Opinion

OPINION: Far from providing a deterrent to vandalism, burglary and violence, increased traffic on roads running through residential neighbourhoods leads to an increase in residents’ assessments of crime, according to new research by Professor Jose Pina-Sánchez and Associate Professor Toby Davies of the University of Leeds, who argue that low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph zones already introduced on road safety, health and environmental grounds could also contribute to crime reduction.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Emily Spurrell, APCC Chair, voices her support for many of the measures in the recent Police Leadership Commission report – including a leadership ‘fast stream’, a senior constable rank, and modernising recruitment, training and performance monitoring – but bemoans the lack of emphasis on driving improvement in the culture, ethics and inclusive leadership of forces.

OPINION: As British policing talks increasingly about exploiting AI and digital innovation – much of which was highlighted in the recent reform white paper – technology entrepreneur Kamila Hankiewicz, co-founder and CEO of Untrite, highlights some of the key challenges to the adoption and implementation of new technology from a supplier perspective, and sets out five key steps that policing could take to ensure that the reform process is effective in “unleashing technology”.

OPINION: Special constables were introduced in Nigeria in 2020, and play a vital role in supporting the Nigeria Police Force’s community policing efforts, gathering community intelligence, and increasing the police presence in areas that have been under-policed; however, University of Ibadan Senior Lecturer Dr Usman A. Ojedokun warns that the new volunteer force has also prompted concerns over police powers given to unsuitable people, instances of public extortion, and the deadly risks faced by some special constables.

OPINION: Former long-serving police officer Ben Jones, now a Data Protection Officer managing information governance and information rights issues within the public sector, warns that despite the best efforts of policing, many investigators are still getting it wrong when it comes to managing personal data – and their mistakes can bring down an investigation.

OPINION: Several recent shootings in Canada have been labelled as extremist violence, but the reality may be more complex, says University of Winnipeg Adjunct Professor Kawser Ahmed, who warns that the country’s ongoing urban violence problem is increasingly about a brokered violence market in which young people can be recruited, paid, coerced or gamified into attacks whose purpose is supplied by someone unknown to them.

OPINION: Policing is coming under growing pressure to adopt the latest AI technologies in order to meet the ever-increasing demand; Anglia Ruskin University Senior Research Fellow Richard Harding warns that there are plenty of examples from history that highlight the need to empower police policy makers and practitioners to question the magical offerings of suppliers and to point out the ‘naked emperors’ managing projects, in order to protect themselves, their colleagues, their organisations, and the public they serve.

OPINION: Martyn’s Law, which forces venues, operators and policymakers to take public protection more seriously, came into effect last year, with new guidance introduced by the UK Government in April; but Gareth Brearley of AI company Augur argues that while additional CCTV, risk assessments, and the right paperwork may enable organisations to comply with the legislation, it is operational readiness, situational awareness and understanding information at scale that are truly needed to keep people safe.

OPINION: The recently published Police Leadership Commission’s Professionalism and Performance report offers a blunt verdict that leadership development is inconsistent, talent is wasted, and something structural must change, says Dr Aksar Bashir, Manager of West Midlands Police Force Contact Training Academy, who argues that while the report is a significant examination of police leadership in England and Wales, it offers mainly structural and managerial solutions to what are cultural and relational problems.

OPINION: Recent examples of racist conduct among officers in Montréal are a symptom of a much larger problem of racism within Canadian policing, says University of Manitoba Assistant Professor Dr Tandeep Sidhu, who argues that attempts to address the problem and reform policing – such as introducing body-worn cameras and collecting race-based data – have so far largely failed.

INTERVIEW: In this second part of his interview with Policing Insight, Stephen Russell, former Director of Data, Strategy & Technology at Warwickshire Police, shares his thoughts on the technology potential within the Government’s police reform proposals for England and Wales, why improved data and interoperability are just as important as AI, and some of the aims and ambitions for policing over the next five years.

OPINION: The ambitious proposals for structural change set out in the Government’s police reform white paper will see transformation on a huge scale, affecting 43 forces across England and Wales as well as the NCA, ROCUs, CT policing, and multiple national units; Martin Leven, who as CIO of the Scottish Police Services Authority led the tech strategy for the merger of eight forces to create Police Scotland, highlights some of the key lessons from that process, and the steps that can be taken to avoid the main pitfalls.

OPINION: Adopting a ‘backcasting’ approach to the challenge of tackling the illicit financial flows driving organised crime, De Montford University Visiting Fellow Dr Chris Allen envisages Project Artemis, a partnership model that would see private-sector specialist financial investigators deployed as ‘financial bounty hunters’ to target the funds and assets of organised criminal businesses.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.