FEATURE: The police use of Taser has been a topic of much debate, with widening training and deployment, the intense scrutiny, and a lack of understanding about less lethal weapons among both the media and the public some of the key issues; many of those points were raised during a recent #WeCops debate on less lethal weapons, which is summarised in this article by PC Francesca Tamblyn, Taser Lead Instructor for Dorset Police and one of the hosts of the debate.

ANALYSIS: The latest in a series of reports on cocaine by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has highlighted the various methods of drug production, and how a greater knowledge of the chemical processes required to manufacture street-level cocaine and its derivatives could help governments and law enforcement to tackle the global trade, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

OPINION: Last week’s joint National Police Chief’s Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners summit once again shone the spotlight on trust and confidence in policing, particularly in relation to violence against women and girls; below is a full transcript of the speech by Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird, one of the key speakers at the event.

FEATURE: The increasing use of drones in conflict situations by military and terrorists organisations has also served to highlight the threat posed to public safety more widely, and police are likely to be in the frontline response to that threat; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the legislative and regulatory framework put in place to enable officers to tackle the drone danger.

FEATURE: Against a background of major inequality based on geography, gender, ethnicity, disability and faith, Pakistan remains a country with significant ties to the UK, and a diaspora of 1.7 million Pakistani residents across the country look to the UK Government for leadership in developing systems for a future when Pakistan no longer needs British support: Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon takes a look at some of the work that has taken place in support of criminal justice by the UK in recent years.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Policing could already benefit from the significant advances available in modern technology, according to Allan Fairley of Accenture UK – but he believes the real barriers to progress are politics and personal agendas, as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.

OPINION: In the latest in his series of regular articles intended to generate discussion and awareness of what it is like to live with a range of conditions that fall under the banner of ‘disabilities’, Superintendent Simon Nelson, President of the Disabled Police Association, urges leaders and colleagues to celebrate Disabled History Month by offering support and respect to those managing disabling conditions, whether hidden or otherwise.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Australian Border Force and Australian Federal Police seized 450kgs of heroin from a shipping container in Melbourne; but the huge seizure should be seen as a sign that the approach focused on policing and criminal justice is not working, as well as an indication of the scale of the challenge facing the country’s fight against narcotics, explains Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) analyst Dr Teagan Westendorf.

ANALYSIS: With an increasingly complex crime landscape, police agencies are adopting more data-driven approaches – but what is the crime analysts’ view of the data they are working with? Saskatoon Police Service Divisional Crime Analyst John Ng* worked with Ontario Tech University Associate Professors Dr Christopher O’Connor and Dr Tyler Frederick, and PhD candidate Dallas Hill, to explore Canadian crime analysts’ perspectives on the quality, collection and use of police data.

OPINION: While policing in the UK has made steps towards improving gender inclusion, the primary carer role often taken on by women means many are forced to sacrifice their careers because of a lack of flexibility in the workplace; Devon and Cornwall Police Chief Superintendent Jim Gale believes a more sensible approach to part-time and hybrid working and increased opportunities for job sharing could help the service improve female inclusion at all ranks.

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 Jack Spicer, a Criminology Lecturer at the University of the West of England, about county lines, cuckooing, and the importance of police and academics having “the difficult conversations at the start of a project”.

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.

Round-table: Representatives from UK policing, stakeholders and suppliers praised the “miracle job” done by the service in response to the pandemic, and urged police leaders and the Government to ensure the momentum of transformational IT change continues post-Covid, as they debated the key policing ICT issues at a round-table discussion organised by Policing Insight Events in association with Virgin Media Business.

FEATURE: Pandemic lockdowns and remote working have fuelled a significant growth in cyber crime, according to Europol’s latest Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment, with fraud and grooming – including the distribution of explicit self-generated material – presenting major challenges for investigators; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons looks at the key threats highlighted in the report, and what steps policing can take to mitigate them.

OPINION: UK policing has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks – particularly in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, and the focus on misogyny and violence against women and girls – and the service’s efforts to put out the right message have often fallen short; in this opinion piece Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend, a specialist in crisis communications, urges forces to recognise the power of language and gain a better understanding of their audience.

FEATURE: A recently launched project in Avon and Somerset aims to divert women away from short-term custodial sentences and break the offending cycle which sees many females drawn into the criminal justice system; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons takes a closer look at the Court Up scheme

FEATURE: Previous incarnations of online learning in policing left many underwhelmed and uninspired, with stories of officers struggling to absorb information or simply clicking through pages as fast as possible to complete a module; in the first of a new series of articles on continuing professional development, Dr Matthew Jones of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning sets out to dispel some long-held myths and explore the new world of blended learning.

FEATURE: The killing of George Floyd and the ongoing debate about police reform pushed Minneapolis Police Department firmly into the spotlight, and prompted a recent vote on significant changes to policing in the city; Professor Michelle Phelps of the University of Minnesota explored the background to why voters rejected the proposed changes, and what that decision means in the wider context of police reform.

OPINION: While there was a familiar ring to much of the UK Government’s recently unveiled ‘Beating Crime Plan’, continuing pressure on resources (both human financial) means delivering a new-look local policing approach is still a major challenge; Steve Ainsworth, Executive Director of NEC Software Solutions UK, believes technology can lead to more effective targeting of offences and offenders, and give young-in-service officers the vital knowledge they need to succeed.

FEATURES: This week will see the launch of a new series of fortnightly articles on continuing professional development (CPD) in policing, written specifically for the Policing Insight audience by the team at the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning (CPRL); ahead of the first article, Dr Emma Williams, the CPRL’s Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, explains the aim of the series and introduces the team behind it.

INTERVIEW: Cheshire Detective Sergeant Mark Naylor has delivered many powerful presentations on the suffering of sexual abuse victims, but it is not until well into the sessions that he reveals the experiences he is discussing are his own; this award-winning officer spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about the emotional and mental impact of abuse, the need for victims to take back control, and how forces can improve the service they deliver.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: With the fast pace that a crisis can unfold in the digital age, emergency service heroes can quickly become villains during the aftermath, leaving you to rebuild the pieces of your reputation.

ANALYSIS: A recent report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime highlighted that while success in countering organised crime relies on international co-operation, countries were increasingly turning to national solutions; Policing Insight's Chris Allen looks at the crime-fighting scenarios suggested by the report, and how likely they are to be adopted by countries around the world.

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.