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.

WEBINAR PROMOTION: To save lives and better serve the public, police forces need to receive and share information with internal teams, partners, neighboring agencies and their communities as quickly and efficiently as possible. A global pandemic, social unrest and tightening budgets have exacerbated this need, making it vital for forces to adapt now. Join Hexagon’s Klaus Dalgaard on a webinar to learn how improving collaboration and real-time data sharing can help police forces.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Ben Burr, a Borders, Immigration and Intelligence Specialist with Viable Data who has more than 20 years’ experience in the Home Office, about the challenges of ‘burglary tourism’, the need for real-life policing experience in academic research, and why a global database of wanted, suspected and missing person biometrics could be game changing.

LONG READ: The difficulties policing faces around the scale and complexity of digital data are widely acknowledged, but what about the potential for new technology to overcome some of those challenges? In the second in a series of five features looking at the police use of data, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at some of the ways new tech – including automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning – are being employed in both investigative and preventative approaches.

FEATURE: A new report by a cross-party committee of UK MPs has described the need for policing to “repair its culture” in the face of increasingly complex demands and failures that have damaged confidence in the service as a “turning point for the police”, amid warnings that “marginal changes” will not be enough to improve services and rebuild public trust, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The UK’s neighbourhood policing focus has dwindled significantly over the past decade, as forces enduring funding cuts redirected resources towards response policing and emerging complex threats; University of East London Policing Professor John Coxhead argues that although the Uplift recruitment programme has led to an increase in the workforce, pledges to recruit a new wave of neighbourhood officers will see forces facing fresh challenges around building teams from scratch, and gaining the trust and confidence of communities.

INTERVIEW: Sectarianism in Scotland remains a largely hidden problem, only usually hitting the headlines when tied to football violence or tensions at religious parades, but it’s an issue that policing has to confront on a regular basis; Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher spoke to subject specialists Dr Michael Rosie of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Mark Boyle of Ireland’s Maynooth University about the background to Scottish sectarianism, what more could be done to tackle the issue, and what challenges it holds for policing in Scotland in the future.

ANALYSIS: A long-term approach to using technology, data analysis and information sharing to deliver significant reductions in gun violence in New Jersey has been hailed as the “tipping point in a new era of law enforcement” and is already being adopted and adapted by police and authorities in others states across the US, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The recent adoption of the Right Care, Right Person approach to mental health responses by police forces across England and Wales has reignited the debate around policing’s role in such incidents; but as Research Fellow Dr Claire Warrington of the University of York explains, the issue has also highlighted the vulnerability of the police workforce to mental ill-health, and what can be done to meet those challenges.

INTERVIEW: As international collaboration between law enforcement agencies becomes increasingly critical to combat contemporary organised crime, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to Superintendent Ted Esplund and Project Manager Åsa Granström at the Swedish Police Authority about the importance of knowledge exchange as part of their participation in NOTIONES, a new European network bringing police agencies together to improve the capacity and capability of intelligence functions.

ANALYSIS: Although Australia maintains a low ranking in the Global Terrorism Index, a shifting focus from jihadist actors to homegrown terrorists, coupled with a surge in terrorism investigations among minors, suggests that radicalisation among disaffected and troubled teenagers is a growing problem – one which, if ignored, could lead to disaster, warns Australian Strategic Policy Institute visiting fellow William Frangia.

ANALYSIS: The UK Government’s efforts to influence policing’s operational response to protests have reached new levels in recent months, and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments on the issue would appear to have prompted her sacking; but Wrexham University’s Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick of Hull University argue that policing independence in relation to protests has been threatened by Conservative governments for some time, and that a fundamental rethink of governance arrangements may be the only long-term answer.

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: In the latest in a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at labelling theory – who decides what a deviant act is, how individuals are defined as deviants or criminals, and what the consequences of that can be for the individuals themselves, as well as for the police.

INTERVIEW: In 2020, as Leicestershire Police prepared to greatly increase its officer numbers as part of the Uplift recruitment programme, leaders within the force set about trying to change attitudes, consideration of and delivery of training through the creation of the Team Leicestershire Academy; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to its head Sarah Taylor, and Chief Constable Rob Nixon, about the force’s new methods.

OPINION: Approaches and initiatives that improve police engagement with communities are acknowledged by many in policing as delivering real and long-term benefits, but when it comes to resourcing, are often regarded as ‘nice to haves’ rather than necessary; however, University of Portsmouth Policing Lecturer David Knowles – a specialist in engagement during his 30-year policing career – argues that such engagement is essential in building trust and confidence as well as tackling all levels of crime.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The winners of the Inspire Justice Awards 2023, supported by Policing Insight, were revealed recently at a glittering awards ceremony held at the QEII Centre in Central London. The Inspire Justice Awards celebrates and shines a light on the wider justice workforce that keeps our criminal justice system running smoothly.

ANALYSIS: A new study from Crest Advisory on the impact of devolving justice approaches to local areas has highlighted the positive outcomes of initiatives aimed at reducing reoffending and supporting specific vulnerable groups in four case study areas, with particular success for “whole-system approaches” delivered under police and crime commissioner and mayoral protocols, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With the Metropolitan Police having come under significant pressure over the past week to ban the planned pro-Palestinian protest in the capital tomorrow (Armistice Day), Edge Hill University Senior Policing Lecturer Owen West, a former chief superintendent and public order specialist, argues that history suggests prohibiting the march is likely to result in widespread violence, with dialogue and facilitation of a peaceful demonstration a much-preferred alternative.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: To save lives and better serve the public, police forces need to receive and share information with internal teams, partners, neighboring agencies and their communities as quickly and efficiently as possible. A global pandemic, social unrest and tightening budgets have exacerbated this need, making it vital for forces to adapt now. Join Hexagon’s Klaus Dalgaard on a webinar to learn how improving collaboration and real-time data sharing can help police forces.

FEATURE: As the parliamentary debates around the legislation set out in the King’s Speech – including a new Victims and Prisoners Bill – got underway, Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove outlined to House of Lords’ colleagues the results of the latest victims experiences survey which underline high levels of dissatisfaction with the police and criminal justice system, and a reluctance to report crimes in the future, as Policing Insight’s Thomas James reports.

ANALYSIS: In October the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) marked 10 years in operation, a decade that has seen significant international operations, substantial convictions and drug seizures, and major technological advances; but as Cathy Haenlein, Director of Organised Crime & Policing at the Royal United Services Institute explains, the threat to the UK from serious and organised crime is on the rise, and policing alone cannot overcome that threat.

FEATURE: With the law enforcement use of artificial intelligence (AI) advancing quickly in the UK and internationally, the National Police Chiefs’ Council recently published a new Covenant for Using AI in Policing; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the main principles in the document, and the wider guidance around the ethical, proportionate and transparent use of AI across criminal justice sectors.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Embracing technological modernisation in the police force will not only enhance safety for both officers and those they serve, but deliver operational efficiencies which can greatly improve response management.