Europe

FEATURE: Community policing is widely recognised to be the backbone of British policing, with community engagement, interactive partnerships and a targeted visible presence all crucial to the success of the model; now EU funding is being made available to forces looking to develop new methods and technologies in the service of community policing and transferable best practices, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: New powers introduced by the European Union to tackle terrorist content online includes far-reaching obligations for host service providers both inside and outside the EU; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the regulations among tech providers, government, law enforcement and others in order for them to be effective.

ANALYSIS: Continued exposure to horrific imagery and harrowing testimony is having a significant impact on the mental health of crime investigators across Europe; Dr Fazeelat Duran, a Postdoctoral researcher in occupational psychology at the University of Birmingham, outlines the findings of recent research that highlights the scale of the problem, and gives a voice to frontline officers who feel ignored by policymakers.

FEATURE: With environmental crime highlighted as a key organised crime threat in Europol’s Serious Organised Crime Threat Report (SOCTA), the new EU PERIVALLON project will use AI-based tools to tackle the crime; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, any law enforcement use of such technology will need to abide by the risk criteria set out in the proposed European Artificial Intelligence Act – the first law of its kind by a major regulator.

FEATURE: Several European countries have experienced the devastating effects of often low-tech fatal terrorist attacks on public spaces such as shopping malls, concert halls and city squares; now a new EU-funded project involving police, public safety stakeholders and the private sector aims to develop innovative security measures using artificial intelligence (AI) and integrated technologies to make public spaces more secure, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: LEPH2023 Europe (21-24 May, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, is the first regional European conference exploring the complex and diverse intersections of law enforcement and public health, involving practitioners, policy makers and researchers from these and other related sectors. It carries on the international LEPH conference series, with an opportunity to focus on key regional issues.

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 former police superintendent Colin Carswell, Director of the Counter Trafficking Network, about his investigations into large-scale human trafficking as a police officer, the importance of partnership working, and the need to ‘follow the money’ to combat organised crime.

ANALYSIS: The policing of public protest in France over the past decade has been characterised by both stronger use of force and tougher penal tools against protesters; Professor Jacques de Maillard and Dr Aurélien Restelli argue that an apparent ‘softening’ of approach has failed to materialise, with recent pension protests prompting more aggressive policing methods, and little sign that de-escalation techniques are likely to be employed.

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FEATURE: The recent attacks in the UK on two men leaving mosques, along with this year’s Jehovah’s Witness Hall shootings in Hamburg and Koran burning in Stockholm, have highlighted once again the threats to places of worship and their congregations; in the last in a series of articles on the PROTECTOR project, and ahead of this week’s conference on the issue, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth looks at latest initiatives to tackle the threat, and the key themes set to be explored at Tuesday’s event.

INTERVIEW: In the fifth in a month-long series of articles exploring the EU-funded PROTECTOR project, which aims to design, develop and deliver the next generation of measures to enhance the protection of places of worship and their congregations, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth spoke to Fiene Flos, Counter-Terrorism Analyst in the Antwerp Police Department, about her organisation’s role in the initiative and the benefits the project has brought to policing in Belgium.

FEATURE: In the fourth in a month-long series of articles exploring the EU-funded PROTECTOR project, which aims to design, develop and deliver the next generation of measures to enhance the protection of places of worship and their congregations, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth looks at the rapid response to the recent religious attack in Hamburg, and highlights project recommendations for law enforcement regarding the safety of religious communities and sites.

INTERVIEW: In the third in a month-long series of articles exploring the EU-funded PROTECTOR project, which aims to design, develop and deliver the next generation of measures to enhance the protection of places of worship and their congregations, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth spoke to Nina Tell and Daniel Jacobsson of the Swedish Police Authority about their organisation’s role in the initiative, and the benefits the project has brought to policing in Sweden.

INTERVIEW: As religious tensions once again threaten to boil over in Jerusalem – with places of worship at risk of becoming backdrops for violence – Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth spoke to An Garda Síochána Sergeant Eugene O’Leary about his force’s involvement in the PROTECTOR project, which aims to design, develop and deliver the next generation of integrated measures to enhance the protection of all places of worship.

FEATURE: Last month saw more than 100 victims and families of those affected by terrorism, as well as support organisations, emergency services and European representatives, gather in Paris for the European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at continuing EU efforts to combat terrorism and support victims, including new regulations aimed at removing terrorist content online.

FEATURE: Religious beliefs remain a key component of the motivations of terrorist groups operating around the world, meaning that places of worship and faith congregation will continue to be potential terrorist targets; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest EU-funded initiative police initiative to design, develop and deliver enhanced protection to those religious sites.

INNOVATION: A team from the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region are collaborating with colleagues across Europe to develop an app that uses machine learning to find and block images of child sexual abuse on personal devices – potentially protecting thousands of children while allowing police to target resources on the most persistent and prolific offenders, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: The UK’s continuing participation in the Horizon Europe research programme – a scheme that has funded a number of innovative policing and security research projects – has been in some doubt, with the funding guarantee due to end on 31 March; but the Government has now confirmed a further extension of the guarantee until the end of June 2023, with more news on the UK’s continuing engagement in the programme due soon, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

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.

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.

OPINION: As a veteran of the lengthy stakeouts of heroin dealers, cultivation of informants, and the stitches, lost teeth and broken bones that come with the war on drugs, former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher believes it’s time for international agreement that the failed war should be over – and for co-operation and collaboration in putting together a more effective plan for peace.

FEATURE: Covid-19 had a considerable impact on a wide range of criminal activity, including dramatically changing the terrorism landscape; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the research around how the pandemic pushed terrorist activity increasingly online, the way in which extremist organisations continue to exploit online platforms, and the regulatory reforms intended to tackle that threat.

INTERVIEW: Police forces globally must embrace new technologies to remain at the cutting edge of gathering, processing and prioritising intelligence; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to Det Supt Brian Hanna of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and Graham Kissock, PSNI’s Head of International Programmes, about developing the force’s intelligence capabilities through participation in a new pan-European network of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

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 Sheelagh Brady, Co-founder and Chief Security Analyst at SAR Consultancy, about hooliganism in the West Balkans, working for the UN in Nigeria, and the need to understand the motivation of organised criminals.