OPINION: This month saw the launch of a new UK Code of Ethics by the College of Policing; but former officer and now author and University of Central Lancashire Policing Lecturer Derek Flint believes the revised code is so lengthy and wide ranging that the core messages may well be lost, while also providing barristers or IOPC investigators with a means by which to trip up staff and officers who are trying their level best.

ANALYSIS: Research in Kenya and more widely across Africa has highlighted low public trust in police and a prevailing perception of corruption, and that lack of trust in Kenyan police has been expressed more keenly by those living in urban areas; Professors Kristine Höglund and Emma Elfversson of Uppsala University explore the reasons for the differences between urban and rural communities, the implications for police reform, and what can be done to address the issue.

FEATURE: The police disciplinary processes in New Zealand and the UK have been overhauled in recent months; but despite the reforms, staff associations representing frontline officers in both countries are still voicing strong concerns over the lengthy delays involved in misconduct investigations which – in the worst cases – can leave officers waiting years for allegations to be resolved, significantly impacting both their own health and public confidence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: In recent years – and particularly since the Covid pandemic – the levels of public trust and confidence in policing in the UK have shown a worrying decline; Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher spoke to Prof Ros Searle, an occupational psychologist and specialist in organisational trust, about the challenges facing policing, and what it can do around recruitment and leadership to rebuild that trust and confidence.

OPINION: Stop-and-frisk is a controversial policy in US policing, but formed a key plank of Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker’s campaign manifesto in an effort to tackle gun violence; Arizona State University Professors Michael D White and Henry F Fradella believe stop-and-frisk can be used effectively and without contravening the constitution, if coupled with careful controls and a change in culture and accountability.

ANALYSIS: The consequences of labelling – both for citizens and for police – can be significant, particularly in relation to officers’ own perception of their role as guardians or a ‘warrior mindset’; Matthew Wood, a police constable with Toronto Police Service and part-time professor at the Seneca College School of Public Safety, explores these issues in relation to the ‘grey zone’ of law enforcement, the importance of police discretion, and what steps can be taken to improve policing outcomes.

FEATURE: After a tumultuous week in UK policing – one which saw tensions between the Met and national politicians dominate the headlines, followed by the eventual departure of Home Secretary Suella Braverman – Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley joined the Institute for Government to set out his plans to keep reform of the country’s largest police force on track, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: A new report by a cross-party committee of UK MPs has described the need for policing to “repair its culture” in the face of increasingly complex demands and failures that have damaged confidence in the service as a “turning point for the police”, amid warnings that “marginal changes” will not be enough to improve services and rebuild public trust, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: As legislation that will create a new oversight body to replace the current Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) works its way through the Irish parliamentary process, the current GSOC Chairperson has warned that unless adequate resources and specialists are allocated to the new body it will be unable to effectively deliver its expanded role, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Declining levels of public trust and confidence in policing can be attributed to a wide range of issues, from cuts creating a lack of visibility and overwhelming demand, to high-profile misconduct and serious crimes committed by officers; in the latest in a series of articles focusing on this month’s UK Police Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to Mike Lattanzio, Chair of the National Police Technology Council and Chief Information Officer for the Thames Valley and Hampshire forces, about how technology can help to regain that public trust and confidence.

INTERVIEW: In the final part of our extended interview series with Professor Laurence Sherman, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland sought the views of the Metropolitan Police Chief Scientific Officer on misconduct, making tough choices, and how artificial intelligence and live facial recognition might transform the nation’s largest police force.

OPINION: The idea of a ‘policing culture’ and how it can be improved is a concept that regularly features in research, reviews and the media; University of Derby Policing Lecturer Tom Andrews explores why policing culture – like any other – can be slow to change, and what individual officers can do to help bring about that change.

ANALYSIS: Recent reviews of the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade have described both organisations as ‘institutionally misogynist’; Professor Catherine Durose of the University of Liverpool, and University of Birmingham Professor Emerita Vivien Lowndes, explain how new research on proposals for forces to classify misogyny as a hate crime has highlighted that officers struggle to identify or empathise with female victims of crime, and with the emotional complexities of misogynistic offending.

