Features

ANALYSIS: The recent Independent Criminal Courts Review endorsed expanding the use of out-of-court resolutions – which can provide effective resolutions to crimes, and save victims from the stress and lengthiness of court – but what do victims think? New research by Transform Justice highlights considerable support for the approach among victims of crime, and identifies some of the reasons behind their dissatisfaction with the process – including lessons for policing – as Transform Justice Research and Policy Officer Ella Thomson explains.

FEATURE: A new report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has found that most countries have gaps in their understanding of terrorism financing trends, with terrorist organisations exploiting vulnerabilities both in traditional financial systems, and increasingly through online opportunities; the FATF is calling for greater international collaboration and the harmonisation of legal frameworks, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a series of articles from The Conversation on weapons and violence in Australia, Griffith University Principal Research Fellow Dr Samara McPhedran looks behind claims by the media and politicians that the country is in the middle of a violent crime crisis to explore the statistics and the real picture when it comes to the use of weapons and violent crime rates in Australia.

FEATURE: As daily life for many people moves increasingly online, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the recent Europol report exploring how law enforcement can deliver community policing in the digital age, the “capability and relevance gap” that police urgently need to address, and how the work of the EU’s Koban project could help to build the future capabilities of community policing in both the physical and virtual domains.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff from Canada's York Regional Police, who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community of readers from many other UK and international police, government, academic, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

FEATURE: The latest World Drug Report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime suggests that while the cocaine market continues to boom, the collapse of heroin production – due largely to the Taliban-enforced opium ban in Afghanistan – could lead to organised crime looking at alternative drug markets such as fentanyl and crystal meth, as Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen reports.

FEATURE: In the latest article in The Police Student series, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the work of non-state agencies in the criminal justice system – including both third sector and private sector organisations – and considers the vital roles they play in filling gaps within the statutory service provision, the challenges around their involvement, and the importance for police officers of understanding these agencies’ positions within the complex criminal justice landscape.

INNOVATION: The Offending 2 Recovery (O2R) programme pioneered by West Midlands Police is credited with life-saving support to get addicts off of drugs, while also significantly reducing the shoplifting crimewave faced by retailers; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to the officer who first created O2R, the police and crime commissioner who funds it, and the former addict who stole more than £30m of goods to feed her habit and who believes O2R saved her life.

ANALYSIS: Prevent training – particularly the duty-to-refer protocol – as part of the UK’s anti-terrorism provision does not serve its purpose; a study at one university in England identified issues faced by those lecturers currently charged with the responsibility to implement it, explains Nicole Lees, a Lecturer in Security, Intelligence and Investigative Practice at the University of Cumbria.

ANALYSIS: New research among officers from Australia, New Zealand, and England and Wales has highlighted the “alarming” levels of PTSD and poor mental health, and called for a more holistic approach to wellbeing, with training for managers and leaders in providing better support for officers; research co-author Dr Alan Beckley spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the challenges around the internal culture of policing, and the need for “empathetic and caring managers”.

OPINION: Given the abundance of digital data now circulating in society, open-source intelligence (OSINT) offers unparalleled value to investigators, but the volume of material available can be daunting for those new to OSINT, and even leave experienced investigators overwhelmed; Brett Redman, Head of Intelligence at Blackdot Solutions, provides a practical introduction for investigators on applying OSINT with clarity and purpose.

FEATURE: Despite many initiatives to tackle the high volume and harm of domestic abuse, victim-survivors are still being failed, says a new report, with a definition of domestic violence that is “too broad for effective operational policing”, a lack of resources to deal with growing and increasingly complex demand, and a risk assessment system that is “not fit for purpose” among the main barriers to improving service delivery, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: UK politicians from all parties have previously invoked crime as a threat, and their own brand of politics as the solution, warn criminology professors Emily Gray and Stephen Farrall – and distorting its nature can erode public trust in the institutions tasked with protecting the public, foster punitive and ineffective policy responses, and leave whole communities feeling targeted, criminalised or unsafe, based on selective and often sensational narratives.

FEATURE: A new Professionalising Investigations Programme launched by the College of Policing (CoP) is now being trialled by 13 forces across England and Wales, with a view to improving outcomes for victims, introducing national first-line supervisor standards, and equipping sergeants and police staff with enhanced skills, as CoP Crime & Criminal Justice Delivery lead Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: With the policing landscape changing “faster than ever”, Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Learning and Development lead David Bamber, and Dr Sean Bell, Lecturer in Policing Organisation and Practice at the Open University, explain why the two organisations are working together to introduce a “fully accredited, recognised and validated programme in professional practice” for PFEW reps to ensure they have the skills required to take on a role that is “becoming more challenging”.

FEATURE: The rapid advancement of drone technology – as highlighted by their growing and impactful use in conflict zones such as the Ukraine war – is also expanding the potential threat posed by terrorist organisations, raising concerns for both law enforcement and defence agencies alike, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

INNOVATION: New Zealand’s Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) initiative – a community-based, multi-agency initiative in which NZ Police are taking a lead role – is combining enforcement against drugs and gangs while also working to provide pathways for youths to avoid being drawn into gang culture, building trust with the public, and supporting communities to make their own decisions, as NZ Police ROCC Manager John O’Keeffe explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: Baroness Casey’s latest review was pounced upon as proof the authorities have suppressed uncomfortable truths around the ethnicity of grooming gangs, and while her findings don’t quite confirm that, she is critical of the lack of action to protect vulnerable girls during the past decade; the Government has committed to implement her recommendations – but Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett examines whether they will really make a difference.

OPINION: AI-enhanced surveillance tools are already transforming policing, says Milestone Systems Fellow Dr Barry Norton, and police forces that leverage intelligent video will be harder for criminals to outsmart, better informed, and faster to the scene – while those that fail to modernise risk falling behind not just in technology, but in public trust and effectiveness.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a new series of articles exploring the links between sport and organised crime – from street level to international syndicates – Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the growing impact of match-fixing and spot-fixing, which are influencing the outcomes of sporting events from the lower leagues to the largest stage in the UK and globally, and driving an illegal betting industry worth more than a trillion US dollars.

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FEATURE: While a new report suggests An Garda Síochána officers are still reluctant to engage with service-backed support systems for fear of being stigmatised, one member of the service is “filling the void” by providing free workshops promoting healthy lifestyles through a holistic approach covering issues including nutrition, sleep, exercise, emotional and mental health, stress management and resilience, as Garda Stephen O’Connor explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Despite data showing an overall fall in most crime over the last 30 years, the public perception in Britain is one of an increasingly lawless country; the public’s concerns matter, and Patrick Olajide, a Senior Researcher in Crime, Justice and Security at the National Centre for Social Research, believes that how the press report on crime is one factor worsening those fears, by painting an incomplete, distorted and – at worst – dishonest picture of crime and justice in the UK, which has a damaging impact both on communities and those working within the criminal justice system.

OPINION: After significant optimism about the reform of policing in South Africa following the first democratic elections in 1994, the country’s police service has becoming increasingly politicised and under the control of ANC insiders, argues the University of Pretoria’s Dr Ivor Chipkin, with devastating results both for public trust and crime rates.