Police forces

ANALYSIS: New research from the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) has found that children are being seriously affected not only by violence itself, but also the fear of violence, with almost two thirds of young people changing their behaviour to protect themselves; YEF Executive Director Jon Yates believes that evidence-based approaches and partnership working can significantly improve the safety and prospects of young people.

INTERVIEW: When the UK Disabled Police Association (DPA) was launched 10 years ago, disability was still not considered a protected characteristic in policing; Supt Simon Nelson, who steps down as President of the DPA after eight years in post when he retires from policing next month, believes the situation has now significantly improved – but as he explained to Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro, there’s still much more to be done.

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: West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Dave Thompson retires next month, after more than 32 years in the service; ahead of his last National Police Chiefs’ Council conference this week, he spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the impact of fresh financial cuts on policing, the importance of chief officers using their voice, and the dangers of policing being used as a ‘football in the culture wars’.

FEATURE: Reporting a crime or seeking help from police can be a challenge for anyone, but for those who have difficulty communicating it can be particularly tough; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Victoria Police and Scope Australia about a new accreditation programme that reassures those with disabilities while ensuring officers have the skills and training to overcome communications challenges.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Cathy Haenlein, Director of Organised Crime and Policing at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), about the work of RUSI’s Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research (SHOC), the effectiveness of financial sanctions on organised crime, and how growing scarcity could be a critical factor in organised crime of the future.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Policing is changing, and nearly every job now has a digital element attached to it. Like most police forces around the world, Nottinghamshire Police is experiencing a massive increase in digital evidence. To provide the best possible service to victims of crime, as well as businesses and communities, Nottinghamshire needed a better way to manage it. NICE Investigate is helping Nottinghamshire modernise its approach, to reduce the risk to victims and become a more efficient and agile force.

ANALYSIS: In the fourth in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the unique opportunity offered by the Uplift recruitment programme to increase diversity, the relatively small change that has resulted, and the more noticeable shift in workforce profile to a service that has become younger and less experienced.

INNOVATION: From sexual abuse to modern slavery and county lines, tackling child exploitation is a complex challenge, and one where information sharing, identification and intervention are crucial; Dr Hayley Watson and Stephen Anning of Trilateral Research explain how a new ethical artificial intelligence (AI) platform developed in collaboration with Lincolnshire Police is analysing big data to provide early indicators of those children most vulnerable to potential exploitation.

FEATURE: New Kenyan President William Ruto has already ordered a police unit suspected of extrajudicial killings to be disbanded; but East Africa crime, justice and policing specialist Professor Naomi van Stapele argues that, far from representing genuine reform, the move simply allows the new leader to bring in his own trusted officers in a country where police killings are systemic.

OPINION: Police officers are regularly expected to use their discretion, policing skills and street craft to achieve the best outcomes for communities and the wider public; but Policing Lecturer and former police sergeant Barrie Archer fears that finding ways to ‘get the job done’ and make a broken system work can lead to noble cause corruption – or worse.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: What should your force expect from a digital evidence management system? Learn how evolving digital evidence management can tame the tidal wave of data and future-proof your organisation.

FEATURE: Yesterday was the final day of the EU’s European Cybersecurity Month, a four-week long initiative of awareness-raising and learning opportunities across Europe; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the current cybersecurity landscape, the potential threats for the public and some of the probable challenges for law enforcement moving forwards.

ANALYSIS: In this third article in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales – and with the Government and current Home Secretary Suella Braverman remaining committed to the Uplift target of 20,000 new police officers by April 2023 – Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at the ‘churn’ of officers joining and leaving the service, the increasing number of resignations, and the marketplace for inter-force transfers, and considers the implications of these factors for the service.

INTERVIEW: The Straits of Gibraltar are a potential illicit gateway between Europe and Africa, but it’s not just drugs and people smugglers keeping the Royal Gibraltar Police Marine Unit busy; in this second in a two-part series on the Unit’s work, Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar spoke to Chief Inspector Sean Perera about the unique challenges of policing the Iberian Peninsula and this incredibly busy stretch of water, where tackling traffickers, counter-terrorism and environmental emergencies are all part of the job.

OPINION: Amid the current UK political chaos, one clearly emerging scenario is that further public spending cuts are now probable, with policing likely to be back in the firing line; Tom Gash, Managing Director of strategy consultancy Leapwise and former Director of Research at the Institute for Government, looks at how policing can navigate this harsh reality, and the current window of opportunity to prepare a case for protection from cuts and drive productivity improvements locally and nationally.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol has highlighted some of the policing and legislation challenges posed by the emergence of the metaverse, and warned that failing to ‘stay abreast’ of the new technology will leave law enforcement playing catch-up in the same way it has been forced to do with digitally enabled crime, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the growing threat from cybercrime, policing is looking to build ever stronger partnerships to mitigate risk and improve learning and understanding; Detective Superintendent Nick Bell, CEO of the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG) and National Policing Director for the Cyber Resilience Centres, reports on the work of the NCRCG and the key themes explored at its inaugural summit earlier this month.

ANALYSIS: In this second article in our latest series focusing on police workforce development in England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at police staff and police community support officer numbers, and the overall resource picture; while the public and politicians focus on the amount of police officers, forces are complex organisations, and overall capacity and capability depends on the combined staffing picture.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the latest in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the new NAViGATORs initiative, a multi-agency collaboration across a consortium of EU member states to support and enhance law enforcement’s digital forensic investigations capability.

INTERVIEW: The Straits of Gibraltar are a potential gateway for drug traffickers between Europe and Morocco, with smugglers able to cross the 14km between Gibraltar and Africa by fast boat in just 15 minutes; narcotics and human trafficking are among the demanding and complex challenges faced every week by Royal Gibraltar Police’s Marine Unit, as Chief Inspector Sean Perera explained to Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar in this first of two articles.

OPINION: The recent publication of Baroness Casey’s interim report into the internal discipline system of the Met Police found not only an apparent failure to address misconduct by some officers, but little faith in the complaints procedure among the officers and staff of the UK’s largest force; Professor Colin Rogers of the University of South Wales believes that adopting an organisational justice approach could be key to meeting those challenges.

FEATURE: While the benefits and negative consequences of the police use of stop and search are frequently debated, the increased use of community scrutiny panels has been put forward as one measure to improve both monitoring and understanding of this policing tool; the panels were the focus of a recent @WeCops Twitter Chat, which has been summarised here by team member and West Mercia Sergeant Kerri Monaghan.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the latest in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the new Cyber Crime Driver project, a collaboration by European law enforcement agencies to understand the factors that determine cybercrime behaviours, especially in young people.