United Kingdom

OPINION: Durham Chief Constable Jo Farrell was recently announced as the successor to Sir Iain Livingstone, Chief Constable of Police Scotland, who retires next month; former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an Associate of the London Policing College, looks at the challenges that will await CC Farrell when she takes up her new post.

ANALYSIS: Research from University of Warwick’s Centre for Operational Police Research (COPR) assesses the benefits and challenges of arts and culture as a means of better police engagement and relationship-building with seldom-heard communities who historically, have had little reason to trust the police, as Dr Rachel Lewis and Professor Jacqueline Hodgson explain.

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 David Graves, Managing Director of DG Anti-Fraud Consultants, about the role private investigators can play in targeting crime, the need for policing to go ‘back to basics’, and why organised crime can be viewed as a virus.

OPINION: As the police service in the UK waits for the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body regarding the pay settlement for 2023-24, British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi sets out why it’s crucial that the underpayment of police must stop – and that government support is essential if a ‘positive’ settlement is confirmed.

OPINION: This year’s NPCC National Intelligence Conference focused on the themes of prevention and early intervention; Matt Horne, Head of Policing & Government for Clue Software and former Deputy Director of Investigations at the National Crime Agency, who was among those attending the event, explores the key issues that arose from the Conference, and shares his own experiences and insight into the current intelligence challenges and opportunities.

FEATURE: Whenever a death or serious injury occurs following police contact in the UK, a post-incident management (PIM) process is instigated, but not all officers are aware of or understand what this entails; former Kent Police Sergeant Darren Moor, a PIM Manager during his own career, looks at the history of the approach, how PIM operates, and what officers need to know to be comfortable taking part in the process.

OPINION: The illegal organ trade sporadically hits the national and international headlines, with suggestions that the activity largely takes place underground, carried out by organised criminals; but Assistant Professor and organ trade researcher Frederike Ambagtsheer argues that the reality is far removed from that, involving close collaborations between professionals and the criminals, and requires a broad range of responses.

FEATURE: With facial recognition increasingly prominent in the news agenda in recent months, a novel application of this technology has recently been announced by Nottinghamshire Police; the force’s new remote breathalyser – which integrates facial recognition technology – is the first recorded use of this tool anywhere outside of the US, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Former detective Carol Ann Kinley-Smith’s menopause journey began while she was still in the job, and she decided to focus on the experiences of policewomen working through their menopause for her Master’s dissertation; in this article she discusses the findings of her research, the challenges women can face in relation to support and understanding, and what steps the service could take to ensure older female officers remain a valued and effective part of the workforce.

FEATURE: Eighteen years after the 7/7 suicide bombings in London which left 56 people dead and 784 injured, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks back at the events of the day, the planning and apparent determination of the four terrorists to complete their objectives (as revealed by the official report into the attacks), and how these events and others have shaped counter-terror policy.

FEATURE: Dealing with child sexual abuse material (CSAM) presents enormous psychological challenges, both for those working in police forces and for content moderators employed by tech firms; two new studies, presented at the recent Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) annual conference, offer surprising findings about the impact of this work – and a common theme for making these roles less harmful, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Despite significant advances in addressing the mental health and psychological wellbeing of UK police officers, little progress has been made in considering the issues around police officer suicide; David Marshall, a serving officer with more than 30 years’ experience and part-time policing lecturer and PhD researcher, reveals the findings from the first research to qualitatively explore the factors implicated in the suicidal behaviours of police officers. WARNING: Includes references to suicide and self-harm.

FEATURE: While many UK forces have adopted trauma risk management (TRiM) approaches, the peer-led programme and trauma impact prevention techniques adopted by Durham Constabulary have been highlighted again as positive practice by HMICFRS; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to force Welfare Manager Margaret Toward about the strengths of the programme, and what sets it apart from similar initiatives.

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OPINION: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s recent decision to end the routine attendance of officers in response to mental health calls has attracted both support and criticism; Vernon White, former Chief of Police for Ottawa Police Service and Senator in the Canadian Parliament, and Joe Carlebach, former Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, explain why they believe Sir Mark has made the right call.

OPINION: One key area of discussion at the recent Liverpool John Moores University Police Education Conference was the decision to re-establish a non-degree entry route into UK policing; Tom Andrews, a Lecturer in Policing at the University of Derby who attended the conference, believes the statistics clearly demonstrate the benefits of the PEQF routes, and forces that struggled to realise the benefits were often those that were most reluctant to embrace the pathways.

FEATURE: Whitehall has long raised questions about the impact of end-to-end encryption on law enforcement efforts to tackle terrorism and child abuse; UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat raised the stakes at a recent policing conference with a speech dedicated to slamming Meta’s future plans, while others present had a more nuanced view, as Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports.

FEATURE: With police forces in England and Wales facing challenges around building female representation in the service – particularly from seldom-heard communities – Sgt Mussa Meman and PC Nikki Nabi of Lancashire Police identified that the way the police fitness test was administered was leading to a disproportionate number of failures among female applicants, and created a new community focused approach that has significantly improved pass rates and helped to increase female representation within the force.

FEATURE: Automated analytics are increasingly viewed as an essential tool for keeping the public safe from serious harm, but they also create serious risks; a new report from The Alan Turing Institute presents a framework to help policing – and the security services – deploy analytics in a way that protects both privacy and public safety, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Coverage of the recent State of Policing in England and Wales report focused in large part on HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke’s warning that “public trust in the police is hanging by a thread”; but Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone believes other messages from the report around a “dysfunctional and defective” criminal justice system, a return to the “basics” of policing and the need for new policing priorities are equally important, but have been largely overlooked.

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OPINION: With society recognising that artificial intelligence is likely to revolutionise the way we live our lives, there is also a growing consensus over the need for regulation; but Dr Asress Gikay, Senior Lecturer in AI at Brunel University, believes the UK’s pro-innovation attitude to regulation will be much more beneficial for business, the public and law enforcement than Europe’s approach based on potential problems.

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 Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher, now a policing consultant and Associate of the London Policing College, about Baroness Casey’s review, taking drug profits away from organised crime, and the importance of eradicating corruption.

OPINION: Neurodiverse young people and adults – particularly those with ADHD – may experience a number of traits that are likely to push them towards criminality; Met Police DC Daley Jones, co-chair of the ADHD Alliance, believes asking detainees to complete a simple, 18-step questionnaire could give them an indication that they might have a life-changing condition that can be helped with treatment and care, which may lead them away from offending.