Artificial Intelligence

RESEARCH: The wealth of CCTV footage recorded in a wide range of public and private settings regularly forms vital evidence in court cases; but a new study of British murder investigations by Professor Fiona Brookman and Research Fellow Helen Jones of the University of South Wales suggests that issues around interpretation, availability and quality of CCTV represent challenges and risks that can make such evidence unreliable and problematic.

INNOVATION: A team from the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region are collaborating with colleagues across Europe to develop an app that uses machine learning to find and block images of child sexual abuse on personal devices – potentially protecting thousands of children while allowing police to target resources on the most persistent and prolific offenders, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INNOVATION: Policing faces some growing challenges around the volume and security of digital, and has been encouraged to migrate to the cloud as part of the UK Government’s Cloud First strategy; but police technology advisor Paul Kennedy, and Kate Steele, UKI Head of Public Services for Lenovo Infrastructure, believe an alternative approach focusing on infrastructure as a service could deliver greater efficiency and security as well as potential cost savings.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are delivering benefits in analysing huge volumes of historic data across both the private and public sector, but their use in real-time situations has been more limited; Hexagon Director Nick Chorley spoke to Policing Insight about the opportunities for greater use to assist live command and control decision making, and the importance of allaying fears over ‘big brother’ approaches and potential bias.

FEATURE: Disinformation campaigns can impact on citizens’ health, environment and security, potentially provoking community tensions and violence; now a new EU initiative is bringing together academic, industrial and media partners from across Europe, as well as the latest artificial intelligence tools, to tackle the dangerous threat of digital disinformation, as Policing Insights’ Andrew Staniforth reports.

OPINION: This year’s International Women’s Day has a clear focus on driving gender equality through innovation and technology change; Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester explains that while considerable progress has been made on gender equality in policing, much more needs to be done both in law enforcement and in society more widely to keep women safe and provide the same access and opportunities as men.

FEATURE: Sexual harassment and sexual assault are worryingly common features of the night-time economy for many women and girls; now a novel policing tactic being utilised by Thames Valley Police, codenamed Project Vigilant, is seeking to address the problem with a preventative approach that exploits the unique talents of ‘super recognisers’, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: In his latest annual report the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC) – who regulates the way police use biometrics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – challenges how policing is deploying facial recognition; a separate survey by the Office of the BSCC also raises major concerns that policing is “shot through” with Chinese surveillance tech, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Predictive hotspot policing has been heralded by some as the way to do more with less and secure better outcomes, but others have questioned its effectiveness and the dangers of reinforcing bias; Criminology Lecturer Dr Daniel Marciniak, a key speaker at the recent Policing in the Age of the Machine conference, looks at the learning from existing research into predictive policing, and where the approach goes from here.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Amid growing demand and tighter budgetary constraints, police and other bluelight services are under increased pressure to do more with less, particularly by making more effective use of technology; Hexagon Director Nick Chorley spoke to Policing Insight about the potential benefits – for service delivery, citizens and staff – of digital transformation, as well as some of the challenges that journey presents.

OPINION: The Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) has been at the forefront of identifying new and ongoing challenges for law enforcement, as well as the tools, techniques and guidance required to enable officers to meet them; ANZPAA CEO Dr Tracey Green outlines some of the key issues policing will be facing over 2023, and how the Agency is working with practitioners, stakeholders and others to deliver solutions.

ANALYSIS: Cybersecurity is a critical part of the delivery of public services, with increasingly sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals using bait attacks and other new techniques to target organisations; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at some of the main cybersecurity threats over the coming year, and what organisations can do to counteract them.

END OF YEAR REVIEW: As 2022 draws to a close, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over some of the key law enforcement themes covered over the past 12 months, the challenges met and opportunities offered, and our continuing commitment to provide a platform for sharing expertise, understanding and best practice throughout 2023.

ANALYSIS: The pandemic presented new challenges for policing across the world, along with valuable lessons around the response; latest research by Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane D Johnson of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL reveals what law enforcement stakeholders thought worked well in relation to Covid-19 (and what didn’t), and how these might shape the response to future threats such as climate change and the technological advances of crime.

INNOVATION: Recent commercial research in the US has highlighted the key role that technology could play in increasing public trust in policing; Kinana Hussain, Vice President of Product Management at Digi International, explains how connectivity solutions can keep law enforcement and first responders safe while increasing trust in the communities they serve.

FEATURE: Despite several examples of terrorist attacks being livestreamed and online games being used to spread extreme propaganda and groom young fanatics, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth warns that the full extent of the terrorist use of the internet remains poorly understood by many frontline practitioners, and a multi-faceted, holistic approach is essential to tackle the threat.

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 Dr Nicholas Gilmour, Financial Crime Advisor, about the changing nature of organised crime, the fact that it is a fluid, global organised phenomenon that is neither static nor predictable, and how the growth of organised crime is out of control.

INNOVATION: As forces across England and Wales strive to hit ambitious recruitment targets, they also face the challenge of new recruits now outnumbering more experienced officers’ Paul Roberts, Head of Product Strategy and Innovation, Public Safety at NEC Software Solutions; believes new technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics could play a vital role in upskilling new recruits as quickly as possible.

ANALYSIS: The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to bring significant changes to policing tools and techniques; Dr Jonathan Jackson and Ronald Winch of Birmingham City University argue that, as legislation lags behind the pace of technological development across society, policing needs to urgently develop and implement ethical and safe systems of governance to protect the model of policing by consent.

INNOVATION: From sexual abuse to modern slavery and county lines, tackling child exploitation is a complex challenge, and one where information sharing, identification and intervention are crucial; Dr Hayley Watson and Stephen Anning of Trilateral Research explain how a new ethical artificial intelligence (AI) platform developed in collaboration with Lincolnshire Police is analysing big data to provide early indicators of those children most vulnerable to potential exploitation.

FEATURE: Yesterday was the final day of the EU’s European Cybersecurity Month, a four-week long initiative of awareness-raising and learning opportunities across Europe; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the current cybersecurity landscape, the potential threats for the public and some of the probable challenges for law enforcement moving forwards.

FEATURE: As the awareness-raising events and learning opportunities as part of the EU’s European Cybersecurity Month begin to draw to a close, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest funded research initiatives designed to promote co-operation and collaboration across the continent, in an effort to enhance cybersecurity and protect the increasing number of crucial connected digital systems and networks.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol has highlighted some of the policing and legislation challenges posed by the emergence of the metaverse, and warned that failing to ‘stay abreast’ of the new technology will leave law enforcement playing catch-up in the same way it has been forced to do with digitally enabled crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: In what are widely recognised as difficult times for policing, new technology could help to transform service delivery and performance, but is still often regarded as a problem rather than an opportunity; Martin Taylor of cloud communications specialists Content Guru believes the successful implementation of that technology – particularly in relation to omnichannel public contact – could achieve real transformative benefits for both police and the public.