Analysis

ANALYSIS: Europol has identified 821 criminal networks with 25,000 members from 112 different nationalities which carry the biggest threat both inside the EU and internationally – based on the fact they are agile, borderless, controlling and destructive – and has called for “a culture of proactive international police co-operation” to tackle the threat, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INSIGHT: Recruiting and training a diverse workforce with the necessary skills and talents remains a particular challenge for policing; Harry Gooding, Director of Skills and Learning at Hays, explains a new apprenticeship approach which focuses on an individual’s transferable skills, motivation and attitude rather than academic qualifications, and includes a 10-week ‘bootcamp’ providing the coaching and learning required to embark on a range of policing careers.

FEATURE: With law enforcement agencies around the world looking to make the best use of volunteers, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at a EU new report by a group of research projects which has identified a range of measures to leverage the maximum potential from community volunteers in responding to and recovering from major disasters.

FEATURE: A review of the handling of sexual assault cases by Australian Capital Territory Policing (ACT) – undertaken in response to a previous 2021 report highlighting concerns – has called for the introduction of victim-survivor advocates to reduce attrition rates, improved communications, and updates to police training, policies and practices, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: As political parties in the UK begin their election campaigning in earnest, a Conservative proposal for a new national service scheme – which would include options for young people to undertake their service in ‘civic duties’ including policing – has prompted much debate; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at how the scheme might work, what happens elsewhere, and the possible challenges and benefits.

ANALYSIS: The concept of coercive control has been recognised for more than 15 years, and coercive and controlling behaviour was introduced as a criminal offence in 2015; but research by Julia Pitman, justice policy, campaigns and research professional, highlighted key barriers the police face in recognising female offenders as victims of coercive control, including lack of officer skill and experience, and inadequate policy and guidance.

ANALYSIS: With the ongoing fentanyl crisis claiming hundreds of lives ever day in North America, a new class of synthetic opioids – nitazenes – is causing real concern both in the US and more widely, including the UK, Canada and Australia; former Ottawa Police Service Chief Vernon White takes a closer look at the background to both the growth of fentanyl, the emergence of nitazenes, and the steps countries are taking to tackle the threat.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood explores the core characteristics, shaping mechanisms, and perspectives on police culture; by examining both the positive aspects and challenges of police culture, the series aims to provide deeper insights into its impact on everyday policing, and explore pathways for meaningful reform.

FEATURE: Interpol Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh has warned that a new international “poly-criminal age” is posing harm to millions around the world, and that while Interpol remains uniquely placed to lead the response, it will require a “global mindset” from law enforcement, government, communities and the private sector to tackle the threat, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explores implications of synthetic identities, how they can be adopted and exploited for criminal use, and the strategies law enforcement needs to put in place to combat them.

FEATURE: The latest snapshot report from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission – the independent oversight body for Australia's Victoria Police – has highlighted a dramatic increase in misconduct cases, with predatory behaviour by officers, the misuse of social media, and ‘reach back’ by ex-employees exploiting previous working relationships among the key concerns, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Despite widespread recognition of the importance of local policing in England and Wales, there is very little consistency or consensus around its delivery; a new research project by the Police Foundation will examine variations in local policing approaches, the rationale behind them, their relative strengths and weaknesses, and how different designs can meet future policing challenges, as Research Director Andy Higgins explains.

INTERVIEW: A new report from the UK’s National Rural Crime Network has highlighted the role of organised crime in many of the machinery thefts devastating farming communities; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Northumbria Police Superintendent Andy Huddlestone, head of the National Rural Crime Unit, about the need for better data sharing, more resources, and greater prioritisation by forces to tackle a growing crime trend.

OPINION: Police in Scotland were among the frontrunners on officer safety training and de-escalation techniques, prompted in part by the tragic on-duty murder of PC Lewis Fulton almost 30 years ago; but Michael Greville, a former long-serving officer who played a key role in developing the officer training programme, believes Police Scotland needs to address a significant gap between training and operational application that leaves officers and the public at risk.

OPINION: Alongside the estimated $60 billion costs to Australia and Australians of transnational serious and organised crime (TSOC), there are significant impacts on individuals and communities, political stability, and the environment; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes the time is right for a TSOC white paper to address this multidisciplinary, complex challenge.

FEATURE: The Annual Report of Canada’s Edmonton Police Service has highlighted a range of measures including stronger community partnerships, diverting young people away from crime, and a clearer focus on addressing offenders’ “criminogenic risks and needs” as among the key steps to improving public confidence in the Service despite concerning trends on crime and violence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Despite significant decreases in crime over the past 30 years, most people in England and Wales believe crime is rising; Associate Professor Toby Davies and Professor Graham Farrell of the University of Leeds argue that while there are various reasons for the perception gap – including political rhetoric and media coverage – governments should be taking decisions on crimes based on evidence, not public perception.

OPINION: In this opinion article former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher gives his views on some of the challenges facing his former force, and why Chief Constable Jo Farrell is right to call for reform of three key areas – the courts process, policing mental health, and the response to minor crime – but argues that proposals put forward are unlikely to succeed.

ANALYSIS: New research by community safety professional Abu Ullah into the incidence of violence against women and girls in the London Borough of Sutton has highlighted the need for an evidence-based approach targeting hotspots to gain the most effective outcomes from overstretched police resources and reduce the threat to females, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: As a counter-corruption reporting service is expanded across the UK, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass examines whether it will be effective and asks what else is needed to win back public trust.

ANALYSIS: The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) is a key entry route into the UK police service; but Donna Eastham, Programme Lead for Professional Policing at Leeds Trinity University, warns that issues such as a lack of informed understanding or commitment to academic learning among employers, the impact of ‘war stories’, and the ‘inbetweenness’ degree apprenticeships create for policing students could all have damaging consequences for the success of the PCDA. 

OPINION: With communities across Canada considering whether the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should be responsible for municipal policing, the city of Surrey in British Columbia has become one of the first to look to replace it with a newly-formed Surrey Police Service; but Royal Roads University Lecturer Dr Bryce Casavant believes the controversy and conflict between the RCMP and Surrey Police highlights the challenges around the transition.

ANALYSIS: A long-awaited review of police resources and policing in Australia’s Northern Territory has called for an increase in officer numbers, a building programme for remote facilities, better resource management and a fatigue management plan for officers, after what review author and former NTPF officer Vince Kelly described as a “decade-long period of organisational trauma”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With artificial intelligence increasingly important in the investigation process for collating and analysing large volumes of data, new EU funding is now up for grabs for proposals that can help policing and security practitioners undertake fast and flexible analysis of large data sets to improve the fight against transnational crime and terrorism, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.