United Kingdom

OPINION: The COVID-19 pandemic and and Black Lives Matter protests have seen policing face new and unique challenges over recent months; but as crowd control specialist Owen West points out, attempting to ban legitimate demonstrations and reclassifying protest groups as serious crime organisations or domestic extremists is both dangerous and futile.

ANALYSIS: A quarter of all police officers in England & Wales now have less than five years’ service, and one in 10 is in their first year in the job; in the second of two articles examining the changing nature of the policing workforce, Ian Wiggett reveals the dramatic shift in length of service and experience, the risks and opportunities it creates, and how forces can respond.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Professor Graham Farrell from the University of Leeds, and Dr. Dan Birks from the University of Leeds and The Alan Turing Institute, analyse crime trends both during and post-lockdown and examine the Government's response to these shifting trends.

ANALYSIS: The coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession it has created, and the ongoing, uncertain impact of Brexit are three key challenges currently facing the UK and Europe; they also represent circumstances that – according to a recent Europol report – could enable organised crime groups to flourish, as Policing Insight's Andrew Staniforth explains.

OPINION: Knife crime hit a record high in England and Wales before the COVID-19 lockdown, leading to calls for tougher sentencing; but Sean Creaney, Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University, and Jo Deakin, Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester, argue that engaging young people in their rehabilitation process is a more effective way of reducing reoffending.

OPINION: Nathan Bird, UK Policing lead for social media company Hootsuite, believes the changes that policing will need to make as a result of the European Electronic Communications Code – known as ‘Next Generation 999’ – should be seen as a real opportunity to revitalise police engagement and public contact in a digital society.

ANALYSIS: While the most recent police workforce statistics in England & Wales show a steady rise towards the UK Government's 20,000 officer uplift target, the figures also reveal growing numbers of officers resigning from the job mid-service; in this first of two articles, Ian Wiggett explores the national and regional trends, their impact, and what forces can do about police officer retention.

INSIGHT: The armed forces community – those who are serving or have served, and their families – have a strong link with policing, both as members of forces, and sometimes as individuals struggling with life outside the military. Inspector Jim Jones, GMP's Tactical Lead for the Armed Forces Covenant, explains the importance of the Covenant, and how his force has committed to doing more for that community.

EVENT ADVERTISEMENT: These free online webinars are being held over five days and will offer an insight into children and families harmed by crime. Key speakers, experts in their field, will be exploring the keys issues across sexual violence, domestic abuse, cyber and knife crime and look at how the issues are being tackled.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Professor Nick Tilley looks at the damaging impact of fly-tipping, how the coronavirus lockdown is likely to have exacerbated the issue, and the steps that local authorities and others can take to tackle the problem.

OPINION: The challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic have stretched emergency services around the globe in strikingly similar ways; Oscar Bachs, from Barcelona technology company Unblur, describes how innovations such as AI and situational awareness software could be used to enhance the safety and effectiveness of blue light workers.

INNOVATION: A review of Lancashire Constabulary's Force Control Room, which receives more than 1.2 million calls a year, led to the development of an award-winning voice to text system which will significantly improve the force's call handing and service delivery to the public. Project leaders Chief Supt Ian Dawson and Insp Andy Doran explain the background to the project, the actions already completed, and the potential for further advances.

OPINION: Last week saw the inaugural police-focused Changing Times, Changing Practice event, a one-day webinar hosted by Skills for Justice to share good practice and learning, and explore how organisation development and change can help to create a diverse, trusted and modern police force. Event facilitator Toby Lindsay looks at some of the key issues discussed on the day, and the next steps.

ANALYSIS: Hashem Abedi was recently jailed for at least 55 years – believed to be the highest minimum term ever handed out by a court in Britain – for his part in the Manchester Arena bombing. Andrew Staniforth highlights the growing concerns expressed about inadequate terrorist sentencing, the legislation designed to address the issue, and what more needs to be done.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane Johnson explore the surge in COVID-19-themed bio-assaults – coughing, sneezing and spitting – on key workers and members of the public.

FEATURE: An industry body for security professionals has drawn up a blueprint for the lawful use of facial recognition technology; but, as Sarah Gibbons reports, thousands of leading international academics are warning that the algorithms and data used in such systems inevitably reinforce racial bias and prejudice.

OPINION: As policing by consent and the basis of police interaction with the public are widely debated, Dr Brian Moss of the University of Southampton argues that a hardening of police tactics – such as increased used of CEDs and predictive policing – have been met largely with silence by the UK police inspectorates.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Mariam Elgabry discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the growing problem of bio-crime both in the UK and abroad.

FEATURE: COVID-19 has represented a major challenge to the emergency services, but has also led to an acceleration in collaborative working; now a new survey aims to capture and share successful collaborations, as a foundation for future workforce transformation

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons outlines the findings of the latest report from the Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material, highlighting the need for stronger governance and clarity on the use of biometrics technology.

ANALYSIS: The rise of adult services websites (ASWs) has opened up a new conduit for human traffickers to advertise the women they exploit. However, it's possible to spot characteristics in the profiles that may indicate that a sex worker has been trafficked. Dr Xavier L’Hoiry and Dr Alessandro Moretti of the University of Sheffield, and Professor Georgios Antonopoulos of Teesside University explain what might give such profiles away.

ANALYSIS: The lack of interoperability between police systems wastes taxpayers’ money and reduces effectiveness, says Coeus Software CEO Simon Hall. So how can police ICT escape from the silos of legacy systems?

INTERVIEW: Peter Prater, Chair of the International Critical Control Rooms Alliance (ICCRA), chaired the inaugural global Control Room Summit in Amsterdam earlier this year. In this interview for Policing Insight, he discusses the changes he has seen in 35 years in control rooms, the potential to learn from other sectors, and the technologies he thinks will shape the future.

ANALYSIS: A new report by the Revolving Doors Agency highlights the bias in the criminal justice system which leads to disproportionate numbers of young Black adults receiving cautions and convictions for low-level, non-violent crimes.