Opinion

OPINION: Against the backdrop of the many recent debates about negative cultures in UK policing, Disabled Police Association President Simon Nelson argues that it is down to leadership to set the tone for an acceptable workplace culture – but all of us have role to play in ending institutional discrimination and building successful, supportive teams.

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 Ian Davidson, a former detective superintendent with Derbyshire Police and now an independent researcher, about the importance of experience and understanding, the need for resources to back up strategies, and what we really know – or think we know – about organised crime.

OPINION: Severe injuries leading to significant bleeding – whether caused by criminal acts such as knife crime or terror attacks, or through accidents – can easily result in loss of life; but the availability of bleed control packs, and the training in how to use them, can enable the public to intervene and save lives, believes Reuben Gilmore, Sales Director at Aero Healthcare.

OPINION: The timing of the recent resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick surprised many, but the damage done to public trust by a series of controversies over the previous 15 months meant the decision was far from a shock; Mark Cooper, who developed and ran the first PEEL Police Legitimacy inspections for what is now HMICFRS, explains why – and what the next Met Commissioner can do to restore confidence in the force.

OPINION: Policing protests during Covid is proving challenging for many forces, and the anti-vaxxers and others who have gathered at New Zealand’s parliament grounds in Wellington have been difficult to dislodge; Monash University Criminology Lecturer Dr Ross Hendy, a former NZ Police sergeant, believes that while the waiting game may not be the ideal response politically, it could be the safest route to a peaceful resolution.

OPINION: In Australia, a growing number of Facebook pages dedicated to identifying the locations of police traffic operations are enabling drug users to avoid detection during roadside drug-testing initiatives; but Research Assistant Laura Mills, Professor James Freeman and Dr Verity Truelove of the University of the Sunshine Coast believe that regardless of Facebook, there is a fundamental need to increase motorists’ perceptions of being caught for drug driving.

OPINION: Despite months of controversy and criticism, the resignation of Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick this week still came as a surprise, given her commitment to the role just hours before announcing her departure; PolicingTV presenter Danny Shaw, the former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent, looks at the politics that prompted her decision, and considers some of the likely candidates to take on UK policing’s most difficult job.

OPINION: Despite many more people dying on the roads than from terrorism or knife crime, roads policing resources have been significantly cut back over the past decade; now the Police Foundation has called for roads policing to be made a Strategic Policing Requirement, and a new Road Safety Commissioner appointed, in an effort to reverse the de-prioritisation of roads policing, as Police Foundation Director Rick Muir explains.

OPINION: After a recent IOPC report highlighted racism, misogyny and bullying behaviour by a group of officers at one Met Police station, Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon – an executive coach and leadership mentor as well as former senior officer – argues that leading culture change is everyone’s responsibility, that leadership is not the preserve of senior officers alone, and that the service has been let down by officers at every level.

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 Colin Stott, former detective chief superintendent and national lead for Regional Organised Crime Units, on funding education and diversion in the fight against organised crime, the importance of targeting criminal gains, and the need for international operational support.

OPINION: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a gamechanger in law enforcement, but only if there is confidence in its deployment both inside and outside of the sector; Steve Ainsworth, Executive Director of Public Safety at NEC Software Solutions UK, argues the case for more transparency around the use of AI in policing.

OPINION: Under the Operation Uplift recruitment initiative, more female officers and staff are joining UK policing than ever before; but Kendal Wright, Dr Sean Bell and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University argue that policing’s maternity policies are in need of an overhaul, with a more personalised approach offering greater chances of securing the commitment, motivation and positive mental health of mothers returning from maternity leave.

OPINION: It’s 10 years since regulation of the private investigations industry in the UK was last considered; Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon takes a look at the calls for regulation, the current state of the sector, and whether a revisit of a regulatory framework could professionalise the industry.

OPINION: UK police forces are increasingly opting to divert people found in possession of small quantities of drugs away from the criminal justice system; drugs policing expert and social justice charity leader, Meg Jones, who led the development and implementation of pre-arrest drug diversion in the West Midlands, considers the impact of the changing approach, and what it means for the future of policing drugs.

OPINION: Police officers often deal with deaths and suicides by detaching and ‘normalizing’ distressing situations, but for former Queensland Far North Sgt Matthew Moloney, the suicide of someone he knew from the local Indigenous community prompted him to embark on an educational and research journey in an effort to change things for the better [WARNING: the article contains a graphic description of suicide that some readers may find distressing].

FEATURE: While some criminal activity has fallen during the pandemic, serious crimes have continued, which means so has the work of crime scene investigators; Paola Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Murdoch University, looks at the challenges of protecting CSI teams from COVID-19, and discusses some of her recent research on the steps agencies can take to keep staff safe.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: An Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention on Cybercrime contains important legal tools that will “enhance international co-operation”, according to Virgil Spiridon, Head of Operations at the Council’s Cybercrime Programme Office, who explained the latest developments to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Tour.

OPINION: With UK police forces witnessing a significant churn of experienced officers for new recruits, concerns over confidence, and a continuing challenge to maintain the policing by consent model, Acting Supt Stephen Lenney fears the service could be facing a perfect storm, one which could leave policing all at sea unless there is clarity of purpose and a shared consciousness of the challenges facing officers.

OPINION: Québec is currently experiencing its second province-wide pandemic curfew, introduced at the end of December in response to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant; but for Brandon University’s Professor Christopher Schneider, the new restrictions bring with them a dangerous expansion in police discretionary powers that could lead to the inconsistent and unfair application of enforcement.

OPINION: A significant proportion of the 800,000 people detained in police custody in 2019 were children and young people, but Transform Justice Research and Policy Lead Fionnuala Ratcliffe believes that such detentions often lead to unreliable evidence and long-term damage to police legitimacy, and suggests alternatives such as voluntary attendance and out-of-court disposals could prove more effective.

OPINION: Police forces both in the UK and internationally are increasingly equipping officers with overdose reversal medication such as naloxone, in an effort to cut the catastrophic numbers of drug-related deaths; drugs policing expert Ben Twomey, who wrote the policy for the first force in the UK to carry the medication, writes about what it means for the war on drugs.

OPINION: A new collection of essays published by Polamk, the Finnish Police University College, provides an insight into policing innovation, and the disruptive thinking and fresh approaches necessary to overcome some of the barriers to change; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, a long-term Polamk collaborator, believes the collection is essential reading for police leaders and innovators worldwide.

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 Dr Amber Phillips, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, about the mafia, asset confiscation, and the importance of grassroots initiatives when tackling organised crime.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: While UK policing has faced major challenges as a result of COVID-19, the innovative ICT responses to the pandemic from police forces, government and the private sector have driven change that will deliver benefits for years to come, as VMware Chief Technology Officer Joseph Langford explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.