Analysis

FEATURE: The UK is winning the tactical battles but “losing the strategic war” in the fight against serious organised crime (SOC), according to a new report from the Coalition for Global Prosperity, which calls for the introduction of a more coherent strategy that approaches SOC as a national security risk, recognises threats from other states including China, Russia and Iran, and focuses on using existing frameworks to move the fight “upstream”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Child criminal exploitation has long been recognised in the UK – particularly the county lines model – and is a focus for a number of European countries, but understanding of the issue is limited in Australia; Dr Susan Baidawi, an Associate Professor at Monash University, warns that far from being an emerging problem, such exploitation is already a defining contemporary youth justice issue, and one which urgently requires data collection, multi-agency collaboration, and a response embedded in child protection.

FEATURE: Despite campaign groups continuing to voice concerns about potential bias in the use of facial recognition technology (FRT), UK policing is pushing ahead with adopting the technology, with backing from the Government; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at one of the most recent examples of FRT failure, and highlights a new European initiative to enhance objectivity, neutrality, and fairness in the pursuit of justice, particularly in relation to digital technologies.  

OPINION: Former British Transport Police officer Rob Glassborow was a member of the County Lines Task Force launched in 2019, which adopted an approach of focusing on juveniles exploited by drug gangs as offenders rather than victims; now a lecturer in policing at Leeds Trinity University, he admits to being “in awe” of how county lines policing has become a specialist area with a clear safeguarding mission, and points to the increased knowledge and expertise as an example of the success of professionalising policing.

ANALYSIS: Research from Operation Soteria has found numerous institutional issues in the policing of rape and serious sexual offences that require urgent attention: in this article, Dr Anna Gekoski, Dr Kari Davies, and Professor Miranda Horvath explore these issues, which include problems relating to staffing, training, and technology.

ANALYSIS: A recent report based on interviews with officers in England and Wales in 2021-22 highlights a number of ‘institutional challenges’ around investigating rape and serious sexual offences; however, Prof Betsy Stanko, Senior Strategic Academic Advisor for Operation Soteria, Chief Constable Sarah Crew, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Adult Sexual Offences, and Detective Chief Superintendent Melissa Laremore, Operation Soteria Delivery Lead, set out the significant progress in addressing these and many other issues over the past five years.

FEATURE: A new mental health response and support system based on joint working between An Garda Síochána and the Health Service Executive, which involves officers with specialist mental health training working alongside clinicians and the creation of a community-based forum for referrals, could be rolled out nationally after a pilot of the Community Access Support Team (CAST) initiative in Limerick saw a significant drop in detentions of those in crisis, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Methamphetamine prices in New Zealand have recently fallen significantly, and a similar trend has been seen in Australia; Massey University’s Professor Chris Wilkins, Associate Professor Dr Marta Rychert, and Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr Robin van der Sanden argue that while competition, demand and enforcement may be factors, the most convincing explanation is the growing role played by Mexican cartels in the manufacture and supply of meth and other drugs.

FEATURE: As the European Commission (EC) unveils a new agenda to prevent and counter terrorism, which includes new practical tools for countering the radicalisation of minors, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth suggests that the EC would do well to learn some of the lessons from the implementation of the Prevent Strategy in the UK, including the statutory duties on all schools, colleges and universities to protect children and young adults in their care from adopting extremist and violent ideologies.

ANALYSIS: As policing in England and Wales continues to deal with frequent and often large-scale protest and counter-protest, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has highlighted the “grey area” in which officers now operate; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a former Metropolitan Police officer and public order specialist, explains the current complex challenges around tactical and operational public order decisions, and the need for a clearer focus on ‘lawful’ rather than ‘peaceful’ protest.

OPINION: Policing, like many other organisations, often relies on the ‘don’t do’ approach to communicating and educating ethics to its workforce, with a focus on the punishments and consequences of misconduct and poor behaviour; but Dr Eva Tsahuridu and Jo Kerr of Victoria Police Registration & Services Board argue that while ‘negative ethics’ have a role to play, ‘positive ethics’ that develop a ‘what to do approach’ to recognising ethical issues and making ethical judgements are just as important.

