Police forces - Asia

INTERVIEW: The Chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce – the organisation now consisting of 15 law enforcement agencies tackling online child sexual exploitation – passed from the UK’s National Crime Agency to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in November; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to AFP Commander Helen Schneider about the goals for the Taskforce over the next three years, and why identifying AI deepfakes and protecting the wellbeing of police investigators will be among the priorities.

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REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

FEATURE: In January the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the sixth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on policing key populations.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the fifth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on a range of programmes tackling violence against women and girls.

ANALYSIS: This month the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including violence prevention, mental health, and policing marginalised communities; in the first in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on diversion, defection and referral programmes, including examples from the UK, US, South Africa, Italy, Vietnam, Belarus and Ukraine.

ANALYSIS: A new report by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab has highlighted the link between climate change and human trafficking as families look to migrate from threatened environments or place children in forced marriages to alleviate debt; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at the key points in the report, and spoke to Dame Sara Thornton, former UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner and now Professor of Practice in Modern Slavery Policy at the Rights Lab, about its findings.

ANALYSIS: The recent change of Prime Minister in Vanuatu comes after a period of political crisis during which China sent officers and equipment to strengthen the Pacific island’s police force; John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes its crucial that Australia and New Zealand return to working with others across the Pacific to support law enforcement in the islands, and prevent a slide into the undemocratic policing model favoured by Beijing.

FEATURE: Law enforcement globally faces similar challenges around officers numbers, diversity and community engagement, yet the crucial contribution of policing volunteers – and the relatively untapped potential – is often overlooked; Dr Iain Britton of the University of Northampton’s Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice reports on recent global gatherings of volunteer policing leaders and academics in the UK, and plans to improve the international sharing of evidence and best practice.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s workshop on the use and abuse of technology in relation to human trafficking, Temporary Chief Inspector Mark O’Donoghue, who helped to create and deliver human trafficking training to police in Vietnam, spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the importance of international collaboration, tackling upstream crime to prevent downstream harm, and the UK’s role in sharing tech investigation expertise.

FEATURE: This week sees a unique workshop focusing on cyber policing challenges hosted by India’s National Forensic Sciences University, with input, expertise and best practice shared by the UK’s London Policing College and the Royal Thai Police Cadet Academy, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: As Kazakhstan prepares to celebrate 30 years of independence, Alexei Kalaychidi, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Major General of the Police, explains the efforts the country has made to transform policing through targeting corruption, building public trust and confidence, and enhancing the quality of public service delivery.

FEATURE: A unique collaboration between the UK’s Joint International Policing Hub (JIPH) and the People’s Police Academy in Vietnam has led to a lasting legacy for Vietnamese police training in tackling human trafficking; DI Mark O’Donoghue of the JIPH spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about the project.

Opinion: The arrest of one of the world’s most wanted alleged drugs lords has sparked debate around strategies to best tackle organised crime and minimise the harm caused to communities; Dr John Coyne, Head of Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, explains the need for a more nuanced approach, rather than simply decapitating OC groups.

Analysis: As the world comes to terms with the impact of Covid-19, Professor Karl Roberts, Professor Alex Broadbent and Professor Benjamin Smart examine how some African countries have policed the lockdown.

Analysis: As police services across the globe play a vital role in helping to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Dr Zoha Waseem, Research Fellow at the Institute for Global City Policing at UCL, examines the reasons for the 'hard policing' approach taken in some South Asian countries and the growing need to adopt more a compassionate, community-orientated policing response.

Analysis: As the Hong Kong demonstrations continue unabated, Military Historian and independent consultant Dr Jill Russell examines the historical context for the current disorder and the wider challenges of policing political protests.