Report Watch: Europol – How criminals profit from the Covid-19 pandemic
Crime and the pandemic
Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Europol on how criminals are profiteering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Opinion: Figures show 64 per cent of short-term prisoners in the UK re-offend. Director of Operational Safety at Northgate Public Services Steve Ainsworth examines how better information sharing between the police and the probation service has the power to reduce re-offending rates and make communities safer.
INTERVIEW: As the government seeks to implement new anti-terror emergency measures to prevent the early release of convicted terrorists, Professor Emeritus Clive Walker, international terrorism expert and senior special adviser to the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, tells Policing Insight about the complex challenges around convicted terrorists and suspects.
ANALYSIS: As law enforcement across the world adjusts to policing the pandemic, Associate Professor Terry Goldsworthy and Assistant Professor Robyn Lincoln from Bond University explore the role the Australian police forces play in managing this crisis.
Opinion: In her most recent blog, director of Transform Justice Penelope Gibbs considers the issue of police custody for adults who have been arrested and detained and offers suggestions on how to keep this to a minimum during the Covid-19 crisis.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: An operation led by Dubai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Unit, which smashed an international smuggling ring and led to the United Arab Emirates’ largest drugs seizure, was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the ninth of twelve articles focusing on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at this innovative and collaborative operation.
Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Policy Exchange: Policing a Pandemic - The challenges of maintaining law and order during the Coronavirus response.
Opinion: A new report highlights that Australia’s illicit drug use is rising. Despite policymakers’ best efforts, the country needs to be honest and open to new ideas, says Dr John Coyne, Head of Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).
Opinion: In his second blog reflecting on his six-year tenure as Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter gives an update on the progress of the National Surveillance Camera Strategy launched in March 2017.
Analysis: In the aftermath of the Streatham terrorist attack, the UK Government announced emergency legislation would be introduced to end the early release of individuals who have committed terror offences. Alan Greene, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham, discusses the Government's decision against the complex backdrop of human rights and retrospective justice.
Analysis: In a series of short blogs, Surveillance Camera Commissioner Tony Porter reflects on the last six years and what the future holds for the world of camera surveillance as his commission comes to an end.
Analysis: Across the globe homicide rates are falling, whilst in the UK they continue to rise. Professor Ian Hamilton, Professor Alex Stevens and Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release, the UK centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law, discuss whether this increase is drug related or due to more complex societal factors.
OPINION: With increased police funding providing opportunities for real change, CIPFA Chief Executive Rob Whiteman CBE argues that policing should be high on the agenda of the forthcoming royal commission on criminal justice system promised by the government.
Announcement: Bernard Rix, CoPaCC Chief Executive and Publisher of Policing Insight, provides details of the Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners (OPCCs) recognised for meeting their statutory requirements on openness and transparency.
OPINION: With the newly-elected government appearing to want to establish a much closer relationship with police chiefs, in particular, Policing Insight's Publisher Bernard Rix asks if Police and Crime Commissioners are in danger of becoming increasingly marginalised and largely symbolic in this re-alignment of the tripartite system?
ANALYSIS: In September last year, the Police Foundation launched the Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales. The Police Foundation's Andy Higgins reflects on the publication last week of the first in a series of Insight Papers that will inform the Strategic Review's deliberations.
OPINION: Dr Felia Allum argues that perhaps a new approach is needed to fight organised crime – one that is less centred around the moment a crime is committed, and takes a wider view of the membership and organisational structures of the groups behind those crimes. Are there lessons to learn from how Italy tackles the mafia?
Opinion: The Streatham terror attack has raised a number of questions and calls for more stringent measures to protect the public. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth argues that it is write to re-examine our approach to terror attacks, but 'knee-jerk' reactions can do more harm than good.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: Wiltshire Police’s role in leading an extraordinary co-ordinated response to the unprecedented 2018 Novichok attacks in Salisbury and Amesbury was recognised as a winner at the recent inaugural World Class Policing Awards sponsored by Accenture. In the sixth of twelve articles focusing on the award-winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at an outstanding multi-agency operation.
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.
Opinion: Despite the Good Friday Agreement, dissident violence still poses a threat to peace in Northern Ireland. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth reminds us of the devastating impact of previous IRA campaigns and the present-day factors that could fuel a resurgence in violence.