Features

Analysis: With the police service now tasked with enforcing the lockdown during the Coronavirus crisis, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the role that drones can play in supporting officers in maintaining law and order.

Opinion: The police service is facing its greatest challenge in modern times and is likely to be under considerable strain in the coming months, but there is one group that can help shoulder the burden. CEO of Chorus Intelligence Boyd Mulvey says it is time for private sector police suppliers to step up.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Policy Exchange: Policing a Pandemic - The challenges of maintaining law and order during the Coronavirus response.

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Analysis: Professor Karl Roberts is a Consultant on Health Security, Law Enforcement and Policing for the World Health Organisation. In an exclusive article for Policing Insight, he examines the different roles police may have during a pandemic and the challenges this creates alongside some suggested approaches to developing the police response.

Opinion: A new report highlights that Australia’s illicit drug use is rising. Despite policymakers’ best efforts, the country needs to be honest and open to new ideas, says Dr John Coyne, Head of Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).

Analysis: The likely impact of the Coronavirus on crime and policing is, as yet, unknown. Policing commentator Ben Twomey explores some of the issues the UK criminal justice system may have to consider in the coming days, weeks and months.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: Operation Limelight, a huge multi-agency operation led by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to prevent girls and young women from becoming victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the eighth of twelve articles focused on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter examines the initiative which led to the signing of a historic intelligence-sharing Proclamation of Interagency Support for investigations between UK and US Law Enforcement.

Analysis: The Coronavirus crisis will test the capacity and capability of all emergency service first responders. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth looks at the pressures facing police leaders in the coming months and how effective collaboration with the military will be vital to managing the response to Covid-19.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises the recent inspection by the HMICFRS on Counter Terrorism Policing and the police's contribution to the Government's Prevent Programme.

OPINION: Policing Insight's Publisher, Bernard Rix, provides his personal perspective on the national, regional and international policing challenges that tackling Coronavirus will bring, and invites those others with policing insight on Coronavirus, wherever they may be in the world, to get in touch.

Analysis: It was entirely inevitable that cybercriminals would take advantage of the current public health emergency but, says Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth, their actions have surprised even the most hardened cyber security professionals.

Opinion: In his second blog reflecting on his six-year tenure as Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter gives an update on the progress of the National Surveillance Camera Strategy launched in March 2017.

Analysis: Mark Cooper, Director of Greymalkin Consulting, has been involved in the development of the Police and Crime Commissioner role since originally overseeing the legislation that introduced them. With the third round of PCC elections in May, he examines how the newly-elected PCCs and their Chief Constables can shape the future of policing against the changing political environment.

Analysis: Until recently, cyber digital skills vital for police investigations were not formally recognised. The Institute of Cyber Digital Investigation Professionals (ICDIP) aims to change that. Senior Project Advisor Detective Inspector Alan Martin and Cyber Digital Career Pathways Project Team Leader Fiona Paterson explain the importance of the ICDIP in recognising the specialist knowledge, skills and professional status of those involved in cyber and digital investigations.

Opinion: Technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) has incredible potential in the fight against knife crime, but the rate of implementation of AI in policing remains slow, says Jason Sierra, Sales Director of Seven Technologies Group (7TG). Here, he makes the case for the widespread use of AI in policing including helping to tackle knife crime.

Analysis: With less than two months to go to the Police and Crime Commissioner elections for the English and Welsh forces, Policing Insight is launching its in-depth coverage. We'll be constantly updating our tracker so you'll be able to check out the candidates and their policies as they declare their intention to stand. Policing Insight's Publisher Bernard Rix takes a look at the field so far.

Analysis: In the aftermath of the Streatham terrorist attack, the UK Government announced emergency legislation would be introduced to end the early release of individuals who have committed terror offences. Alan Greene, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham, discusses the Government's decision against the complex backdrop of human rights and retrospective justice.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises Crest Advisory's independent research into British Muslims' attitudes towards policing, extremism and the Prevent programme.

ANALYSIS : The violent language of drill music has caused controversy, with police demanding censorship and pursuing injunctions. But do we really understand how drill music is received? Dr. Paul McFarlane (pictured right) and Dr. Bennett Kleinberg (pictured left) from the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London discuss how machine learning and scientific evidence can help the police and policymakers better understand the complexity of the lyrical content of drill music and how it's consumed.

Opinion: Former deputy chief constable and now strategic adviser for digital policing transformation Paul Kennedy and Robert Hogg, Managing Director of Black Marble, a Microsoft software development company, explore the opportunities for and challenges to artificial intelligence in policing.

Analysis: In a series of short blogs, Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter reflects on the last six years and what the future holds for the world of camera surveillance as his commission comes to an end.

INTERVIEW: Dr Holger Nitsch, from the Police Department of the University of Applied Sciences for Public Service in Bavaria, explains to Policing Insight the unique research and innovation collaborations between German and UK police forces to tackle the twin threats of cybercrime and terrorism.    

Analysis: Across the globe homicide rates are falling, whilst in the UK they continue to rise. Professor Ian Hamilton, Professor Alex Stevens and Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, the UK centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law, discuss whether this increase is drug related or due to more complex societal factors.