Opinion

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: With the huge potential of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) beginning to be leveraged in policing, former long-serving police officer John Kilburn, now with data and AI specialists SAS, spoke to Policing Insight about some of the potential benefits of the new technology for both the policing and the public, the importance of transparent and explainable applications of AI, and how incremental approaches to developing systems within forces can lead to long-term gains.

OPINION: Latest United Nations figures indicate that in 2023, only 8% of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) workforce were women, with the majority of those in junior clerical posts; Dr Usman A. Ojedokun, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Nigeria’s University of Ibadan, looks at the historical and cultural challenges behind the NPF’s gender gap, and what steps can be taken to address it

OPINION: Following the strong support from Lord Justice Brian Leveson for out-of-court resolutions in his recent Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, Pavan Dhaliwal, CEO of Revolving Doors, and Emily Spurrell, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside & Chair of the APCC, set out why the time is right for a national diversion strategy that would bring significant benefits for low-level offenders caught in the cycle of crisis and crime, for policing, and for the wider criminal justice system.

OPINION: The New Zealand Parliament is currently considering a bill which could criminalise public protests that take place too close to people’s homes or private residences; but Professor Kris Gledhill of Auckland University of Technology argues that not only is the proposed legislation unnecessary given the laws already in place, but will be difficult for police to enforce, and unlikely to be upheld by the courts.

OPINION: New bail laws introduced in Victoria this summer aim to tackle repeat high-harm offending with a new ‘high-harm test’ and tougher rules on offences committed while on bail; but Kavitha Vipulananda, author, speaker and reform consultant, highlights Law Institute of Victoria concerns around disproportionality stemming from the new legislation, and urges the state Government to focus more on wraparound services and rehabilitation or risk repeating past failures.

OPINION: A judgment delivered this week by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which found that a strip search carried out by New South Wales Police of festival goer Raya Meredith (the lead plaintiff in a class action) was unlawful, could have significant implications for the way police across Australia carry out strip searches, says UNSW Associate Professor and Senior Law Lecturer, Dr Vicki Sentas.

OPINION: With officers in the UK often placed in an untenable position by activists and others weaponising the complaints process in relation to a wide range of operational decisions – including the investigation of online posts – former West Midlands Sergeant Phil Cleary, co-founder of SmartWater and now a published novelist, argues that it’s time for Parliament to act to narrow the scope of referable complaints to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, enabling officers to return to exercising discretion.

ANALYSIS: The recent ‘Unite The Kingdom’ march in central London – the largest demonstration in the city organised by right-wing groups, and the biggest protest in the capital for nearly two years – led to 24 arrests on the day (others are likely to follow), 26 officers injured, and violent confrontations with counter-protestors; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a former Metropolitan Police officer and public order specialist, looks at the challenges around the policing operation, and lessons for the future.

OPINION: Increases in knife-crime offences have prompted calls for the introduction of Jack’s Law in Victoria, an approach enabling police to carry out random ‘wanding’ searches for weapons that is already in place in several Australian states including Queensland and New South Wales; but Criminology Senior Lecturer Dr Joel McGregor of Swinburne University of Technology argues that research suggests the approach has little benefit, and that addressing prevention and support would be more effective.

OPINION: The recent use of live facial recognition (LFR) by the Metropolitan Police at Notting Hill Carnival brought the new technology back under the spotlight; Dr Asress Gikay, Senior Lecturer in AI, Disruptive Innovation and Law at Brunel University of London, argues that LFR is here to stay, and rather than “pushing unrealistic proposals of bans or moratoriums”, the debate should be weighing the trade-offs between human rights and public safety to ensure the proportionate use of the technology.

OPINION: The growing Chinese policing influence and presence in Solomon Islands, including a law enforcement approach that focuses more on controlling communities than serving them, should raise concerns for Australia and its partners about what kind of policing model will define the Pacific’s future, warn Dr John Coyne and Raelene Lockhorst of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).

OPINION: With research indicating that at least 12% of female respondents in intimate partner violence cases in Victoria are misidentified as perpetrators – and some organisations suggesting the figure, particularly for indigenous and migrant women, could be as high as 50% – Kavitha Vipulananda, author, speaker and reform consultant, sets out a range of reforms for police in Victoria and agencies more widely across Australia that could address the injustices based in systemic issues that are faced by vulnerable women.