ANALYSIS: The UK’s recently published Policing and Media Charter, which comes just weeks after new College of Policing guidance on media and communications, is viewed by many as a much-needed reset of the relationship between police and the media; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend, a subject matter expert in police communications, spoke to Crime Reporters Association Chair Rebecca Camber and NPCC Chair Gavin Stephens about the background to the charter, its aims, and the practical difference it will make to that relationship.

OPINION: As transnational criminal networks grow in complexity and reach, the Australian Border Force is evolving from a traditional customs and immigration agency into a sophisticated intelligence-led law enforcement organisation; the results are already visible, says strategy and reform consultant Kavitha Vipulananda, but the challenges ahead are formidable – and some of the most significant are not operational at all.

FEATURE: A second report into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by police in Canada, published by the University of British Columbia’s AI & Criminal Justice Initiative, highlights a lack of cohesion over governance arrangements for adoption and deployment of the new technology, and urges police to take a ‘steady, cautious approach’ that incorporates comprehensive standards, legal safeguards, robust independent oversight, and democratic accountability, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A new report from the Scottish Institute for Policing Research into policing after lockdown and how to rebuild relationships with the “Covid generation” has urged police to introduce “poverty awareness training” for officers to provide a better understanding of inequality’s impact on youth-police relations, and develop stronger partnership and collaborative approaches, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Family violence protection orders can provide a vital safety net for victim-survivors in Australia, preventing further violence from occurring; but University of Melbourne Professor Heather Douglas and PhD Candidate Allanah Colley warn that the differing laws across Australian states can lead to a courts ‘quagmire’, and there is much more work to be done around police enforcement of breaches, culturally-responsive approaches, and support for victim-survivors.

FEATURE: The latest report on the Police Covenant – the commitment introduced by the Government to ensure that current and former police officers, staff, and their families in England and Wales are supported and treated with fairness and respect – has highlighted significant developments including around health and wellbeing and suicide prevention, but has called for more to be done to ensure the police workforce is aware of the support available, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Independent researcher and governance adviser Vsevolod Shabad believes the language and internal communications architecture of British policing means that officers who highlight and escalate serious risk don’t always get the necessary response, and lack protection for their actions; with other high-risk professions having identified and addressed the same challenges, he looks at what policing can do restore the right for officers to speak clearly.

FEATURE: A recent survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology suggests that, as with more traditional forms of crime, members of the public overestimate the likelihood that they will be a victim of AI‑enabled crime; but while frequent users of AI-enabled technology must be encouraged to employ more protective behaviours, those reluctant to use it should be supported to do so safely and confidently, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: 3D-printed ‘ghost guns’ have become increasingly in demand by criminal groups, partly because of the belief that such weapons are untraceable; but new research by Dr Georgina Sauzier and PhD candidate Michale Vic Adamos of Western Australia’s Curtin University suggests that chemical analysis of the filaments used to print the guns could help forensic investigators and police to link a seized gun and seized filament, or guns seized from different cases.

FEATURE: With both Europol and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime highlighting the threats posed by Eastern European and Balkans organised crime groups (OCGs) expanding further across the continent, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the efforts of the EU (through CEPOL), Europol, and international collaborations involving the UK’s National Crime Agency amongst others, to tackle these ‘High-Risk Criminal Networks’.

ANALYSIS: For more than 12 years, Toronto Police Service’s Neighbourhood Community Officer (NCO) program has been working to place officers directly within communities, build relationships, and focus on solving problems; since its launch, Dr Doug Thomson and Dr Emma Smith have been evaluating the successes and challenges of the NCO program – both from the perspective of the officers involved, and from the communities they work in and with – as Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood reports.

ANALYSIS: In the third in a trilogy of articles focusing on male officer mental health in policing, accredited psychological therapist Dr Rachel Rogers explores the aftermath of the challenges and barriers to help-seeking for male officers – workplace processes, changes, worsening of symptoms, and risk of Complex PTSD and/or Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder – and includes the comments and experiences of officers themselves.

FEATURE: The latest report by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee into forensic science provision in England and Wales is warning that the neglect of the system is a “national scandal in the making”, with urgent steps needing to be taken including the creation of a National Institute for Forensic Science, an independent national storage capacity for long-term evidence retention, and a credible plan to preserve specialist forensic skills, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.