Opinion

OPINION: The idea of a ‘policing culture’ and how it can be improved is a concept that regularly features in research, reviews and the media; University of Derby Policing Lecturer Tom Andrews explores why policing culture – like any other – can be slow to change, and what individual officers can do to help bring about that change.

OPINION: Improving system interoperability has been something of a technology holy grail for UK policing, and key to overcoming the frustrations felt by frontline officers as well as operational ineffectiveness and inefficiency; Wayne Parkes, former Chief Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Officer for the Police Digital Service and now a DDaT policing consultant, believes the wider adoption of Integration Platform-as-a-Service (IPaaS) could be the solution.

OPINION: Earlier this year British Columbia began Canada’s first drug ‘decriminalisation’ policy, removing criminal sanctions for adults in possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs; but research scientist Dr Kanna Hayashi, an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University, warns that while police continue to seize drugs even when users aren’t charged with offences, toxic drug deaths will remain a major problem.

OPINION: In September 2022, Sir Mark Rowley came back into policing after some time away from the job at the end of a 30-year career, to take up one of the UK’s toughest roles as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, who served in the Met Police for 30 years, looks back over Sir Mark’s first year in post, and delivers an annual appraisal of how well the Commissioner has performed against his stated objectives.

OPINION: While police officers accept and understand the physical dangers of the job, David Marshall, a serving officer and part-time policing lecturer and PhD researcher, believes that the constant negative rhetoric, public disdain and media criticism around policing – exacerbated by a lack of effective leadership – is leaving officers exposed to even greater levels of psychological danger and harm to mental health that are fuelling high attrition rates. 

ANALYSIS: Earlier this month the Australian Government released new action plans to end violence against women and children, including the first dedicated to addressing violence against women and children in First Nations communities; Monash University Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Associate Professor Marie Segrave, and Griffith University Professor Silke Meyer, explore the aims of the plans, how their progress will be measured, and what is needed to ensure effective change and a reduction in violence.

OPINION: The police use of live facial recognition (LFR) regularly comes under scrutiny because of privacy, accuracy and surveillance concerns; but Dr Asress Gikay, Senior Lecturer in AI, Disruptive Innovation, and Law at Brunel University, argues that rather than banning LFR, more effective regulation of its use would address concerns while enhancing public safety.

INNOVATION: The difficulties in securing evidence – particularly from digital devices – for offences relating to violence against women and girls are often cited as a contributing factor for the worryingly low reporting, detection and conviction rates; police technology advisor Paul Kennedy and technology CEO Simon Franc believe cloud-based ‘software-as-a-service’ platforms which enable victims to upload evidence via an app could improve detection and conviction rates will freeing up police resources.

OPINION: A series of high-profile cases involving bullying, harassment and sexual abuse have seen the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the focus of strong criticism; following the most recent case, Adler University Associate Professor Jason Walker believes it is time to abandon the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) – the body set up to investigate such cases – in favour of more decisive action, both for the RCMP and law enforcement agencies around the world.

OPINION: An arrest earlier this month of an autistic 16-year-old girl by officers in West Yorkshire for a suspected ‘homophobic public order offence’ received widespread attention after her mother posted a video of the incident; University of Hull Policing Degree Programme Director and former officer Mike McKue, and Senior Lecturer in Criminology Dr Meron Wondemaghen, believe more police training in understanding and responding to neurodiversity can improve trust in policing and reduce harm.

OPINION: The recent trial and conviction in the UK of nurse Lucy Letby, who was found guilty of multiple child murders and attempted murders, has horrified the country, and prompted many questions about the trial process and why her actions weren’t identified and prevented sooner; former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher believes some of those questions are pertinent both for policing and the wider criminal justice system.

FEATURE: Earlier this month WeCops – ‘the Twitter home of continuous professional development for policing’ – held its latest Tweet chat event focusing on communications, hosted by West Mercia Chief Constable and NPCC comms lead Pippa Mills; WeCops’ Sgt Kerri Monaghan looks at the key points and comments made during the discussion, and highlights some of the potential learning that resulted from the chat.

OPINION: Earlier this month the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) published its security threat assessment – the first time the public has had access to the information; University of Waikato Professor of Law Alexander Gillespie argues that while the threat assessment makes for welcome but occasionally unsettling reading, having such conversations in the open demystifies aspects of national security.

OPINION: With a growing emphasis on police collaboration with partner agencies and stakeholders, Association of British Investigators (ABI) Secretariat Tony Imossi sets out why he believes closer working between policing and the ABI’s private investigator membership could bring a range of benefits including enhanced investigative skills, improved efficiency and resource allocation, and enhanced training and professional development opportunities.

OPINION: With a combination of municipal, provincial and regional law enforcement, Canada’s policing environment is both complex and in need of national standards; in this first of two articles, Vernon White, former Chief of Police for Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, argue that establishing a college of policing for Canada could help to create those standards while also professionalising the policing role.

OPINION: A recent decision by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to allow retailers to use live facial recognition (LFR) to tackle shoplifters has come under criticism amid claims the authority was influenced by the Home Office and a private supplier; Dr Asress Gikay, Senior Lecturer in AI, Disruptive Innovation, and Law at Brunel University, believes the ICO’s decision is erroneous and lacks transparency, and that private entities should carry out the same equality impact assessments as law enforcement to ensure the responsible use of LFR.

OPINION: This year marks the 125th anniversary of the official recognition of police matrons in Australia, but women had undertaken this work for at least 50 years beforehand; University of Newcastle Criminology Lecturer Dr Alice Neikirk explores one of women’s earliest roles in policing – a role which shared many of the same characteristics as today’s problem-orientated policing model.

OPINION: As police forces across the UK begin to implement the Right Care, Right Person approach to those in mental health crisis, former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher argues that it’s time policing re-examined other ‘partnerships’ with agencies that are clearly not working, and which see police treated as ‘third-class citizens’ in unequal relationships.

OPINION: Last week it was confirmed that most police forces across the UK have now adopted the Right Care, Right Person approach to those in mental health crisis; but given its unique policing environment, the British Transport Police will be implementing an alternative initiative, as Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi explains.

OPINION: Metropolitan Police Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer Darren Scates recently completed his two-year tenure as Chair of the UK’s National Police Technology Council; in this article he looks back at the significant and rapid changes during that period, and looks ahead at the opportunities for innovation facing policing, both in the short and longer term.

ANALYSIS: Various sectors of criminal justice systems around the world are increasing their use of artificial intelligence (AI), but AI has played a key part in offender assessment decisions in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and other countries for more than 20 years, with little or no transparency or independent inspection of the algorithms involved, as University of Surrey Professor Melissa Hamilton and Professor Pamela Ugwudike of the University of Southampton explain.

OPINION: Footage of the recent arrest of a mother in front of her young son for suspected fare evasion has once again ignited a debate about appropriate policing responses; Dr Meron Wondemaghen, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Hull, believes this and other cases have highlighted the issues of what constitutes social harm, what is a proportionate response, and why a ‘do no harm’ principle should precede any law and order aims.

ANALYSIS: With peer-officer support programmes in the UK increasingly highlighted as positive practice, Policing Insight’s Darren Moor, a former police officer and trauma management divisional co-ordinator, shares his experiences of trauma risk management (TRiM), the challenges of successfully implementing the approach, and the benefits it can deliver for individual officers and the wider force.

OPINION: When former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher attended a reunion dinner with the officers from the first shift he had led as a sergeant, it was an opportunity to look back at some of the experience and guidance he had passed on to those younger in service, and also to consider what principles, fundamentals and approaches were integral to being a successful skipper.