Europe

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.

FEATURE: The violence that erupted this month between members of the Muslim and Hindu communities in Leicester took many community leaders by surprise, and has prompted concerns that disorder could spread to other parts of the UK; the confrontations suggest such faith-based tensions could be a worrying development, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, but a new EU project has been launched to target religion-based community conflicts.

FEATURE: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, countries across Europe and further afield have opened their doors to more than seven million refugees fleeing the conflict; but a new report warns that as the war continues and refugees remain in their new host countries, tensions could increase at community level, creating potential challenges for law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: New Government provisions to safeguard funding for EU-supported research projects include a guarantee scheme to allow UK organisations to apply for this year’s Horizon Europe Security for Civil Society programme – which could be good news for policing agencies with project proposals to tackle drug trafficking, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: While much of the world has watched on in horror at the human tragedy unfolding from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, organised crime gangs have seized on the increase in refugees fleeing the conflict as an opportunity to expand their human trafficking operations; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the efforts of the European Union to target those traffickers and increase the protection for some of the most vulnerable casualties of the war.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s London Policing College workshop on policing public protest in Germany, keynote speaker Dr Bernd Bürger of the Bavarian Police Institute of Further Education spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the importance of communication and negotiation in handling demonstrations, the need for officers and commanders to have expertise and experience, and the benefits of establishing full-time public order policing units.

FEATURE: With the cyber threat growing continuously and becoming increasingly aggressive, law enforcement and public authorities will need to raise their investment and expertise in tackling cyber criminals; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest funding available from the EU to support improvements in digital investigation tools, techniques, and technologies.

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.

ANALYSIS: The UK’s access to Horizon Europe’s research and innovation programme funding as an associate member – and with it the ability to undertake pioneering research into policing and security that has delivered real benefits to UK law enforcement – appears to be increasingly under threat, thanks to ongoing political wrangles over the Northern Ireland post-Brexit border arrangements, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: Technological advances in extracting valuable knowledge and information from Big Data could deliver significant benefits for the security and safety of smart cities and their residents; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores a new European research and innovation project that is looking to maximise those benefits for all stakeholders, including policing.

FEATURE: Despite the rapidly increasing use of technology in law enforcement intelligence gathering, humans continue to play a vital role in assessing, rationalising and contextualising data sources, based on their experience and expertise; and while officers may be susceptible to a degree of cognitive bias, digital methods can amplify those biases or trigger new ones, explains Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth.

FEATURE: The increased use of drones – including small, commercially available models – has been a key feature of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prompting growing concerns of the potential threat they pose in terrorist hands; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest European security efforts to train police and staff to tackle the threat.

ANALYSIS: A recent report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and Europol highlights the corporate structures adopted by organised crime groups (OCGs) involved in the cocaine trade; Policing Insight’s Christopher Allen looks at the key issues covered by the report, including the potential emergence of brutal Mexican cartels in the European market.

FEATURE: Following the mass shooting in Munich in 2016 in which nine people died and thirty six were injured, the Bavarian Police began to examine ways of enhancing their digital radio communications to include visual information.

FEATURE: A new €7m European Commission research and innovation initiative has been launched to improve crime scene investigations relating to the transfer, persistence and background abundance of trace evidence, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores some of the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid development of new technology in the police and law enforcement intelligence field, and how a pan-EU project could help agencies and providers maximise the potential benefits of emerging trends and capabilities.

INNOVATION: Having recognised the potential criminal threat from the use of drones, the INTERPOL Innovation Centre has now joined forces with law enforcement agencies across Europe to launch Project COURAGEOUS, an initiative to identify and assess the most effective technology to detect, track and intervene against illicit drones, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: As movements of migrants and refugees across European borders reaches new levels in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ensuring border security while protecting refugees and preserving human rights has become increasingly difficult; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest EU funding for police and security projects that will help countries to meet those complex challenges.

ANALYSIS: As new footage continues to highlight horrific images of the devastation wrought by the Russian military in Ukraine, preparations are already underway to ensure that war criminals can be prosecuted post-conflict; Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon, and former police detective and war crime investigator Howard Tucker, consider the challenges facing those trying to build a case, and the processes involved.

ANALYSIS: Despite travel restrictions imposed during Covid – and with the war in Ukraine now sparking a refugee exodus – criminal networks smuggling people into Europe increased their activity in 2021 after several years of declining figures, according to the latest Europol Migrant Smuggling Centre Report; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the report and highlights its key findings.

ANALYSIS: A recent operation backed by Europol and Eurojust saw police arrest more than 100 organised crime suspects in Latvia and Lithuania, and close down a scam call centre operation generating millions of euros; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the operation itself, and how European collaborations are playing a vital role in tackling financial crime and large-scale money laundering.

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ANALYSIS: As the conflict in Ukraine continues, so too does the pressure to ensure that international crimes committed during the Russian invasion are fully investigated and prosecuted; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the steps being taken by EU states to establish the collaboration and co-operation needed to respond to such crimes, and the role law enforcement is likely to play in bringing people to justice.