INNOVATION: Following on from the recent Beyond Bureaucracy conference on artificial intelligence (AI) in the criminal justice system (CJS), independent policing and technology expert Giles Herdale explores some of the main opportunities and challenges facing police and the CJS in the successful development, adoption and implementation of effective AI technologies.
INTERVIEW: In just over a year, the UK's Police National Computer is set to be replaced by the new Law Enforcement Data Service; Ian Weinfass spoke to those leading on the project for the Home Office and the police service about what the change will mean for officers, what else needs to happen, and the potential implications of not hitting the target date.
INNOVATION: A portal developed in Humberside that allows victims to contact officers in charge of their case for updates rather than tie-up call handlers on force phone lines is also helping to provide a better service, according to those behind the plan; Ian Weinfass spoke to Humberside Police’s Scot Dunn and senior responsible officer for the NPCC’s digital public contact programme, DCC Simon Megicks, about the award-winning initiative.
INNOVATION: A successful pilot project using artificial intelligence to support call handlers answering domestic abuse calls in Humberside Police – which increased both officer and public safety, improved evidence and reduced staff stress – could now be applied to other crime types within the force as well as being scaled up nationally, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.
ANALYSIS: Cityforum’s Transforming Police Public Contact roundtable that took place earlier this year saw representatives from policing, government, academia and industry follow up from the 2023 event to once again debate the key issues around police public contact; this article by Nick Gargan, based on his report of the roundtable, brings together the key contributions and perspectives from the event.
OPINION: UK policing faces a continuing struggle to leverage the maximum effectiveness and efficiency out of the use of new technology, while accommodating concerns around ethics and human rights; Darren Scates, the Met Police Chief Digital Data and Technology Officer, looks at some of the particular challenges around the practical implementation and delivery of innovative technologies, and suggests steps the service could take to improve outcomes.
FEATURE: In a speech at a recent Staffordshire University conference on police leadership, former West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson called for a “simplified” mission for local forces, with some functions and technologies taken out of local level to reduce “wasted money” and make policing fit for the future, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.
INTERVIEW: In this second half of a two-part interview, City of London Police Temporary Commissioner Peter O’Doherty spoke to Policing Insight’s James Sweetland about the challenges posed by fraud and cybercrime, the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and a national approach to new technology, and why the Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach has implications for all forces.
INTERVIEW: In the second part of Policing Insight’s exclusive interview with the new National Police Chiefs’ Council robotic process automation (RPA) lead Gillian Routledge, she spoke to James Sweetland about why she was so keen to take on this role, how she thinks RPA is perceived by those inside policing, and what it takes to actually implement these tools within forces.
FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.
20th October 2023
ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Digital transformation is something of a buzz word in British policing, and the switch to cloud computing is viewed by many as crucial to leveraging the greatest benefits from those transformational opportunities; Ian Holmes, commercial sales manager, and Klaus Dalgaard, business development manager, both of Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division, spoke to Policing Insight about the move towards the cloud and policing’s wider digital transformation journey.
INTERVIEW: With policing at a ‘critical juncture’ on a number of levels, the potential for digitisation and technological transformation to make a positive impact should not underestimated; in the last in a series of features focused on the recent UK Policing Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to Alex Bowen and Owen White of the Police Digital Service about the opportunities to stimulate the future of policing through digital technology.
INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of articles focusing on the recent UK Police Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to Norfolk Deputy Chief Constable Simon Megicks, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Digital Public Contact, about how improved police communications and engagement, increased digital contact channel options, and tailored one-to-one messaging can help to address the decline in public trust and confidence in policing.
INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of articles focusing on last month’s UK Police Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to Dr Nicola Millard, Principal Innovation Partner and BT Business Chief Technology Officer, about the importance of people-centred innovation, the need to recognise ‘easy’ as a driver for technological change, and the potential for mixed reality to transform police responses to major critical incidents.
INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of articles focusing on last month’s UK Police Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to Brent Wild and Dr Steve Conn, IT connectivity and network specialists for Surrey and Sussex police forces, about the challenges around policing connectivity, the potential benefits from improving networks and interoperability, and the importance of understanding user needs in delivering new technology.
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.
ANALYSIS: The rapid expansion of the metaverse will leave police facing a whole new raft of challenges and potential criminality; in the second in a series of articles highlighting key topics and debates from last week’s UK Police Digital Summit, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to technology expert Dr David Nugent about policing the metaverse, the balance between free speech and accountability, and how verified digital identities could help to reduce and detect crime while freeing up police resources.
ANALYSIS: Last week police officers and staff, industry experts and stakeholders gathered in Brighton for the UK Police Digital Summit; in the first in a series of articles highlighting key topics and debates from the two-day event, Policing Insight’s Graham Jarvis spoke to keynote speaker, Police Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Paul Taylor, about facilitating innovation and how forces can collaborate to make the best use of technology.
FEATURE: As police leaders and practitioners, government and industry prepare to gather for this week’s Police Digital Summit, Martyn Underhill, a former police officer and police and crime commissioner who is now a consultant on policing issues, reflects on a similar Cityforum summit from earlier in the summer which focused on the challenges, progress and future potential for the police delivery of digital forensics.
OPINION: Improving system interoperability has been something of a technology holy grail for UK policing, and key to overcoming the frustrations felt by frontline officers as well as operational ineffectiveness and inefficiency; Wayne Parkes, former Chief Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) Officer for the Police Digital Service and now a DDaT policing consultant, believes the wider adoption of Integration Platform-as-a-Service (IPaaS) could be the solution.
INNOVATION: The difficulties in securing evidence – particularly from digital devices – for offences relating to violence against women and girls are often cited as a contributing factor for the worryingly low reporting, detection and conviction rates; police technology advisor Paul Kennedy and technology CEO Simon Franc believe cloud-based ‘software-as-a-service’ platforms which enable victims to upload evidence via an app could improve detection and conviction rates will freeing up police resources.
INNOVATION: Police Futures, a new publication from the UK’s Police Chief Scientific Adviser, moves beyond science fiction to consider how technology will shape policing over the coming decades; in the last of a three-part series exploring the report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland looks at the findings around more advanced technologies – specifically, how neural interfaces might change how policing works in the future.
OPINION: Metropolitan Police Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer Darren Scates recently completed his two-year tenure as Chair of the UK’s National Police Technology Council; in this article he looks back at the significant and rapid changes during that period, and looks ahead at the opportunities for innovation facing policing, both in the short and longer term.
INNOVATION: Police Futures, a new publication from the UK’s Police Chief Scientific Adviser, moves beyond science fiction to consider how technology will shape policing over the coming decades; in the second in a three-part series exploring the report, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland digs deeper into ‘sensing technology’, highlighted as one of the key developments for law enforcement of the future.
