Australia

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Presented by the Australian and New Zealand Police Commissioners and supported by Policing Insight as Global Media Partner, this 2-day ANZPAA Police Conference 2022 (PC22) will demonstrate how innovation can be used to ‘navigate the next generation of policing’.

OPINION: A recent joint speech by the heads of MI5 and the FBI highlighted the IP threat posed internationally by China; Dr Ben Stevens and Dr Gatra Priyandita of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believe that, with Australian organisations under threat from state-sponsored IP theft, the Government’s recently elevated cybersecurity focus should be expanded to include a commission to examine the theft of Australian IP.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff, students and researchers at the University of Tasmania who now have FREE access with the start of a new organisation wide subscription. They join a community from many other UK and international institutions, police forces and other criminal justice organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

INTERVIEW: Against a backdrop of violent arrests and oppressive responses in the 1970s, New South Wales Police has had a difficult relationship with the LGBTQ+ community; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to NSW Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot about the journey the force has been on to rebuild relationships, addressing equality and diversity issues internally, and her own Leadership Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

ANALYSIS: The recent Spanish seizure of a number of underwater ‘narco drones’ capable of carrying around 200kgs of drug while being operated remotely has highlighted the growth in one narcotics trafficking method; Professor Natalie Klein of UNSW Sydney and Dr Rob McLaughlin of the Australian National University believe both Australian and international law will need to be updated to be able to act effectively against those using such techniques.

Job advertisement: Policing Insight is growing its editorial coverage of policing in Australia and New Zealand, and we are looking for freelance writers with an interest/expertise in policing and great contacts to join our team. The role involves keeping up with latest developments in policing through engagement with police forces, government and relevant academic, third-sector and commercial organisations, pitching and completing feature article ideas, and fulfilling commissions from our editor.

INTERVIEW: With a career combining operational policing and complex investigation with academia, Dr Tracey Green recently took up her post as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency with greater insight than most into the demands facing law enforcement; she spoke to Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter about the Agency’s work on immediate and long-term policing challenges, the importance of sharing good practice, and the benefits of collaboration between police and academics.

ANALYSIS: Australia’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program offers a unique insight into drug use across the country; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes results from the program in the wake of one of the country’s biggest enforcement operations highlight the difficulties of trying to measure the success of drug strategies in terms of seizures and arrests.

ANALYSIS: Over the past five years a series of drug deaths in Australia has highlighted the arrival of an increasing range of synthetic drugs, many originating from factories in China and India and ordered online; this article from the Lens, the research publication of Monash University, explores the forensic medicine efforts of ‘toxico-surveillance’ specialists to identify and track the influx of new illicit drugs, and the dangers they represent.

OPINION: Recent operations by the Australian Federal Police against organised crime have brought the activities of the ‘ndrangheta Calabrian mafia under the spotlight; but Professor of Criminology Dr Anna Sergi argues that the organisation has been well-established across Australia for many decades, and any attempt to take the ‘ndrangheta seriously will require sustained political will and resources, rather than a sporadic focus on drug importation.

Queen's Birthday Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise Australian policing recipients of the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

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.

FEATURE: China is increasing its efforts to secure a Pacific islands policing, security and data communications deal; but by working in partnership with island nations to improve gender equality and empower women in policing, Australia could enhance its own influence and support in the region, says Dr Melissa Jardine, an international police consultant and former Victoria police officer.

FEATURE: Dr John Coyne, head of ASPI’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre and strategic policing and law enforcement program, outlines the role of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in an ever-changing geo-political environment.

ANALYSIS: As the race to take on the top role of Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police service hots up, it has been revealed that former New Zealand Commissioner of Police Mike Bush has thrown his hat into the ring. PolicingTV presenter and former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Danny Shaw takes a closer look at the man behind the uniform and, if appointed, what impact he might have on policing London.

ANALYSIS: With business, security and many other aspects of everyday life increasingly reliant on software, the frequency of attacks on the software supply chain – and their potential impact – is growing; Sarah Sloan, Palo Alto Networks’ Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for ANZ, looks at what more Australia could be doing to tackle the software security threat.

ANALYSIS: Many ex-prisoners end up in the vicious cycle of homelessness, reoffending and reincarceration; but new research by academics from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, the University of Tasmania and Melbourne’s RMIT University indicates that providing public housing for those released from prison could cut crime and reduce criminal justice costs.

ANALYSIS: With artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly utilised in policing, regulation and governance of the new technology, as well as recognition of its limitations, will be crucial if communities are to support its wider use; Analyst Dr Teagan Westendorf of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute takes a closer look at the implications of AI for policing in Australia.

ANALYSIS: With the electronic communications landscape changing significantly and quickly, existing legislation covering law enforcement electronic surveillance has struggled to keep pace; Analyst Dr Teagan Westendorf and specialist Jocelinn Kang, both of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, take a closer look at the country’s planned legislative reform around electronic surveillance, and why balancing security and liberty will be essential in any new law.

OPINION: As a global leader in online safety, Australia was the natural destination for European Commission delegates looking to learn more and share best practice around online regulation and child protection ahead of introducing new European legislation; Julie Inman Grant, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, believes the visit marked a watershed moment of international collaboration in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.

ANALYSIS: As global police leaders gather in Dubai for the World Police Summit, and with international attention focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dr Victoria Herrington, Director Knowledge at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM), explores what the institution of policing stands for, why it needs to care about what’s happening in Ukraine, and what we could and should be doing to promote a shared responsibility for public safety.

FEATURE: A Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) was used by ACT officers in Canberra last week as part of the policing operation dealing with vaccine mandate protests, prompting a range of concerns and claims about the damage done by the device; composer, artist and sonic expert Lawrence English, a Research Fellow at Queensland’s Griffith University, explains the workings and limitations of LRADs.

FEATURE: In his latest Annual Threat Assessment Mike Burgess, Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), has revealed that minors now account for half of ASIO’s priority counter-terrorism investigations, as the online radicalisation that went into overdrive during Covid lockdowns has created a new wave of more intense extremists ready to use violence.

OPINION: In Australia, a growing number of Facebook pages dedicated to identifying the locations of police traffic operations are enabling drug users to avoid detection during roadside drug-testing initiatives; but Research Assistant Laura Mills, Professor James Freeman and Dr Verity Truelove of the University of the Sunshine Coast believe that regardless of Facebook, there is a fundamental need to increase motorists’ perceptions of being caught for drug driving.