Artificial Intelligence

OPINION: Adrian Timberlake, chief technical officer at 7Technologies, examines the potential uses of new technology in border control and missing person identification, and how intelligent technologies could help to combat modern slavery.

INTERVIEW: Dubai Police recently became the first force to win seven IACP awards in one year, recognised for its work in areas ranging from forensics and research to victims’ services and highway safety. Policing Insight spoke to Dubai Police Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, about the force’s success, its efforts to tackle challenges such as COVID-19 and transnational crime, and how high-tech and happiness are crucial elements of the force's long-term strategy.

ANALYSIS: The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) for policing are increasingly recognised and discussed, but what about the criminal threats from such technology? Keith Potter looks at a new report from UCL’s Dawes Centre for Future Crime which highlights some of the main risks to the public from AI-related criminal activity.

ANALYSIS: Nic Pole, one of the authors of the College of Policing's recent Future Operating Environment 2040 report, explores the concept of 'futures thinking' as well as some of the key challenges and opportunities for UK policing over the next 20 years – and how the service will need to prepare for them.

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: Ian Stevenson, Chair of the Online Safety Technology Industry Association (OSTIA) and CEO of Cyan Forensics, outlines the ever-increasing challenge facing police digital forensic teams targeting issues such as online child sexual abuse, and highlights the opportunities for transformational change by utilising new technology to tackle such crimes.

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.

OPINION: Adrian Timberlake, Chief Technical Officer at Seven Technologies Group, explains how new technology and the improved use of data could help police to prevent and reduce knife crime.

OPINION: UK police forces are under constant pressure to deliver more services with limited resources. IBM Services Associate Partner Luke Mundy explores how augmenting existing human resource with a digital, automated workforce could increase capacity, freeing up officers and staff to concentrate on nuanced, skilled, high-value tasks.

OPINION: With the Coronavirus dramatically accelerating discussions around digitising police legacy systems, Ben Austen of technology consultancy Tisski outlines some of the main benefits – for both the police and the public – of improving cloud-based digital evidence and forensic case management systems.

INNOVATION: Big data can provide powerful insights into policing and improve performance, but getting it wrong leads to unreliable conclusions and poor policies. In the first of two articles, Professor Tom Kirchmaier, Director of Policing and Crime at the London School of Economics, outlines his team's work with British policing and some of the important principles of using big data.

Opinion: With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the increase, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses the progress of the ROXANNE project in discovering criminal networks and identifying their members by capitalising on certain aspect of AI technologies.

Analysis: Police forces must adapt, collaborate and innovate to get ahead of criminals, according to INTERPOL. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth examines how INTERPOL is helping law enforcement to embrace innovation to keep communities safe.

Opinion: The lockdown has led forces to re-evaluate how they use technology to support their operations with some innovative results. Director at technology consultancy Tisski Ben Austen explores how having an integrated technology platform at the heart of policing will enable forces to continue to innovate.

Opinion: Data is the 'oxygen' of decision-making and is potentially at its most powerful when it integrated with other data. Former Deputy Chief Constable and now strategic adviser on digital policing transformation Paul Kennedy and Managing Director of Microsoft software development company Black Marble Robert Hogg explore how forces can better integrate their data sets to improve outcomes.

Opinion: Technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) has incredible potential in the fight against knife crime, but the rate of implementation of AI in policing remains slow, says Jason Sierra, Sales Director of Seven Technologies Group (7TG). Here, he makes the case for the widespread use of AI in policing including helping to tackle knife crime.

ANALYSIS : The violent language of drill music has caused controversy, with police demanding censorship and pursuing injunctions. But do we really understand how drill music is received? Dr. Paul McFarlane (pictured right) and Dr. Bennett Kleinberg (pictured left) from the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London discuss how machine learning and scientific evidence can help the police and policymakers better understand the complexity of the lyrical content of drill music and how it's consumed.

Opinion: Former deputy chief constable and now strategic adviser for digital policing transformation Paul Kennedy and Robert Hogg, Managing Director of Black Marble, a Microsoft software development company, explore the opportunities for and challenges to artificial intelligence in policing.

Analysis: With the use of artificial intelligence in policing on the rise, Karen Richmond, doctoral researcher at the University of Strathclyde examines whether utilising this type of technology in relation to DNA extraction is progress or a step too far.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises the National Digital Policing Strategy 2020-2030 which was officially launched at this year's Police ICT Summit. The Strategy sets out a new digital ambition for UK policing.

Interview: As cyber crime activity continues to rise across Europe, former Chief Inspector of the Croatian Police Jelena Levak explains to Policing Insight the cyber security challenges for policing, and the impact upon law enforcement agencies in Croatia and across the European Member States.

NEWS: The use of Artificial Intelligence in policing has raised concerns in some quarters. With the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation due to publish a new ethical framework for AI in policing in the coming months, its Executive Director Ollie Buckley says public trust will be vital to its success.