Latest News, Analysis and Opinion  (Page 48)

FEATURE: Disinformation campaigns can impact on citizens’ health, environment and security, potentially provoking community tensions and violence; now a new EU initiative is bringing together academic, industrial and media partners from across Europe, as well as the latest artificial intelligence tools, to tackle the dangerous threat of digital disinformation, as Policing Insights’ Andrew Staniforth reports.

ANALYSIS: In the third of a month-long series of articles celebrating International Women’s Day, Kendal Wright and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department share an insight into a ground-breaking study exploring women’s experiences of motherhood in the police.

ANALYSIS: Female police officers often find themselves the subject of online misogynistic and sexist abuse – both from current former colleagues, and members of the public – much of which focuses on their physical appearance; University of York Lecturer Dr Susan Watson believes that addressing these issues will be crucial if the service is to successfully recruit and retain a female workforce.

ANALYSIS: Drones are proving an increasingly popular tool in the armoury of police, public sector and military organisations – as well as in the hands of criminals and terrorists; but new research from Germany has highlighted software faults in drones produced by the dominant market manufacturer which could leave the machines open to hi-jack and operators locatable and at risk, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

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 report measuring police performance on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in England and Wales has revealed more than half a million reported crimes in just a six-month period, as well as more than 1,500 police officers and staff facing VAWG-related public complaints or misconduct allegations – with warnings that the real level could be even higher – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: UK national policing targets and league tables – supposedly scrapped by the Government more than a decade ago – now look set to return; Police Federation of England and Wales National Board Member David Bamber, and University of Sunderland Policing Lecturer Adrian Smiles, explore the previous impact of a target-driven culture on policing and the public sector, and what the consequences could be for today’s service.

FEATURE: A new Independent Public Advocate scheme which will work on behalf of victims and families bereaved by major disasters has been launched by the UK Government, to provide support and hold agencies including the police to account – although not all campaigners believe the new initiative goes far enough, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Recent high-profile sentencing hearings involving individuals responsible for the shooting murders of multiple victims in the US have brought the term ‘lone wolf’ back into the media focus; but Rutgers University Professor Alexander Hinton believes the term is misleading – with violent extremists almost always part of a pack – and its use could impede efforts to combat far-right extremist violence.

ANALYSIS: The recent shooting of PSNI DCI John Caldwell has once again turned the spotlight on terrorism in Northern Ireland, but former Police Scotland Superintendent and terrorism expert Martin Gallagher believes many of the supposed ‘freedom fighters’ in the Troubles and other terrorist campaigns were more interested in reputation and criminal gain than any cause, and are turning to organised crime to maintain their relevance and power.

FEATURE: With the ongoing war in Ukraine highlighting the importance of the co-operation between defence, security and policing organisations in protecting critical infrastructure, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest EU research funding call for projects that can strengthen protection and resilience.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: “We’re now seeing cases move in hours instead of weeks and months.” Axon is accelerating justice as Scotland’s Digital Evidence Sharing Capability system will now allow police, lawyers & courts access to a unified database nationally, reducing burdens on victims and freeing up officer time to focus on frontline police work.

OPINION: Often overlooked as a concept or tagged on to other organisational functions such as HR, workforce planning should be recognised as a fundamental discipline for the health of a police force, and can provide solutions to the challenges of recruitment and retention and delivering preventative policing, as Jon Freegard of Skills for Justice explains.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a month-long series of articles celebrating International Women’s Day, Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn and Dr Anna Hopkins of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department share details of two key research projects that concern the policing of domestic abuse.

OPINION: This year’s International Women’s Day has a clear focus on driving gender equality through innovation and technology change; Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester explains that while considerable progress has been made on gender equality in policing, much more needs to be done both in law enforcement and in society more widely to keep women safe and provide the same access and opportunities as men.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff at Northumbria Police and South Wales Police who now have FREE access with the start of new organisation wide subscriptions purchased by their forces. They join a community of officers and staff from many other UK and international police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

FEATURE: As specialists and stakeholders from the UK public safety communications sector gather for this week’s BAPCO annual conference and exhibition, PoliceBox CEO Simon Hall highlights the importance of interoperability in police IT systems, and explores whether ‘Integration Platform as a Service’ products could finally provide the solution to greater co-operation and collaboration.

FEATURE: In the last in The Police Student current series on Key Issues in Contemporary Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the crisis around police wellbeing and mental health, including the impact on officers of dealing with traumatic and stressful events, how changes to staffing levels, resources and opportunities for recovery have exacerbated welfare concerns, and what needs to be addressed going forwards.

FEATURE: Four pilots of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are now underway in England and Wales, but only in Merseyside are the powers being trialled force-wide; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Supt Phil Mullally about the impact of SVROs, the use of associated stop and search powers, and the potential for the orders to reduce violent crime.

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.

OPINION: Having previously withdrawn from the UK police pay review over concerns around lack of independence, this year the Police Superintendents’ Association (PSA) has rejoined the process with a detailed submission and a unique joint pay statement alongside chief officers and police and crime commissioners; PSA President Paul Fotheringham warns that with the service in a “critical position”, the Government cannot afford to ignore such strong sentiment and “irrefutable evidence”.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: For over 30 years policing has followed a model of ‘siloed’ digital solutions, with frontline staff reliant on a variety of products from multiple vendors. Today’s connected officer can now tap into a huge range of apps and information via a single integrated interface on their mobile device. In the first in a series of articles, Ian Williams outlines the workflow efficiency benefits of Motorola Solutions’ Pronto digital policing platform.

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 Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, about the negligible impact of the National Intelligence Model, the myth of the criminals’ code of silence, and policing’s inability to reduce the supply of drugs.

ANALYSIS: The third and final report of the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing highlighted opportunities missed by the intelligence services to prevent the attack, and failings in the response of police and others; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth believes the overall findings of the inquiry underline several key lessons to be learned, and the importance of an holistic approach to avoid further tragedies.