Analysis

INNOVATION: From advanced surveillance and data analytics to facial recognition and collars that can detect ‘anti-predation’ behaviour in farm animals sparked by the actions of livestock thieves, a recent online roundtable involving policing, academic and farming stakeholders highlighted the importance of agricultural technology – coupled with traditional policing methods – in tackling rural crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: For more than 40 years the UK’s renowned Cumberland Lodge policing conference has convened an influential, cross-sector gathering of speakers and delegates to stimulate fresh thinking on key issues in policing; in this article, the Police Foundation’s Ruth Halkon and Andy Higgins present the highlights from this year’s event.

FEATURE: The Protect Duty under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) draft bill, known as Martyn’s Law, was drawn up in response to the death of Martyn Hett and 21 other innocent victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attacks, and was one of the key topics discussed at the recent Counter-Terror Expo in London, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

ANALYSIS: Police Foundation Senior Associate Fellow Gavin Hales believes the change of UK government arguably offers the best opportunity in years for a revised police funding formula to be implemented – but also warns that such changes won’t address wide inequalities in funding, the balance between government and council tax precept revenues, or whether overall resources are sufficient.

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 explains why he believes that police departments should avoid labelling AI transcription of body cam footage as report writing.

FEATURE: Operation First Light, the global police operation led by INTERPOL, secured impressive results, freezing more than 6,700 bank accounts and seizing assets worth $257 million; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, while the operational achievements deserve praise, the scale of this criminal endeavour highlights the continuing success of scammers who combine hi-tech channels with appeals to the most basic of human emotions.

FEATURE: As a new UK Labour Government embarks on delivering the police and criminal justice policies and pledges contained within its manifesto, former chief superintendent Dr Stephen Brookes, now a leadership expert and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Manchester, sets out the opportunities and benefits of a “brave, bold and balanced” approach to leadership that could establish the policing agenda for 2030 and beyond.

ANALYSIS: The State of Policing: Annual Assessment 2023, published by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke, has found that the failure of forces in England and Wales to “get the basics right” is continuing to damage trust and confidence in the service, while “unacceptably high” workloads, significant levels of inexperience among officers, and an “outdated and unfair” funding formula are adding to the policing challenges, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: Those most at risk from extreme weather events are often the most vulnerable in society, but a new campaign by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction is urging emergency services including police to take preventative steps to ensure those in vulnerable groups do not fall victim to ‘natural disasters’, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: An audit of youth offending in Queensland has revealed a 65% increase in the number of serious repeat offenders since 2018, and has highlighted the importance of government stability in responding to young offending, as well as the need for a culture change in Queensland Police Service’s approach to the issue, as crucial steps in preventing further increases, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report highlights record levels of cannabis and cocaine use – with an accompanying rise in violence – and the increased agility of traffickers who are expanding their criminal activities into areas such as wildlife trafficking, illegal resource extraction and money laundering, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: New research from the Australian Institute of Criminology has found that one in five Australians has perpetrated sexual violence; but Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon of Monash University and Research Fellow Dr Hayley Boxall of the Australian National University warn that the real rate of offending may be even higher, and that more research focusing on perpetrators rather than reports to police is essential to uncover the true scale of the problem.

FEATURE: At the recent Counter-Terror Expo in London, Commander Dominic Murphy of the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Command set out the continuing challenges facing the countries counter-terror policing efforts, and the crucial role played by officers and staff in tackling a range of “diverse and unpredictable” threats, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: A new UK report by the Society of Editors, the Crime Reporters Association and the Media Lawyers Association has called on the police and press to work on rebuilding their “broken” relationship for the benefit of transparency, trust and confidence, while also warning that social media posts which often dominate high-profile investigations and court cases are in danger of being “weaponised”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the Paris Olympics and Paralympics due to get underway from next week, police and security forces across the city and the country remain on high alert to prevent any possible terror attack; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the challenges they face, how previous attacks have shaped the current security response, and the difficult balance between security and the spirit of the Games.

ANALYSIS: Cityforum’s Transforming Police Public Contact roundtable that took place earlier this year saw representatives from policing, government, academia and industry follow up from the 2023 event to once again debate the key issues around police public contact; this article by Nick Gargan, based on his report of the roundtable, brings together the key contributions and perspectives from the event.

OPINION: Already a criminal offence in the UK and parts of Australia, coercive control in intimate relationships looks set to be crimimalized in Canada under legislation making its way through the Senate; but PhD student Eden Hoffer and Professor Nadine Wathen of Western University, Ontario, argue that – because of the nature of the criminal justice system, and gender-neutral policies – criminalizing coercive control could also criminalize more women victim-survivors of intimate partner violence.

FEATURE: A new study by the UK’s Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre suggests that when it comes to what the public want from its police service, while tackling crime is important, people are more focused on how policing is conducted and its relationships with the communities it serves, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the recent successful operation by European law enforcement agencies working with colleagues in the US to take down multiple platforms used to disseminate terrorist propaganda, and explores the ongoing efforts of Europol to target those spreading terrorist content online.

OPINION: Taiwan’s police forces are known for their professionalism and expertise, particularly in areas such as terrorism, cybercrime and human trafficking; but China’s continuing successful efforts to block Taiwan’s membership of Interpol weakens the organisation and sends the wrong political signals – a situation which Dr John Coyne of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believes needs to be addressed at Interpol’s next General Assembly in Glasgow in November.

ANALYSIS: With Yvette Cooper now in post as the UK’s first Labour Home Secretary in 14 years, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the legacy she is inheriting, the lessons that can be learnt from the last Labour government, and the challenges Ms Cooper will face in successfully delivering meaningful and positive change in policing against a backdrop of an overstretched criminal justice system.

ANALYSIS: New research undertaken in Cleveland Police into police pursuits has highlighted how forces could target their stretched resources more effectively, and potentially improve training on local and rural roads, as well as indicating opportunities for police to work with manufacturers and other partners to make better use of technology in preventing pursuits, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The recent Counter-Terror Expo in London saw Commander Dom Murphy of the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Command reiterate the vital role played by communities and community policing in defeating the terrorist threat; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the key messages from Cmdr Murphy, and the wider focus on the community model and the ‘golden thread’ of intelligence that is crucial in the UK’s fight against terrorism.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks more closely at why culture matters in policing, and how traits such as solidarity, suspicion, intolerance, and excitement seeking can damage public confidence, while others including conservatism, cynicism, and policing’s ‘masculine ethos’ can create barriers to reform.