OPINION: Levels of ‘honour-based’ abuse (HBA) have gone up in the UK by 10% over the last three years, an increase driven partly by a rise in reporting as communities emerged from pandemic lockdowns, and also by changes to police recording rules; Dr Sadiq Bhanbhro of Sheffield Hallam University believes the lack of a clear legal definition of HBA, together with political cultural sensitivities, maybe preventing the police and Crown Prosecution Service from tackling the crime more effectively.

FEATURE: With the growing UK national focus on the benefits of robotic process automation (RPA) – including the appointment of a new National Police Chiefs’ Council lead – local innovation in this area is all the more interesting; Essex Police are among those trying to leverage the maximum potential from this and other new technology, and highlighted some of those developments at a recent one-day conference, as this first in a series of articles on the event by Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explains.

FEATURE: Drug-drivers convicted in the South Tees area (policed by officers in Cleveland) will become the first in the UK to be offered an educational course to reduce reoffending – similar to the drink-drive rehabilitation scheme – under a pilot programme which, if successful, could be rolled out nationwide, as Policing Insight’s Thomas James reports.

LONG READ: Having previously considered some of the wider issues around policing’s approach to the exponential growth in volume and complexity of data sources for investigations and intelligence gathering, in this latest in a series of features on the police data challenge, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at the concerns around staffing – from skills gaps and accreditation to leadership literacy and implementation.

FEATURE: Remote sensing tech to spot knives, off-the-shelf drones, real-time fingerprint matching at crime scenes, and deepfake detection algorithms – the UK’s recent Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council Partnership Summit highlighted a wealth of potential new applications of science and tech, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Dr Jordan Nunan, former police officer, Senior Lecturer in Criminal at the University of Northampton, and National Co-ordinator for the National Police Chief’s Council’s Intelligence Practice Research Consortium, about the value of police-academic partnerships, the Achilles heel tactic, and the crucial role of human intelligence sources in tackling organised crime.

ANALYSIS: The Forensic Science Regulator Code of Practice, which sets out the standards for forensic science activities in crime investigations across England and Wales, came into force in October; while the Code will deliver greater consistency and quality across forensics in law enforcement, the implementation will also create challenges around accreditation, capacity and training for forces working towards compliance, as Richard Cockerill, Digital Forensic Laboratory Operations Director with technologists CACI, explains.

FEATURE: A new survey published by London TravelWatch has found that one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced hate crime while using the public transport network in London over the past year, but more than 80% felt unable to report the incident to police, prompting calls for the Met and British Transport Police to renew efforts to build confidence in policing among members of the LGBT+ community, as Policing Insight’s Thomas James reports.

INTERVIEW: A cold case review team led by Leeds Trinity University’s Dr Kirsty Bennett is calling on forces to be more open to sharing information and working in collaboration to meet the increasing demand from grieving families looking for justice for their lost loved ones, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: At this month’s Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council Partnership Summit, politicians and police leaders presented an unambiguously positive view of the potential benefits of live facial recognition – with South Wales leading the way, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: Body armour is essential kit for police officers, but ill-fitting vests that now carry additional equipment weight are causing significant health problems for those on the frontline; Zac Mader of the Police Federation of England and Wales argues that new lightweight, gender-specific body armour could address many of the lower back pain issues associated with existing equipment, a problem highlighted by physiotherapist Patrick Hoyte

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FEATURE: For Professor Betsy Stanko, co-lead of Operation Soteria Bluestone, policing’s “corporate culture” needs to change; during an event hosted at New Scotland Yard, she called for a new mindset that sees forces learn the right lessons about how they handle rape and serious sexual offences, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Robust performance measurement practices are instrumental in demonstrating police accountability, transparency and improvement, all key steps to strengthening public confidence in policing; but a new RAND Europe study of international approaches has highlighted both the dangers of disjointed police performance measurement, and innovative approaches from law enforcement around the world, as RAND analyst Emma Zürcher explains.

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ANALYSIS: While the Baroness Casey Review was underway – a review which highlighted “toxic cultures” of sexism and racism in the force’s firearms unit – the National Police Chiefs’ Council commissioned its own UK-wide review of the role; Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and one of the authors of the subsequent report, says that similar issues around macho, sexist cultures and elitism are evident in police firearms teams across the country.

ANALYSIS: The consequences of labelling – both for citizens and for police – can be significant, particularly in relation to officers’ own perception of their role as guardians or a ‘warrior mindset’; Matthew Wood, a police constable with Toronto Police Service and part-time professor at the Seneca College School of Public Safety, explores these issues in relation to the ‘grey zone’ of law enforcement, the importance of police discretion, and what steps can be taken to improve policing outcomes.

INTERVIEW: Despite widely acknowledged challenges facing policing in the UK, and the ongoing debate around entry routes into the profession, a career keeping communities safe from crime, disorder and terrorism remains an attractive proposition for many young people; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to final-year Professional Policing undergraduate Megan Collins-Dale about her choice of degree qualification, and how a recent internship in the US has helped her prepare for a future in policing and criminal justice in the UK.

FEATURE: With tomorrow marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester Law School explores the history and significance behind the date, the continuing need to fund the campaign to tackle VAWG nationally and globally, and the frightening death toll of female victims likely to lose their lives between now and Christmas.

FEATURE: A ‘ground-breaking’ toolkit pioneered by Sussex Police to provide health screening, dietary options and a raft of other adjustments in custody suites for female detainees found to be exhibiting peri-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal symptoms is set to be rolled out to forces across England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Artificial intelligence was a major item on the agenda at this month’s Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs’ Council Partnership Summit, where a panel including Policing Minister Chris Philp, National Police Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Paul Taylor, West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor Alison Lowe, and Professor Marion Oswald of the Alan Turing Institute explored how this technology will transform policing, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: The recent ‘not guilty’ court verdict against nine Just Stop Oil protestors who admitted deliberately smashing the windows of a bank HQ in London might suggest that the finding was completely at odds with the law; but as former police officer and University of Derby Policing Lecturer Tom Andrews explains, the ‘lawful excuse’ defence offered in this and other cases is a long-standing and crucial element of the jury-based justice system.

FEATURE: An autism passport scheme flags specific issues for individuals – both things that can help interaction, and things that can cause anxiety or stress – on the Guernsey Police records management system, raising real-time warnings and markers for control room operators and responding officers and improving outcomes for all involved, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With policing facing an expanding array of increasingly complex crime challenges, there is huge potential for digital transformation to help forces tackle that burden; Charlotte Hails, Justice & Policing Lead for Virgin Media O2 Business, argues that closer partnerships between policing and the private sector could help to overcome some of the existing constraints, and unlock the operational efficiencies that can enable forces to thrive.