United Kingdom

FEATURE: A custody navigator programme which works with young people in Cleveland to break the cycle of offending has been expanded to the region’s main hospital in an effort to work with victims of violence related to alcohol or substance abuse, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: While TV dramas often showcase police interviewers squeezing information out of suspects, the reality is rather different; speaking at a recent conference Dr Frances Surmon-Böhr, a psychologist and science-based interview expert, explained why the interpersonal skills and rapport-building techniques integral to the ORBIT interviewing model are the real keys to a successful interrogation, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: An evaluation report into the UK Government-funded Grip programme and hot spot policing initiative designed to tackle serious violence has highlighted significant reductions in crime and potential savings, but has also warned that the approach is not a “quick fix” and requires commitment and buy-in from forces and leaders, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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ANALYSIS: With violence reduction units set to be expanded across all of England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to several of those involved in the work to date, asking how we will know when they’ve really been successful and what practitioners in the new areas will need to know.

FEATURE: The latest Assurance Review by the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner has called for stronger governance of biometric data – particularly images – held by the country’s law enforcement agencies, while restating the Commissioner’s opposition to UK Government plans to give police forces access to passport and driving licence images for use with tools such as facial recognition, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: With policing coming under growing pressure to leverage the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), Assistant Professor Dr Eric Halford, a former officer and now Associate Researcher in policing and development, explores the potential for police forces to improve efficiency and effectiveness through greater use of general purpose AI, as well as the associated challenges, and the pitfalls to avoid.

INTERVIEW: Following an article in Policing Insight in 2018, Cambridge University PhD Researcher Emily Quin began exploring the idea of the ‘copper’s nose’, and how any policing ‘sixth sense’ could be defined and measured; she spoke to Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher – author of the original piece – about her work so far, the importance of talking directly to officers, and what the eventual findings could mean for policing.

FEATURE: The Environment Agency has launched a new Economic Crime Unit which will work with police and revenue and customs in England to tackle organised waste crime including the dumping, burning and illegal shipping of waste, as well as the operation of illegal waste sites – a market estimated to cost the country £1billion a year, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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.

OPINION: Former Scottish police officer Graham Goulden, now a police trainer, believes that recent examples of street violence highlight the need for action rather than words, and points to the success of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit’s long-term violence prevention approach – using a combination of enforcement, collaboration and community involvement – as an effective strategy moving forwards.

OPINION: Policing’s growing focus on equality, diversity and inclusion, and fears that officers will be increasingly dragged into adjudicating “abusive spats” online under Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act, are the latest example of a wider debate that needs to be had, argues former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher – one which considers what the police are really for, and the danger that policing’s key purpose is being sidelined in favour of diversity.

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FEATURE: A recent joint report by inspectorates across the criminal justice system in England and Wales warns that police forces will need to recruit almost 20,000 more officers as increasing numbers of resignations – particularly among inexperienced and under pressure Uplift recruits – continue to drive the growing attrition rate, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: With heightened tensions over conflict in the Middle East, and significant increases in hate crime in the UK, new National Police Chaplain Matt Hopley believes police chaplains have a vital role to play not only in supporting officers, staff and volunteers, but in providing a valuable conduit between policing and communities, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INNOVATION: The use of DNA to solve crimes and identify offenders has been a key tool for policing for almost 40 years; now the growing use of forensic genetic genealogy – also known as investigative genetic genealogy – has the potential to be a similar game changer in investigating cold cases, as Policing Insight’s Vernon White reports.

FEATURE: University of Portsmouth Policing Lecturer David Knowles and Teaching Fellow Claire Smith visited a number of further education colleges near the city to encourage students to apply for the University’s professional policing degree; as well as learning the best ways to engage young people, they also identified some important digital communications lessons for policing.

INTERVIEW: In this second half of a two-part interview, City of London Police Temporary Commissioner Peter O’Doherty spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the challenges posed by fraud and cybercrime, the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and a national approach to new technology, and why the Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach has implications for all forces.

FEATURE: In the latest in the new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the left realism crime perspective, including the 'square of crime', the need for greater understanding of the complexity of crime, and the ‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ approach pioneered by New Labour.

FEATURE: Among the less visible effects of a decade of UK police funding cuts is the loss of spaces where officers can rest, eat, and talk to each other, a loss that could increase the risks of personal and professional isolation, and damage officer wellbeing; a new study led by Dr Carina O’Reilly (University of Lincoln), Nick Kealey (Liverpool John Moores University) and Dr Sean Bell (Open University) will look at how the provision of rest spaces has changed, and the impact on police officers and their wellbeing – and you can get involved.

OPINION: The NPCC’s Children & Young Persons Policing Strategy will aim to create “a culture of child-centred policing”, but too often police and other agencies overlook the impact of homelessness on young people’s vulnerability; Met Police Chief Inspector Dr Andy Briers, who has devoted most of his career to working with at-risk young people, sets out some of the challenges and opportunities for policing to improve support for homeless youngsters and divert them away from the criminal justice system.

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FEATURE: A recent report by the UK’s cross-party Home Affairs Committee has warned that policing the continuing Israel-Gaza protest is pulling resources away from areas such as neighbourhood and response policing and is damaging officer wellbeing, with MPs urging the Government to take steps to address the issues of both police resourcing and hate crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.