Opinion

OPINION: The recently published UK Conservative white paper targeting ‘recreational’ drugs users suggests a three-tier approach for offenders, escalating from fixed penalties to passport confiscation; but Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, believes the proposals lack any evidence base, contradict existing government diversion schemes, and are a ‘recipe for confused police enforcement’.

OPINION: The recent case of Child Q has highlighted the use of strip searches by police, particularly in relation to searches of children and the disproportionate use of the process involving Black, Asian and minority ethnic people; Matteo Tiratelli, Political Sociology Lecturer at UCL, believes the lack of accurate data around strip-searches in the UK underlines the need for a much wider debate about the issue.

OPINION: With policing seemingly under continuous pressure – financial, political and public – it’s clear that to deliver the best possible service, parts of the job need rethinking, and others a radical overhaul; Iain Donnelly, a former officer and now author, podcaster and policing technical consultant, suggests 10 “relatively quick” fixes which also highlight the need for more common sense in UK policing, especially among senior leaders.

OPINION: While Canada has experienced an increase in gun violence in recent years, Professor Yanick Charette of the Université Laval believes that existing political and law enforcement approaches to tackle the problem focus mainly on increasing police resources, and should be replaced by more effective deterrent programs, built on interventions that involve both the police and the community.

LONG READ: Forensic scientist Stuart Kind, who was brought in by the UK Home Office to help track down the Yorkshire Ripper, is widely recognised as a pioneer of geographic profiling; former Met Police detective Geoff Monaghan and geospatial intelligence specialist Ian Oldfield explore whether the genesis of the geographic profiling concept can be traced back further to a piece of 1920s detective fiction, and the story of a string of animal maimings in Surrey.

INTERVIEW: Against a backdrop of violent arrests and oppressive responses in the 1970s, New South Wales Police has had a difficult relationship with the LGBTQ+ community; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to NSW Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot about the journey the force has been on to rebuild relationships, addressing equality and diversity issues internally, and her own Leadership Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

INTERVIEW: In the wake of the 2014 University of California shootings, a number of US states began utilising Extreme Risk Protection Orders, with Florida’s Fort Lauderdale PD among those leading the way; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to Detective Christopher Carita about the success of the so-called ‘red flag’ laws, and how the Parkland high school shooting in 2018 made things much more personal for FLPD’s Threat Response Unit.

OPINION: As the London Police Services Board in Ontario prepares to call on Canada’s federal government to add femicide to the criminal code – and with other police boards indicating their support for the move – Professor Myrna Dawson of the University of Guelph says introducing femicide-specific legislation would be a crucial first step in reducing the crisis of violence against women and girls.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Ken Rijock, a convicted former money launderer and now financial crime consultant, on the qualities need to catch launderers, the threat posed by economic passports, and how technology keeps the criminals ahead of the game.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s workshop on the use and abuse of technology in relation to human trafficking, Temporary Chief Inspector Mark O’Donoghue, who helped to create and deliver human trafficking training to police in Vietnam, spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the importance of international collaboration, tackling upstream crime to prevent downstream harm, and the UK’s role in sharing tech investigation expertise.

OPINION: Video footage from police body-worn cameras is increasingly being used in investigations and as evidence in court, but law enforcement officers are not the only people now wearing body-cams; Fergus Mayne, UK and Ireland Country Manager for Motorola Solutions, believes the widespread wearing of cameras by other public-facing staff can significantly increase the pool of video evidence, but also requires greater transparency from those businesses and organisations using the technology.

OPINION: While the Covid lockdown prompted a significant drop in traffic and road casualties, the post-pandemic figures reveal a sharp increase in both; Charlie Norman, Managing Director of DriveTech, believes now is the time for a reset on road safety, and for the recommendations in the Police Foundation’s recent roads policing report – including road safety to be a Strategic Policing Requirement, and the creation of roads policing secretariat – to be put into practice.

INTERVIEW: With a career combining operational policing and complex investigation with academia, Dr Tracey Green recently took up her post as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency with greater insight than most into the demands facing law enforcement; she spoke to Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter about the Agency’s work on immediate and long-term policing challenges, the importance of sharing good practice, and the benefits of collaboration between police and academics.

OPINION: The use of discriminatory or derogatory language about people with disabilities can cause significant damage to an individual’s confidence, and undermine any team ethic; Disabled Police Association President Simon Nelson explores the importance of addressing the use of such language (whether deliberate or innocuous), and the need for a proportionate response to mistakes that encourages progress.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on policing public order, workshop chair Roger Gomm QPM (a former Metropolitan Police operational commander) talked to Policing Insight about the challenges officers face when policing protests, and the dilemma of balancing the rights of protestors and the wider public.

INTERVIEW: Restorative justice (RJ) has been long been recognised as a potentially effective alternative to traditional criminal justice processes in many countries, but adoption of the approach has been much slower in the US; one keen advocate is Durham PD Chief Patrice Andrews, who spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the benefits of RJ, its role in reducing crime, and the support among officers for this and other diversionary tools.

INTERVIEW: As terrorists continue to find new and creative ways in which to use the internet to progress and promote their violent and extremist causes, cyber expert Professor Stuart Macdonald, Director of the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) at Swansea University, spoke to Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth about ways in which how police officers can engage, support, and participate in research to investigate terrorism and the use of social media.

OPINION: The death of a female passenger on a Toronto bus who died from severe burns after being set on fire by her killer is the latest example of violence and hate experienced by women and girls in Canada; Professor Myrna Dawson of the University of Guelph believes that, with ‘sex’ already an identifiable group within the Canadian Criminal Code, it’s time for such attacks to be treated as hate crimes.

OPINION: Policing is well aware of the performance and procedural justice scrutiny it faces in its external relationships; but Detective Chief Inspector Alisa Wilson of Lancashire Constabulary, who retires from policing this week after 21 years in the service, believes that a stronger leadership commitment to wellbeing and internal procedural justice, reinforced by the new Police Covenant, could truly change policing culture.

OPINION: With the UK Government’s levelling-up plans and goals to reduce homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime by 2030, police and crime commissioners and policy makers will be looking to evidence-based solutions to tackle crime; Jon Yates, Executive Director of the Youth Endowment Fund, believes the Fund’s toolkit could provide valuable resources for successfully targeting youth violence.

OPINION: The International Criminal Court (ICC) was set up during a unique period of global co-operation, but has faced criticism for its failure to hold the US and other major powers to account; however, Dr Matt Killingsworth, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Tasmania, believes the ICC has played a valuable role in creating expectations that global justice can be realised.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on cybercrime and fraud, workshop chair Dr Stuart Hyde (the former Chief Constable of Cumbria and a cybercrime specialist) talked to Policing Insight about the need for an improved government response to the challenge, the importance of collaboration between industry and policing, and why Action Fraud is currently not fit for purpose.

OPINION: The wellbeing of police officers and staff has been a growing cause for concern in the wake of a series of challenges, including austerity cuts putting pressure on police numbers, and the impact of Covid on workloads, welfare, and the relationship with the public; James Scott, CEO & Co-Founder of the Thrive app, believes technology could and should play a greater role in the wellbeing and engagement of officers and staff.

OPINION: Over the last two decades, organised crime – and the motivations and modus operandi of its actors – has become much better understood, and the subject of a wide variety of books, with the best offering valuable insights for the public, police and academics alike; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at some of the essential texts on organised crime, in time to add to your holiday reading list.