Operational policing

OPINION: Governments and police agencies around the world are looking for the most effective ways to tackle organised crime; Australian law enforcement and security analyst Teagan Westendorf believes the introduction of Magnitsky-style legislation and the use of sanctions against major criminals could be a valuable, targeted law-enforcement tool.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Police are busy, and always being pulled in too many different directions. There’s not much time for learning – or is there? This Rapid-Fire conference, supported by Policing Insight, breaks the mould: viewers get 10-minute training sessions that cut straight to the point, rather than having to sit through an hour-long presentation only to conclude they didn’t really get anything from it.

ANALYSIS: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 announced by the Government last week looks set to change the nature of protests in the UK, while also placing a greater onus on police to consider the noise and disruption impact of public assemblies, says public order specialist and former Chief Superintendent Owen West.

Analysis: Several US security experts say they now consider domestic extremism a greater threat to the country than international terror. Luis De la Calle examines the elements currently present in US society that could produce what he describes as a low-intensity terrorist conflict led by dissatisfied far-right groups who believe further violence is the only way to counter what they see as federal overreach.

INTERVIEW: As the impact of COVID-19 continues to create an environment where organised human trafficking thrives, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth talks to Sophie Kenneally of Agenfor International about the threat from the trade in people across Europe, and how a unique project with police in Germany, Italy and Spain will enhance the capacity of investigators to disrupt trafficking networks through financial analysis.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former police officer and New York City Attorney Aurora Curtis calls for an expansion of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence High-Risk Response Model, which has co-ordinated a multi-agency approach to targeting the men most likely to kill their partners – with dramatic results.

INNOVATION: Intelligent automation is delivering significant savings, greater efficiency and improved job satisfaction for many forces across England and Wales; Christy Hopkins and Andy Willmer of consultancy Deloitte highlight some of the key benefits already realised by this automated addition to the police workforce.

Opinion: Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh, a keen geographer with passion for innovation and collaboration, explores how geospatial data provided by the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) helps protect our communities, and innovate and enable better decision making.

OPINION: New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster was recently accused by one politician of being a ‘wokester’ and out of step with the public for his commitment to policing by consent; but Dr Bethan Greener of Massey University believes the focus on consent and engaging with communities is entirely in line with the fundamental ethos of democratic policing.

OPINION: As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, former police officer Dr Sarah Jane Fox, now a member of the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University, highlights the key role that women already play in policing – and the efforts to address the gender imbalance in police services around the globe, as well as in wider society.

FEATURE: In the first in a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the key issue of 'What is policing?' – including the definitions of high and low policing, the five approaches to understanding police activity, and the inherent tensions between coercion and legitimacy.

Interview: West Midlands Police data ethics committee could see its role expand into a national portfolio building on its success of scrutinising police use of artificial intelligence-led operations and acting as a vehicle to build public trust in new policing techniques. Policing Insight's Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons talked to one of the committee's creators about its work and the teeth it has despite being only an advisory body.

OPINION: With funding for policing and the wider public sector likely to be under significant pressure in the post-Covid economic landscape, resources for roads policing may be severely stretched; Charlie Norman, Managing Director of DriveTech, believes improved partnerships with the private sector could be crucial to maintaining safety on the roads.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Michael Jenkins, Associate Professor at the University of Scranton, argues that a return to policing’s traditional roots will curb disorder and, in turn, build stronger, healthier police-public relations with a shared vision for communities.

FEATURE: Gender diversity in armed policing is under renewed focus at a national level, so it was timely for this topic to be the subject of a @WeCops debate earlier this year: Superintendent Andrea Quinton of the North West Armed Policing Collaboration and DCI Ops Pip Taylor, Tactical Firearms Commander for Sussex and Surrey Police, hosted the debate, and compiled this round-up from the evening’s key comments and questions.

ANALYSIS: Crime networks are laundering the profits from illegal activities such as trafficking in wildlife, timber and people smuggling through casinos; freelance journalist Georgina Kenyon highlights the challenges facing Australia and other countries in tackling the links between serious and organised crime and the gambling industry.

INTERVIEW: Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, has urged forces to invest in training for specialist teams, more financial investigations and closer cross-border working to tackle the huge but often hidden and complex crime of modern slavery and human trafficking.

ANALYSIS: When is it acceptable for off-duty officers and staff to engage in protests – and do they need permission to do so? This article by Dr Hannah Maslen, Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University, and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Paine, Head of Professional Standards at Thames Valley Police – republished from the latest TVP Journal – considers these and other key issues around the rights of officers and staff to engage in public protest.

OPINION: Steve Ainsworth, Director of Operational Safety at Northgate Public Services, believes public concern over the ethical use of AFR is blocking it from being seen as a force for good, and sets his sights on debunking facial recognition technology’s Big Brother image.

Analysis: Hateful extremism must be addressed before it manifests itself as violent extremism – as unfolded in the 2019 Christchurch massacre in New Zealand – argues Professor Greg Barton, whose analysis of the Australian response to extremism calls for groups espousing hate that do not reach the threshold of criminality to be tackled, and new ways for police to record complaints that capture hate motivations.

FEATURE: There is growing evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are responsible for many negatives outcomes in adult life, including issues such as violent behaviour and drug addiction; and as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports, the failure to address ACEs early can cost society billions of pounds in the long term.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former Baltimore City Police Deputy Commissioner Tony Barksdale highlights the urgent need for policing to be able to confront the violence that is devastating some of the most vulnerable sections of the community.

ANALYSIS: A wide range of measures were introduced across the criminal justice system in the UK to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, including greater use of remote legal advice for those in police custody; but as Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice explains, a new report highlights both the lack of meaningful monitoring of such measures, and their potential to compromise justice and jeopardise fairness.

FEATURE: The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) has launched the Trouble with the Law campaign, urging police and crime commissioner candidates to make an election commitment to protect and empower care-experienced children and young people; Joshua Williams, NYAS Public Affairs Officer and Jennifer Downie, NYAS Policy and Research Officer, explain why it’s important to keep care-experienced young people out of the criminal justice system.