Coronavirus / COVID-19

FEATURE: As the UK hospitality industry emerges from pandemic restrictions there have been widespread reports of a surge in drinks being spiked in clubs and bars, and drinkers even being injected; Associate Professor Lata Gautam of Anglia Ruskin University believes that while a lack of data makes determining the level of spiking difficult, two recent online surveys suggest worryingly high incidence, as well as significant under-reporting.

ANALYSIS: The Institute for Government’s (IfG) recently published Performance Tracker has highlighted the huge pressures faced by the UK’s public services during the pandemic, and policing was no exception; IfG Research Assistant Anoushka Kavanagh looks at the impact of Covid on police performance and activity, as well as the challenges that still remain, and what the latest Spending Review will mean for the service.

OPINION: Against the backdrop of a shaken public confidence in policing following the Sarah Everard murder, the Conservative and Labour parties set out their law and order objectives during the recent conference season; but as Police Foundation Director Rick Muir reports, while politicians fought for the ‘tough on crime’ mantle, it is the largely overlooked shortage in investigative skills that is the real emerging crisis.

FEATURE: The illegal trafficking of wild animals feeds a major global market, and involves a huge range of species; now a new series of briefings on this illicit trade – starting with a focus on live cheetahs and African Elephant ivory – is highlighting the challenges of tackling animal trafficking as well as how routes and markets have responded to COVID-19, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

FEATURE: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshops on International Perspectives of Policing in the Pandemic – the last in a series of workshops ahead of the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Dr Megan O’Neill, Associate Director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, and Professor Jonas Grutzpalk of the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration of North Rhine-Westphalia, discuss the importance of the way COVID-19 is perceived and described by police and public.

INNOVATION: With pressure on police call handlers back up to levels not seen for many years, Steve Little from Frazer-Nash Consultancy assesses the options facing police leaders: either keep recruiting more staff in an ‘arms race’ that they can never win, or follow other sectors and turn to AI solutions that will deliver an automated experience for the citizen.

ANALYSIS: Ahead of tomorrow’s London Policing College workshop on UK Policing Legitimacy – the fourth in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Dr Andy Bain, Associate Professor at Ohio’s University of Mount Union, explores some of the key challenges facing policing that, although highlighted by the pandemic, existed before the arrival of COVID-19 and need addressing.

ANALYSIS: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on UK Policing Legitimacy – the fourth in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rod Jarman, Director of the College, looks at the risks and challenges emerging for policing in a ‘post-pandemic’ world, and assesses what steps need to be taken to maintain police effectiveness and legitimacy.  

INNOVATION: The recent European Police Chiefs Convention was the setting for the first Europol Excellence Awards in Innovation, with a project creating a new tool to target online child sex abuse and a multinational collaboration tackling global malware scooping the prizes; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the two award winners, as well as the wider issue of the importance of innovation in policing.

OPINION: The number of fatal police shootings in Australia reached a record high in 2019-20, against a backdrop of historically low levels of homicide and a general decline in crime; Dr Terry Goldsworthy of Bond University, who spent 28 years as a serving officer in Australia, believes that while policing is an inherently dangerous occupation, forces must avoid adopting an enforcement-only mentality.

FEATURE: While the Met Police’s performance in relation to violence against women, misogyny and sexual abuse have come under close scrutiny and prompted a high-profile inquiry, a project to improve working conditions for women and parents and deliver a cultural change within the force in relation to family friendly employment practices is already reaping rewards, as Policing Insight’s Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Measuring something as complex and disparate as organised crime has always been a challenge, but a new initiative should drastically improve the ability to gauge the influence and impact of global levels of crime, and resilience to it; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at the Global Organised Crime Index.

FEATURE: Within weeks of the introduction of a new agreement ensuring Victoria Police officers in Australia can disengage from work when off duty, the pandemic arrived, and with it one of the few exceptions to the deal; but as The Police Association Victoria Secretary Wayne Gatt explains, officers understand the distinction between “what’s trite and what’s important”, and the spirit of the policy remains in place.

FEATURE: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College UK Preparedness workshop – the second in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Stuart Hyde, the former Chief Constable of Cumbria, highlights the importance of the third sector response (including police charities) to COVID-19, and how that will shape the role of the voluntary sector in responding to future emergencies.

OPINION: Despite more than 12 months of negotiations to agree a bipartisan route for police reform in the US, talks between the Republicans and Democrats formally broke down last month, with no end result in sight; but Professor Thaddeus Johnson and Dr Natasha Johnson of Georgia State University believe that while congressional reform may have been doomed to failure, the federal government could still have a vital role to play in supporting change at a local level.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Marc Jones, Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), is keen for PCCs to play a greater role in improving the criminal justice system for the public; but he’s also concerned that some election candidates may have fuelled public confusion over the role of a PCC and overpromised on what they could deliver, as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.

FEATURE: Ahead of this week’s London Policing College UK Preparedness workshop – the first in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Supt Hannah Wheeler, the National PPE Lead for Operation Talla, explains how her team secured and distributed more than 80 million items of PPE, the steps taken to protect police and public, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on policing.

FEATURE: Although there are early signs that COVID-19 is entering a more manageable stage which could ease the burden on frontline officers, new research suggests the long-term impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing and morale of police officers could far outlast the restrictions themselves, as Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: A proposed pilot scheme to allow football fans to drink alcohol in view of the pitch during some lower league games has been branded “irresponsible” by some senior police officers; but former Chief Superintendent and crowd policing specialist Owen West, now a Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University, believes the “unevidenced” policing narrative lacks coherency, and could leave the service marginalised as reform of the sport moves forward.

OPINION: The murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of a serving Met Police officer has shocked and angered a nation, and prompted a much wider debate about violence against women and girls, misogyny, and the role of policing; author and former Met Police Chief Superintendent John Sutherland shares his thoughts on what this horrific crime means for police officers and society, and where we go from here.

FEATURE: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College Domestic Abuse workshop – the first in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Vicky Lechuga, Manager of Hillingdon Women’s Centre, highlights the pressures created by the pandemic on domestic abuse services and survivors, as well as the opportunities for change during COVID-19 recovery.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Former Lancashire Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, now Service Director of Oscar Kilo, is “passionate” about providing support for officers and staff, and believes the new Police Covenant will improve welfare for those in policing from the moment they join the job until retirement and beyond, as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Tour.

OPINION: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College Domestic Abuse workshop – the first in a series of workshops organised by the College, leading up to the 3rd International Police Education Conference in November – Deisy Carrillo, Project Co-ordinator at Hillingdon Women’s Centre, explores the issues around gender and masculinity which can influence the police response to domestic violence.

ANALYSIS: Policing globally has been at the forefront of encouraging and in many cases enforcing compliance with pandemic lockdowns and legislation – a role which has often brought officers into direct confrontation with COVID-19 conspiracy theorists; Policing and Emergency Management Lecturer Dr Nick Evans of the University of Tasmania looks at the challenges presented by conspiracy theories, and what (if anything) policing could and should do to counteract them.