Latest News, Analysis and Opinion  (Page 12)

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

FEATURE: A new Queensland Police Service (QPS) approach to responding to volume crimes which focuses on attendance by scenes of crime officers has seen an increase in evidence obtained from the scene while saving more than 180,000 hours for general duties officers, as QPS Senior Sergeants Lisa Weller and Josh White explained to delegates at the recent Global Evidence-Based Policing Conference.

ANALYSIS: The National Cabinet of the Australian Government has set out a $4.7 billion package of measures to tackle the “national crisis” of gender-based violence that has become “a source of national shame”, after a ‘rapid review’ of the potential prevention measures to end domestic, family and sexual violence highlighted not only a problem of “overwhelming” scale and complexity, but also “many areas ripe for meaningful reform”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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ANALYSIS: New research has revealed the extent to which relatives of serving personnel carry the burdens of their loved ones’ public service; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports on the findings of the Open University researchers, whose work was commissioned by Oscar Kilo, the College of Policing’s National Wellbeing Service.

OPINION: New figures have revealed that drug-related deaths in England and Wales have reached record levels, with a significant increase in deaths linked to cocaine use among the worrying figures; Ian Hamilton, Honorary Fellow (Associate Professor) at the University of York, and Professor Harry Sumnall of Liverpool John Moores University, explore the possible reasons behind the latest data, and consider what can be done to address the challenges.

OPINION: Following the recent acquittal of a Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, former Scottish police officer Graham Goulden, now an active bystander trainer, believes it’s now the time for policing to work closely with other agencies to focus more effectively on violence prevention, in an effort to reduce crime in communities and ensure fewer offers have to make such life-or-death decisions.

FEATURE: As the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), Ireland’s independent policing oversight body, prepares for its transition to the new Fiosrú – Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta, the latest and final GSOC annual report highlights the efforts well underway for a smooth changeover, and the importance of ensuring the Fiosrú has adequate resources – particularly specialist staff – to fulfil its mandate, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: With artificial intelligence (AI) advances hailed widely as a huge opportunity for law enforcement, police now face the challenge of identifying effective AI systems from those that don’t do the job; University of Cambridge PhD candidate Jacob John Verrey, and Chief Inspector Lewis Lincoln-Gordon of the National Police Chiefs’ Council AI Portfolio, argue that adapting and implementing the ‘snake oil filter’ approach used in medicine could offer policing an efficient process for assessing and deploying the right technology.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a two-part series marking the 30th anniversary of the police use of TASER, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the current less-lethal weapons marketplace – dominated in the UK by TASER – and looks at concerns about monopoly supply, whether competition is crucial to driving efficiency and technology, and what the less-lethal alternatives could be, drawing on interviews with NPCC less-lethal weapons lead Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, and others.

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FEATURE: After a 12-month pilot which saw more than 100 high-risk missing persons and lost bush walkers located and brought to safety, New South Wales Police is rolling out its BluLink web-based media platform across the force, with the aim of using capabilities such as GPS location services, live streaming, evidence uploads and chat functions to enable officers to work smarter rather than harder, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: The latest report on the efforts of police forces in England and Wales to tackle antisocial behaviour has highlighted the need for more consistent resourcing for neighbourhood teams, better training for officers, and the need for improved IT and stronger partnerships to enhance data sharing with other agencies, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: The pioneering New Zealand Police Understanding Policing Delivery programme, which examines systemic bias within policing in partnership with an independent panel, has now published its first seven reports; Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke to independent panel Chair Professor Khylee Quince, and NZ Police programme lead Mark Evans OBE, about the findings of the reports, and how they are likely to influence policing in a changing political environment.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR) – extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report – Policing Insight spoke to senior officers, academics and technical experts to explore concerns around bias and accuracy, a subject central to the facial recognition debate and a common reason for some people’s opposition to police use of this technology.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

ANALYSIS: The latest police workforce data for England and Wales shows the roller coaster ride for resources during the 2010 to 2024 Conservative-led governments, with numbers dropping sharply followed by a rapid but partial with the Uplift after 2019; in this last of three articles, Ian Wiggett looks at changing trends in workforce profile across England and Wales, and how this may affect resource management.

OPINION: Forensic science plays a key role in solving crimes as well as overturning wrongful convictions, but recent studies suggest public trust in forensic science is declining for a range of reasons; University of the West of England Forensic Science Lecturer Dr Emmanuel Nsiah Amoako, who is part of a research project examining (dis)trust in forensic science, believes a “collaborative effort” from policing and scientists to listen and address public concerns will be essential if that lost trust is to be regained.

FEATURE: This month’s National Black Police Association Conference heard that Whitehall is engaging with the Police Race Action Plan for the first time, and that HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services could inspect against its outcomes, but that it does not have the backing of the UK’s main staff association for minority ethnic officers and staff, as Ian Weinfass reports.

FEATURE: With all police forces facing budget constraints, improving efficiencies and ensuring value for money are constant drivers; Mark Dewell, SVP at business software firm OneAdvanced, explains how working with West Mercia Police to bring staff uniform procurement in-house has resulted in costs savings, improved service, and greater DEI support for the workforce.

FEATURE: The EU’s Terrorist Content Online Regulation came into effect in June 2022, and included a requirement for media platforms and host service providers (HSPs) to take down terrorist content within an hour of receiving a removal order from a ‘competent authority’; but a new report suggests that a lack of technical expertise and awareness leaves many smaller HSPs struggling to comply with the Regulation, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

FEATURE: A review of the New South Wales Police response to those in mental health crisis has recommended that the force switch to the Right Care, Right Person model pioneered in the UK, after identifying that a law enforcement presence can often be an “escalating factor” for those experiencing a mental health crisis, while the over-reliance on a police response can increase risks and stretch resources, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Several commissions have advocated for the devolution of policing and justice to Wales, but the move doesn’t currently feature in the Labour Government’s plans; Bangor University Law Lecturer Stephen Clear, and Chaynee Hodgetts, a Barrister and Honorary Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, argue that despite the challenges, starting the process of devolution represents an opportunity for the Government to bring about meaningful change.

ANALYSIS: In the first of a two-part feature marking the 30th anniversary of police use of TASER, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the global growth of this tool, what it offers policing, and concerns about racial disproportionality and use in mental health incidents – drawing on interviews with National Police Chiefs’ Council less-lethal weapons lead Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, and others.