ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Milipol Asia-Pacific and HTX’s TechX Summit have come together to showcase how science and technology is central to enhancing public safety and national security in the Asia Pacific. This landmark event will bring together top Government officials, operational experts, industry leaders and academia to discuss the latest solutions, strategies and challenges; share technological trends; and foster greater collaboration within the international Homeland Security community.

ANALYSIS: As organisations, individuals and communities around the world look to mark International Women’s Day, Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester Law School looks at the progress and challenges around women’s representation and roles in policing globally, and considers what more policing could and should be doing to achieve gender equality and equity.

OPINION: The recent acid attack on a mother and her children in London was horrific, but sadly such events are not isolated incidents, with attacks on the rise in the UK and around the world; one of the problems, argues University of Bristol Professor of Criminology Aisha K Gill, is that the gendered, targeted nature of this violence is often not fully recognised by the criminal justice system.

FEATURE: Drowning in the UK accounts for more accidental fatalities annually than fire deaths in the home or cycling deaths on the road, and in many of these incidents the police are the first responders on scene; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the UK’s Drowning Prevention Strategy, the police response, and the work of the RNLI and others in reducing deaths in and around water.

FEATURE: As the UK’s Covid-19 public inquiry continues to hear testimony from politicians, police chiefs and many others involved in the response to the pandemic, lessons around the importance of disaster planning and preparation are already emerging; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the EU-funded CORE project, which is studying the impact of and response to several major international disasters to highlight the key learning points.

FEATURE: Overdoses of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which kills twice as many US citizens and 10 times as many Canadian people than firearms each year, are starting to increase in the UK and Europe; Vernon White, former Chief of Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Hammersmith and Fulham councillor, explore the efforts being made to stem the supply of the precursor ingredients from China, and manufactured, street-grade fentanyl from Mexico and Canada.

ANALYSIS: A new report by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab has highlighted the link between climate change and human trafficking as families look to migrate from threatened environments or place children in forced marriages to alleviate debt; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at the key points in the report, and spoke to Dame Sara Thornton, former UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner and now Professor of Practice in Modern Slavery Policy at the Rights Lab, about its findings.

FEATURE: With worryingly high levels of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the UK and other countries, tackling these crimes will require effective leadership and greater leverage of the digital landscape by police investigators; ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop focusing on these issues, College Director and former Met Police Chief Superintendent Parm Sandhu explores some of the policing opportunities and challenges in the fight against VAWG.

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 Mark Nuttall, Director of Risk Solutions at Thomson Reuters, about his early investigations into crystal meth and GHB dealing, the geopolitical challenges of tackling organised crime, and how successful criminals increasingly act and operate like business CEOs.

FEATURE: People exploited by the human trafficking and organ trafficking industries are often regarded as victims of organised crime, but the reality can be much more complex; Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at examples of poverty-driven trafficking and victims becoming victimisers, which were highlighted during the recent 24-hour Conference on Global Organised Crime.

FEATURE: A documentary film sharing the harrowing stories of Romanian domestic violence victims driven to kill their abusers, efforts to ensure Spanish support services are accessible for all, and a project to provide common operating standards for India’s two million police officers were among international initiatives to tackle VAWG discussed at a recent global conference, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s workshop on the use and abuse of technology in relation to human trafficking, Temporary Chief Inspector Mark O’Donoghue, who helped to create and deliver human trafficking training to police in Vietnam, spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the importance of international collaboration, tackling upstream crime to prevent downstream harm, and the UK’s role in sharing tech investigation expertise.

FEATURE: This week sees a unique workshop focusing on cyber policing challenges hosted by India’s National Forensic Sciences University, with input, expertise and best practice shared by the UK’s London Policing College and the Royal Thai Police Cadet Academy, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: Violent extremism is on the rise globally, and in countries such as Pakistan, vulnerable young people are routinely targeted and manipulated by extremist groups; new research by PhD student Umair Asif and Professor Tegwen Gadais of the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum of UNSW Sydney, highlights the valuable role that sport can play in countering violent extremism and terrorism.

OPINION: Chinese efforts to secure a deal with the Pacific islands that includes security matters such as training police have caused concern among policymakers across the region; but Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes the long and strong policing ties between the islands and their colleagues in Australia and New Zealand will prove durable in the face of China’s open chequebook.

ANALYSIS: Despite several attempts at reform, successive governments in Pakistan appear to have had little success in tackling the corruption, undue political influence and paramilitary involvement in policing; Zoha Waseem, Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Warwick, believes Pakistan’s new government must now take the opportunity to deliver localised, effective change.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Mission-critical communications and public safety specialists Hytera have built their market-leading reputation on a combination of resilience, reliability, innovation and adaptability – characteristics that are embodied in their latest products on show at this year’s World Police Summit in Dubai, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an increase in cybercrime and online fraud, and with it a new, complex scam involving dating sites and cryptocurrencies; PhD candidate and Research Fellow Carlo Handy Charles explains how organised crime has pioneered the sophisticated ‘pig-butchering’ scams.

Top Articles 2021: Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter leads the team in selecting their favourite articles published in 2021. The editorial team have each selected their ‘Top 3’ picks and we have made them freely available during the Christmas period for all users with at least a free registered account. We hope you enjoy our selections!

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.

FEATURE: While much of the concerns regarding the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have focused on human rights, the safety of citizens and threat from extremist militias and terrorist organisations, research has shown that the Taliban – now the Government of Afghanistan – have long been involved in organised criminality; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the ramifications for the UK and the rest of the world.

OPINION: While many governments are continuing their efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan, the return of the Taliban has left the country’s 4,000 female police officers at particular risk; Dr Melissa Jardine, an international police consultant and former Victoria police officer, believes the international community must do more to protect those who put their lives on the line to secure the safety of their communities.

FEATURE: The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and their apparent attempts to use social media and other avenues to hunt down those who have collaborated with coalition forces, has highlighted once again the dangers and security concerns around the online presence of police officers; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth examines some of the main risks, as well as steps police and others can take to protect themselves and others from harm.

ANALYSIS: With the world watching, the US, UK and allies involved in nation-building efforts in Afghanistan completed a hasty and messy withdrawal as the Taliban returned to power; Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon looks at the lessons to be learned from failed attempts to create a community-based Afghan civil police force focused on crime and disorder, and whether there is any hope for the recent genuine reform introduced by President Ashraf Ghani.