campaign manager at the Naturewatch Foundation, explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons why the link between animal abuse and coercive control and violence could be crucial in tackling domestic abuse, and how officers can play their part.

FEATURE: Mandatory training on autism awareness for police would equip officers with the skills needed to interact more effectively with neurodiverse communities, as well as increasing trusts and confidence, argues Edinburgh Napier University postgraduate student Victoria Paterson, whose own work with Police Scotland showed that officers “were really positive and wanted to get involved”, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has been given six months to work with the Home Office to produce a long-term, costed IT strategy after the first agency-wide HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspection found that existing systems were “not fit for purpose”; the NCA has also been urged to address staff shortages that impact on analysis capabilities and act on workforce concerns over bullying, harassment and discrimination, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A study into building procedural justice in street-level drug law enforcement in Australia suggests that the decriminalisation of drug use and possession offences, expanding harm reduction approaches, and giving all alleged offenders the chance to tell their side of the story, could help to build positive interactions between officers and people who use drugs, as well as increasing the willingness of users to co-operate with police and abide by the law, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A groundbreaking multi-agency Women’s Safety Unit in West Yorkshire, based on a partnership between the county’s Combined Authority, Violence Reduction Partnership and West Yorkshire Police, has cut rape investigation times by 40%, reduced the number of cases lost as a result of victim disengagement, and is “turning the tide on trust and confidence” with a satisfaction rate of more than 85% for domestic abuse victims with policing, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A lack of understanding around the management of sexual and violent offenders and child sexual abuse and exploitation teams, coupled with staff shortages and skills gaps, is damaging the wellbeing of officers and increasing the risk to the public, according to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which is urging forces to stop neglecting “these important areas of policing” by refocusing on safeguarding and support at both force and national level.

FEATURE: An evaluation of the effectiveness of violence reduction units (VRUs) across England and Wales following their first five full years of funding indicates that the initiative has contributed to significant falls in hospital admissions due to knife crime and violent assaults, but also highlights that a range of structural and cultural challenges arising from the multi-agency approach – particularly around data sharing – are preventing VRUs from realising their full potential, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: The fully automated Trauma Tracker system launched by Avon and Somerset Police will enable line managers and wellbeing professionals to proactively manage workforce exposure to trauma, as well as giving officers and staff regular updates on the possible impact that traumatic incidents may have on their wellbeing, as Inspector Stuart King explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: A new survey of European law enforcement officers by investigative analytics software specialist Cognyte has highlighted gaps in police analytics and skillsets which are limiting agencies’ ability to take effective action, alongside a “widespread” convergence of organised crime and terrorism that is adding to the scale and complexity of threats facing law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Warwickshire Police’s digital transformation over the past eight years has seen them acknowledged as a leader in many areas of police technology, and particularly the use of AI; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to the force’s Director of Data, Strategy & Technology, Stephen Russell, about the potential for AI in policing, the importance of measured development rather than a rush to “go fast and first”, and how the lessons of managing people translate to managing AI apps and agents.