Analysis

ANALYSIS: The recent horrific mass shootings in the US have once again highlighted how social media and online platforms are used to broadcast terrorists’ aims and actions; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at ongoing European efforts to target online terrorist content, including this month’s Terrorism and Social Media Conference in Swansea.

ANALYSIS: With policing resources under continuing pressure, the 2022/23 financial year is now underway, prompting renewed focus on how police forces are funded across the UK. In this first of two articles focusing on police funding, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett reviews the core funding streams from the respective central and devolved governments, and explores why some forces and communities feel unfairly treated.

FEATURE: The UK findings from the latest Global Economic Crime Report published by analysts PwC has highlighted that fraud now poses “a greater and more costly threat than ever before” to UK companies; supply chain fraud has also emerged as a significant new risk across the commercial sector, yet many businesses seemingly unprepared or unwilling to respond to the threat, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: The UK has seen inward migration for several decades, and the growing refugee crises around the world suggest the number of foreign nationals residing in the country will continue to rise; James Williams, Policing Studies Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, believes police forces in England and Wales could and should be doing more to communicate and engage with the UK’s foreign national community.

ANALYSIS: The concept of ‘institutional racism’, particularly in relation to UK policing, has been a controversial one for many years, with conflicting views on both the definition itself, and how the service should tackle the issue; Policing Insight Academic Editor Carina O’Reilly explores the implications of institutional racism, why some are so reluctant to acknowledge its existence, and how the new NPCC Police Race Action Plan could herald significant changes.

ANALYSIS: Improving gender equality is a key aim in many sectors of society, with equality of opportunity for men and women widely recognised as a necessary development; but Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at the latest research which suggests that the cocaine industry is an exception to that rule.

ANALYSIS: Dr Muhammad Dan Suleiman, Research Fellow at the UWA Africa Research & Engagement Centre at the University of Western Australia, identifies the key enablers of political extremism in West Africa.

ANALYSIS: In the last in our series on continuing professional development (CPD) in policing, the team at the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning examine some of the key topics in light of the recent policing reviews.

FEATURE: A new €7m European Commission research and innovation initiative has been launched to improve crime scene investigations relating to the transfer, persistence and background abundance of trace evidence, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

ANALYSIS: The 2019 Government announcement of an additional 20,000 police officers recruited over three years was welcomed by the police service. The programme is on course to hit that target, but is it just a numbers game? And with some reported to be struggling, how does the service encourage its new recruits to stay?

ANALYSIS: Last week, the Home Secretary announced that volunteer police officers in England and Wales will be authorised to carry Taser, but is it the right move and will it happen? Policing Insight's Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores some of the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid development of new technology in the police and law enforcement intelligence field, and how a pan-EU project could help agencies and providers maximise the potential benefits of emerging trends and capabilities.

FEATURE: Should the role of policing be confined to that of a crimefighter? Or should it be more broadly defined? As part of his work on the Strategic Review of Policing, Director of the Police Foundation Rick Muir explores the idea of the police having a 'generalist response function' and whether this could work in practice.

ANALYSIS: As the race to take on the top role of Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police service hots up, it has been revealed that former New Zealand Commissioner of Police Mike Bush has thrown his hat into the ring. PolicingTV presenter and former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Danny Shaw takes a closer look at the man behind the uniform and, if appointed, what impact he might have on policing London.

ANALYSIS: As an Irish organised crime group worth more than a billion dollars has made headlines after the US Government offered a $5 million reward for their capture, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at how we can tackle the biggest and most sophisticated criminal entities.

ANALYSIS: With business, security and many other aspects of everyday life increasingly reliant on software, the frequency of attacks on the software supply chain – and their potential impact – is growing; Sarah Sloan, Palo Alto Networks’ Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for ANZ, looks at what more Australia could be doing to tackle the software security threat.

ANALYSIS: As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the lessons that need to be learned in relation to protecting public spaces from terror attack, and the important balance between community security and the rights of individual citizens.

ANALYSIS: Many ex-prisoners end up in the vicious cycle of homelessness, reoffending and reincarceration; but new research by academics from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, the University of Tasmania and Melbourne’s RMIT University indicates that providing public housing for those released from prison could cut crime and reduce criminal justice costs.

ANALYSIS: Acknowledged as a potentially influential document in shaping UK law enforcement for the future, the Police Foundation’s recently published final report on the Strategic Review of Policing also recommended major changes in tackling organised crime (OC) going forwards; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen considers some of the report’s key points on OC.

ANALYSIS: Despite several attempts at reform, successive governments in Pakistan appear to have had little success in tackling the corruption, undue political influence and paramilitary involvement in policing; Zoha Waseem, Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Warwick, believes Pakistan’s new government must now take the opportunity to deliver localised, effective change.

FEATURE: As movements of migrants and refugees across European borders reaches new levels in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ensuring border security while protecting refugees and preserving human rights has become increasingly difficult; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest EU funding for police and security projects that will help countries to meet those complex challenges.

FEATURE: With law enforcement in the US and globally having experienced an unprecedented challenge in the form of COVID-19, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) has gathered together the relevant research, experiences and impact of the pandemic to produce a recent ‘lessons learned’ publication, as Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend reports.

LONG READ: Recent years have seen renewed efforts from the UK criminal justice system to tackle domestic abuse and violence against women and girls; but for Robert Wells, founder of Domestic Abuse Business Support (DABS), while the greater focus is welcome, the gender bias across society and in the criminal justice approach to domestic abuse and violence is leaving male victims unrecognised, unsupported and at risk.

ANALYSIS: Following Canada’s legalisation of cannabis, some cities are now looking to decriminalise personal possession of all illegal drugs, as a public health-driven response to the country’s opioid overdose crisis; Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at the background to the proposals, the qualified support from police chiefs such as Toronto’s James Ramer, and how the drug enforcement landscape is shifting.