United States

Analysis: The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has led to calls for police departments in the US to be 'defunded'. Professor of Sociology at George Washington University Ronald Weitzer takes a closer look at whether defunding the police is the answer.

Opinion: Tom Nolan, Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at Emmanuel College, Boston University, explores how the pandemic is affecting crime statistics in the United States and the impact it is having on the police response.

Analysis: USA: Covid-19 has presented law enforcement with huge challenges, but Dr. Joseph A. Cortez, Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and Lieutenant at the Santa Monica Police Department, argues it is also an unprecedented opportunity to switch off 'auto-pilot' and use the lessons learnt to help re-shape the future of policing.

Analysis: When US polling organisation Elucd asked Americans how satisfied they were with guidance received during the Coronavirus emergency, local police departments polled even worse than the President. Michael Simon, CEO of Elucd and former head of analysis to President Obama’s re-election campaign, tries to understand what lies behind this surprising result.

Analysis: Jennifer Cobbina, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, discusses whether the recruitment of a more diverse workforce would bring an end to police brutality against black citizens in the US, or whether the answer lies in the remoulding of a more appropriate police culture.

OPINION: Professor Herman Goldstein, the pioneer of Problem-orientated policing (POP), passed away recently. His contribution to policing spans more than five decades and its impact has been felt across the globe. Professor Gloria Laycock OBE, from the Jill Dando Institute, UCL, pays tribute to Professor Goldstein and how he changed our understanding of policing.

insight: Social media is an important public engagement tool for policing, but what happens when an officer posts inappropriate messages? Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth examines the implications of The Plain View Project, a US database of comments made by police officers, which uncovered thousands of offensive posts.

Long Read: Former UK police officer and now Research Fellow at Western Sydney University Alan Beckley has analysed the findings of over 60 different studies of body-worn cameras (BWC) providing an insight into the different perspectives on their effectiveness in gathering evidence, lowering police rates of use of force and violence towards the police.

opinion: The police can be heavily criticised for adopting what is called the warrior mentality of an "us versus them" approach to policing communities. RCMP Inspector Kevin Cyr looks at the nuances of this approach - and why we shouldn't give up on it altogether if we want to keep communities and police officers safe.

ANALYSIS: Understanding of evidence-based policing has come a long way, but many police leaders are still looking for a 'silver bullet' - strategies that will just work. Prof. Jerry Ratcliffe of Temple University explains why the silver bullets don't exist, but that EBP is still a valuable tool.

OPINION: With police forces in the U.S. and elsewhere investing widely in technology solutions to tackle crime, James R. Sisco argues that an approach blending technology, data, and human understanding is required to deliver strategies that rebuild trust and set the conditions necessary for policing techniques to be effective.

OPINION: Compstat was revolutionary when it was introduced by Bill Bratton in late 1990s New York. But is it still fit for purpose? Prof. Jerry Ratcliffe of Temple University warns that Compstat has become 'whack-a-mole' policing and suggests that the UK's National Intelligence Model is a good starting point to guide reform.

OPINION: Dr James Hanley, Associate Professor of Political Science at Adrian College, Michigan, USA, examines limits to private policing