OPINION: In September 2022, Sir Mark Rowley came back into policing after some time away from the job at the end of a 30-year career, to take up one of the UK’s toughest roles as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, who served in the Met Police for 30 years, looks back over Sir Mark’s first year in post, and delivers an annual appraisal of how well the Commissioner has performed against his stated objectives.

OPINION: A series of high-profile cases involving bullying, harassment and sexual abuse have seen the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the focus of strong criticism; following the most recent case, Adler University Associate Professor Jason Walker believes it is time to abandon the Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) – the body set up to investigate such cases – in favour of more decisive action, both for the RCMP and law enforcement agencies around the world.

OPINION: An arrest earlier this month of an autistic 16-year-old girl by officers in West Yorkshire for a suspected ‘homophobic public order offence’ received widespread attention after her mother posted a video of the incident; University of Hull Policing Degree Programme Director and former officer Mike McKue, and Senior Lecturer in Criminology Dr Meron Wondemaghen, believe more police training in understanding and responding to neurodiversity can improve trust in policing and reduce harm.

ANALYSIS: Defined as an offence committed by insiders (including employees and managers) who abuse their position for personal gain, policing – as with all organisations – suffers instances of insider fraud, but the impact of such crimes can be significant; recent UK research by Dr Rasha Kassem, Senior Lecturer at Aston University, highlights the wide variety of offences – ranging from the sale of data to sexual exploitation and commercial conflicts of interest – and suggests steps that the service can take to tackle the issue.

OPINION: With a combination of municipal, provincial and regional law enforcement, Canada’s policing environment is both complex and in need of national standards; in this first of two articles, Vernon White, former Chief of Police for Ottawa Police Service, and Joe Carlebach, former Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, argue that establishing a college of policing for Canada could help to create those standards while also professionalising the policing role.

OPINION: Footage of the recent arrest of a mother in front of her young son for suspected fare evasion has once again ignited a debate about appropriate policing responses; Dr Meron Wondemaghen, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Hull, believes this and other cases have highlighted the issues of what constitutes social harm, what is a proportionate response, and why a ‘do no harm’ principle should precede any law and order aims.

OPINION: Three years after the death of George Floyd, the latest report by the US Justice Department in to policing in Minneapolis features a raft of worrying findings, including discrimination against Black people and Native Americans, and routine use of excessive force; but Arizona State University Associate Professor Rashad Shabazz believes the report also demonstrates that rather than being an aberration, such misconduct is part of how policing was historically intended to be in the US.

ANALYSIS: The requirement for a degree qualification as part of the professionalisation of UK policing is opposed by the Home Secretary and several chief constables, who argue that academic work is too far removed from operational policing; a study by the University of Portsmouth with student officers has found that problem-based learning has the potential to make academic policing more relevant to student police officers by linking theory with practice, as Lecturer in Policing David Knowles explains.

OPINION: The Independent Centre for Harassment Resolution (ICHR) was set up in 2021 to investigate workplace violence and related misconduct in the RCMP, following a landmark lawsuit that led to a payout of more than $125 million; but University Canada West Associate Professor Dr Jason Walker believes the ICHR is failing in that mission – and that action is needed urgently to rectify the shortcomings, both for the sake of the organisation and the communities it serves.

ANALYSIS: A series of high-profile instances of police misconduct in recent years (including in the US, the UK, Germany and most recently France) are believed to have damaged trust in policing – but to what extent? Post-doctoral researcher Christof Nägel and Associate Professor Amy Nivette used the latest research techniques to examine how police misconduct impacted public trust, and whether the effect was the same across different communities.

OPINION: In a follow-up to an earlier 2019 study highlighting disproportionate police stops of Black, Indigenous and Arab people in Montreal, a report published in June suggests a new non-discriminatory policy has had little impact; Concordia University Associate Professor Ted Rutland believes the city is abdicating its role of overseeing the police on behalf of the population.