Opinion

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.

OPINION: Violent extremism is on the rise globally, and in countries such as Pakistan, vulnerable young people are routinely targeted and manipulated by extremist groups; new research by PhD student Umair Asif and Professor Tegwen Gadais of the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum of UNSW Sydney, highlights the valuable role that sport can play in countering violent extremism and terrorism.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on tackling violence against women and girls, and the lessons learned from Operation Soteria Bluestone, workshop facilitator Parm Sandhu (a former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent who specialised in VAWG) talked to Policing Insight about improving the sharing of best practice, the need to identify cost-neutral measures, and the internal police cultures that still need to be overcome.

OPINION: Despite the high murder rate in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, few cases ever make it to the courts; Dr Douglas Lucas Kivoi of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis believes that poor evidence gathering, police negligence and recklessness, a lack of forensic capability and claims of police involvement in extra-judicial killings are among the reasons behind the failure to solve so many murders, and sets out some key steps to address the issues.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of his interview with Policing Insight, Superintendents’ Association President Paul Fotheringham spoke to Keith Potter about the structural and operational challenges facing the rank, the pressures on measuring and improving performance, and the importance of focusing on wellbeing and good leadership.

OPINION: The decriminalization of hard drugs such as cocaine and MDMA in Canada’s British Columbia province follows many years of campaigners calling for a public health approach; Professor Andrew Hathaway of the University of Guelph looks at the background to the decision, and considers what lessons can be learned from similar processes undertaken in other countries.

INTERVIEW: Paul Fotheringham took up his post as President of the Superintendents’ Association in March, with policing facing a range of operational and structural challenges, and concerns over pay, pensions, and conditions; after three months in post, he spoke to Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter, and in the first of a two-part interview explores the strained relationship with government, and why there might be cause for optimism.

OPINION: In the same month that Lord Geidt resigned as ‘ethics adviser’ to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Government also published its response to proposals for the reform of data protection laws, advocating a seemingly light touch on the governance and scrutiny of the police use of technology; Dr Marion Oswald, Chair of the West Midlands Police Data Ethics Committee, believes the two topics are linked by the importance of accountability and standards.