Analysis

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor's overview of the state of policing in England and Wales in 2019/20 including the policing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ANALYSIS: Recent events in the United States have led to calls for more training and credentialing to reduce the use of excessive force by police. Dr. Leana Bouffard of Iowa State University and Dr. Gaylene Armstrong of the University of Nebraska provide five reasons why police officers should be encouraged to pursue a college degree so they are better equipped to lead much-needed reform.

ANALYSIS: A report by the UK Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) revealed strong evidence that law enforcement reduces road fatalities and serious injuries. PACTS Policymaker Frank Norbury shares the report's findings and recommendations including that roads policing should be part of the Strategic Policing Requirement.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Dr Ben Stickle, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Administration at Middle Tennessee State University, explores the trend of 'porch piracy' in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic and how agencies have responded to this.

INNOVATION: Big data can provide powerful insights into policing and improve performance, but getting it wrong leads to unreliable conclusions and poor policies. In the first of two articles, Professor Tom Kirchmaier, Director of Policing and Crime at the London School of Economics, outlines his team's work with British policing and some of the important principles of using big data.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Somaya Alwejdani and Professor Richard Wortley from the Jill Dando Institute UCL explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of harm posed to children through online sexual abuse.

Analysis: With officers in 'policing tribes' likely to come into regular confrontational contact with other tribal groups, Martin Tangen argues that a return to fundamental Peelian roots is the best way to prevent policing prejudice and bias.

ANALYSIS: New Zealand's efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely praised and admired. Mark Evans, a Deputy Chief Executive of New Zealand Police and a recent addition to Policing Insight's International Advisory Board, explores the role that the police service played in helping to enable that successful all-of-government response.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Professor Betsy Stanko OBE and Dr Jyoti Belur from the Jill Dando Institute UCL and Dr Katrin Hohl from City University of London examine the impact of the pandemic lockdown on domestic abuse and offer insights on the way forward.

Analysis: In the past twenty years, policing in Northern Ireland has transformed itself to become more representative of the communities it serves. Adjunct Professor at City University of New York Dr. Laura Weinstein and Assistant Professor at Emory University Dr. Donald Beaudette examine policing in Northern Ireland and the potential lessons for US police forces.

ANALYSIS: Drawing on interviews with senior police leaders and frontline officers, Dr Arabella Kyprianides et al* examine how COVID-19 legislation and government guidance impacted policing during the lockdown in the UK and the implications now restrictions are being eased.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Nadine L. Salman and Dr Paul Gill from the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science discuss the terrorist threat during the coronavirus pandemic and how the lockdown has increased the risk of radicalisation online.

Analysis: At 9.9 million square kilometres, the UK can fit into Canada 40 times. Perivale and Taylor Consulting Vice President Robert Taylor and Senior Associate and Police ICT Specialist Kevin McQuiggin examine how policing has evolved in this vast country.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Professor Nick Tilley, UCL Jill Dando Institute, and Professor Ray Pawson, Leeds University, examine the factors impacting behaviour during the pandemic and suggest a way forward to securing voluntary compliance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: How the police have responded to enforcing the lockdown in the UK has received considerable attention. Ben Bradford, Zoe Hobson, Arabella Kyprianides and Julia Yesberg from the Jill Dando Institute, UCL plus Jonathan Jackson and Krisztián Pósch from the Methodology department of LSE look back and discuss the public's compliance with these tactics over the duration of the lockdown.

Analysis: A survey carried out by Working the Doors, which represents UK door staff, on the relationship between door staff and the police has revealed a lack of communication and, in some cases, a misunderstanding of each others' roles. Working the Doors Content Manager Steve Johnson explores the survey's results in detail.

ANALySIS: The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matters protests have highlighted the fragile relation between exercising police powers and public consent. Dr Nick Evans of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency explores how the Agency's 'Four Pillars of Trust' offers forces a tool to consider the impact the policing response has on building trust with communities.

analysis: USA: Community groups and protesters are calling for major reforms of policing - including defunding and even disbanding forces - in the fallout from the killing of George Floyd. But, as Dr Jill McCorkel explains, the strength of police unions across the USA, together with protective legislation, represent a significant barrier to meaningful change.

ANALYSIS: The coronavirus pandemic has affected billions of people around the world, impacting daily lives, national economies, international trade and relations among nations. Prof Manuel Eisner of the University of Cambridge and Prof Amy Nivette of Utrecht University analysed worldwide data to identify violence trends and the implications for in public health, social work and policing. Their findings were published in April 2020 in a report commissioned by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation entitled Violence and the Pandemic – Urgent questions for Research.

EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS: Policing Insight's International Advisory Board (IAB) was established in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown in the United Kingdom. This article, the first by the IAB, offers a perspective on changes that policing leaders and key senior stakeholders might make to take advantage of some of the new working practices or insights emerging from the COVID-19 response.

ANALYSIS: The killing of George Floyd, caught on camera by a member of the public, has reignited the debate over whether body-worn cameras increase police accountability and transparency. Associate Professor in Law Robert Diab welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's support for the wider use of body-worn cameras, and sets out how and why that use should be enshrined in law.

Analysis: In the latest edition of the Thames Valley Police Journal, Inspector James Ravenall examines how wellbeing is impacted by a range of factors and offers ways to develop positive practice.

Analysis: Police forces must adapt, collaborate and innovate to get ahead of criminals, according to INTERPOL. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth examines how INTERPOL is helping law enforcement to embrace innovation to keep communities safe.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Internationally, police forces are having to enforce and respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Dr Zoha Waseem and Julian Laufs from the Department of Security and Crime Science at the Jill Dando Institute UCL examine the impact policing the pandemic is having on police forces and their staff.