OPINION: In 2023 the Home Office and College of Policing launched draft national guidance for community scrutiny panels (CSPs), offering a framework for greater public oversight of policing across England and Wales; police ethics advisor Montell Neufville, Chair of a long-standing tri-force CSP for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, looks at the work of his and other panels over recent years, and makes the case for the growing relevance of independent critical platforms in policing today.

OPINION: From protestors declaring their support for Palestine Action on placards, to comedians and campaigners being questioned and charged over online posts, and politicians scoring populist points both here and internationally, officers have found themselves in the centre of the free speech debate and accused of policing words – a situation which former officer and now Leeds Trinity University Policing Lecturer Adam Stokes believes requires meaningful government support through less talk and more actions.

OPINION: With online cross-border financial scams driving fraud to new levels – it now accounts for 40% of all crime against individuals in England and Wales – most police and government efforts remain focused on preventative and defensive measures; but new research from Professor Mark Button and Associate Professor Branislav Hock at the University of Portsmouth highlights several ways to take more offensive actions against fraudsters, including embracing the work of the private anti-scam community.

OPINION: With the changing nature of terrorist threats and the proscription of Palestine Action, former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an author, journalist and terrorism expert, looks at what is potentially emerging as a new ‘Fifth Wave’ of global terrorism, its relationship with crime, and the possible impact of branding criminal organisations as terrorist groups.

OPINION: The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 sparked global calls for racial justice and ignited a wave of police oversight reform across the US; but five years on, Hansel Alejandro Aguilar, public sociologist, former police officer, and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, warns that civilian oversight of law enforcement in the US is now dying – but meaningful change can still emerge when residents organize, officials listen, and structures are preserved.

OPINION: The creation of an FBI legal attaché post in Wellington, New Zealand in July was hailed by the US as a way to counter “some of the most important global issues” such as the threat from China, as well as boosting regional crime operations; but University of Tasmania Policing Lecturer Dr Nick Evans warns that the move could in fact threaten existing policing partnerships that Australia and New Zealand have with China, forcing officers to engage in new levels of diplomacy to maintain cordial relations.

ANALYSIS: While concerns around the rise in Canada’s fentanyl use have focused on a rise in deaths and drug-related disorders, new research by Associate Professors Dr Marta-Marika Urbanik (University of Alberta), Dr Katharina Maier (University of Winnipeg), Dr Matthew Valasik (University of Alabama), and Wilfrid Laurier University Assistant Professor Dr Carolyn Greene, has highlighted the issue of drug gangs exploiting vulnerable people’s homes in Thunder Bay, Ontario, driving up homelessness and violence.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson, the APCC joint lead on local policing, sets out what PCCs are now doing to drive action against anti-social behaviour, a crime experienced by more than one in 10 people at least weekly – often with a significant and long-lasting impact – as well as being a gateway to other criminality.

OPINION: The recent joint inspection report published by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services highlighted key challenges for the criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales; Dee Cowburn, communications specialist and police media advisor, argues that alongside a national strategy, clearer accountability and more effective ICT, improved communications are crucial in strengthening the CJS.

OPINION: With recent advice to New Zealand Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello that the country is “losing the fight” against organised crime, efforts to control the trade in illegal guns will be crucial in limiting gang activity; University of Waikato Professor of Law Alexander Gillespie argues that another buy-back of all guns that should be on the country’s register by the end of August 2028, and adopting the UN protocol on the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and ammunition, are steps the country needs to take.

OPINION: Following the publication this month of Australia’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which shows a surge in consumption across every major drug type in every region of the country, Dr John Coyne, Director of National Security Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, argues that Australia’s national drug strategy is “in freefall”, and that law enforcement resources should be refocused on disrupting the infrastructure of illicit drug markets.

ANALYSIS: Reflecting on a turbulent 12 months for UK policing, Steve Dodd, a former South Wales Police detective and College of Policing subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation, examines some of the key challenges and how the community intelligence-led policing methodology could help forces and officers to address those issues.