North America

ANALYSIS: Many cities and towns across the US facing worrying levels of gun violence are turning to the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology to help tackle the problem; however, research carried out by Northeastern University Professor Dr Eric Piza indicates that while the new tech can improve the response time to firearms incidents, it has no impact on enforcement levels, clear-up rates, or reducing victimisation.

ANALYSIS: In the third in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood explores the issues around police leadership, why traditional approaches can lead to low morale and toxic work environments, and how adopting and implementing transformational leadership practices can deliver benefits for officers and the communities they serve.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes officers and staff from Staffordshire Police who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of a new force wide subscription. They join a community of readers from many other UK and international government, police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

ANALYSIS: While the annual cost of policing in Canada approaches $20 billion, violent crime and homicide rates have increased significantly; University of Ottawa Professor Emeritus Irvin Waller, and Carleton University PhD candidate Jeffrey Bradley, argue that programs tackling risk factors give a better return on investment, pointing to the success of such schemes in the UK and US as indicators of what can be achieved.

INNOVATION: From advanced surveillance and data analytics to facial recognition and collars that can detect ‘anti-predation’ behaviour in farm animals sparked by the actions of livestock thieves, a recent online roundtable involving policing, academic and farming stakeholders highlighted the importance of agricultural technology – coupled with traditional policing methods – in tackling rural crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explains why he believes that police departments should avoid labelling AI transcription of body cam footage as report writing.

OPINION: Already a criminal offence in the UK and parts of Australia, coercive control in intimate relationships looks set to be crimimalized in Canada under legislation making its way through the Senate; but PhD student Eden Hoffer and Professor Nadine Wathen of Western University, Ontario, argue that – because of the nature of the criminal justice system, and gender-neutral policies – criminalizing coercive control could also criminalize more women victim-survivors of intimate partner violence.

FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the recent successful operation by European law enforcement agencies working with colleagues in the US to take down multiple platforms used to disseminate terrorist propaganda, and explores the ongoing efforts of Europol to target those spreading terrorist content online.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks more closely at why culture matters in policing, and how traits such as solidarity, suspicion, intolerance, and excitement seeking can damage public confidence, while others including conservatism, cynicism, and policing’s ‘masculine ethos’ can create barriers to reform.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explores how to avoid vendor lock-in while ensuring the ethical and effective use of AI technologies in police departments.

INTERVIEW: Having had her own battles with anxiety and mental health, Police Scotland’s Sgt Laura Gibson embarked on a Churchill Fellowship study to explore the efforts made by law enforcement agencies in the US to better prepare recruits for the psychological impact of the job, as well as to understand more about why officers do take their own lives – lessons she believes could have real benefits in the UK, as she told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explores the potential for improving officer safety, wellbeing and performance though the use of AI systems to detect fatigue in police drivers.

OPINION: The Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is considered to be a pioneer in Canadian police oversight; but University of Guelph Associate Professor Kate Puddister, and Brock University Assistant Professor Danielle McNabb, argue that the SIU’s mandate is too narrow to be effective, and point to alternative approaches which are able to consider all types of complaints against police, as well as reviewing police policy, to prevent misconduct in the first place.

OPINION: The pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses in the US and around the world have prompted fresh debates around policing, public order and people’s right to protest; Jess Reia, Assistant Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia, argues that decisions over what constitutes urban disorder often target the most disadvantaged communities, and that deploying big data under the guise of enforcing public order can backfire.

ANALYSIS: With the ongoing fentanyl crisis claiming hundreds of lives ever day in North America, a new class of synthetic opioids – nitazenes – is causing real concern both in the US and more widely, including the UK, Canada and Australia; former Ottawa Police Service Chief Vernon White takes a closer look at the background to both the growth of fentanyl, the emergence of nitazenes, and the steps countries are taking to tackle the threat.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff from the UK Home Office who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of a new department wide subscription. They join a community of readers from many other UK and international government, police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

FEATURE: The Annual Report of Canada’s Edmonton Police Service has highlighted a range of measures including stronger community partnerships, diverting young people away from crime, and a clearer focus on addressing offenders’ “criminogenic risks and needs” as among the key steps to improving public confidence in the Service despite concerning trends on crime and violence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With communities across Canada considering whether the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should be responsible for municipal policing, the city of Surrey in British Columbia has become one of the first to look to replace it with a newly-formed Surrey Police Service; but Royal Roads University Lecturer Dr Bryce Casavant believes the controversy and conflict between the RCMP and Surrey Police highlights the challenges around the transition.

FREE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS: Policing Insight welcomes staff and students at Birmingham City and Edinburgh Napier Universities who now have FREE subscriber access with the start of new organisation wide subscriptions. They join a community of students, staff and officers from many other UK and international police, criminal justice and emergency services organisations with an interest in progressive policing. Read on to find out how to use your FREE subscriber access.

INTERVIEW: This month saw the launch of the new Inspectorate of Policing and the appointment of the first Inspector General (IG) of Policing for Ontario; Ryan Teschner, who has taken up the IG role, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the background to the changes, what he is hoping to achieve, and the potential benefits of improved oversight of policing in the province.

INTERVIEW: The New Blue fellowship programme in the US is looking to empower “forward-thinking” front-line officers with the skills, awareness and support to develop innovative solutions around engagement and public trust that can address issues identified in the communities they serve, as programme Executive Director Kristin Daley explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

FEATURE: As the UK, Europe and the US all prepare for parliamentary elections this year, and with increasing calls for legislation to target hate speech, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth looks at the new project using AI-based technologies to equip NGOs, civil service organisations, public authorities and others with the skills and awareness to tackle online hate speech and disinformation.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in policing, Chief Philip Lukens looks at the potential benefits that AI solutions can deliver in relation to accreditation and performance – including a master training schedule, an AI-assisted tool to review and update policy, and an automated compliance checker – all of which can save time and resources, increase reliability, and boost trust and confidence.