Police forces

INNOVATION: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in policing and the criminal justice system is gathering pace, and is being presented by some as ‘miracle tonic’; ahead of this week’s Beyond Bureaucracy 2026 free online conference exploring practical examples of what AI is working in the criminal justice system (and what’s not), Tamara Polajnar, CEO of event hosts herEthical AI, sets out some key points around AI fallacies, practical frameworks for development and procurement, and a checklist of questions to pose to vendors.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Australian Institute of Criminology will be hosting the AIC 2026 Conference on 17-18 March 2026. The theme of this year’s conference will be Transnational Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC) and the aim of the event is to present the latest research on TSOC and how this can be applied to policy and practice.

OPINION: In the wake of the recent controversy around West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa, a move which eventually led to the retirement of the force’s beleaguered Chief Constable Craig Guildford, former chief superintendent and policing lecturer Owen West, who specialised in crowd policing throughout his career, argues that the case highlights the paucity of good intelligence around football policing, and calls for a review of this major policing function.

ANALYSIS: With the significant surge in the demand for cocaine over the past decade, drug traffickers have needed to find ways to launder huge sums of money; Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Senior Lecturer Pierre-Charles Pradier explores the traditional processes for criminals to launder their cash, and how the development of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has prevented new challenges in the fight against organised crime.

FEATURE: Following the publication this week of the police reform proposals for England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at how community and neighbourhood policing can remain a key focus for law enforcement throughout restructuring processes, and how similar reforms in The Netherlands and the work of the European KOBAN project can provide insights for UK policing.

FEATURE: The UK Government’s long-awaited white paper on police reform in England and Wales, published today, sets out proposals for the creation of a new National Police Service with responsibility for serious and organised crime, counter-terrorism and setting national standards, a move away from the 43-force model to fewer regional forces, the introduction of a ‘licence to practise’ for officers, and powers for the Home Secretary to sack under-preforming chief constables, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

FEATURE: Legislation that lets people learn about their partners’ abuse histories has been introduced in a number of countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but the schemes have mixed results globally; while some struggle with resources and bureaucracy, others, such as South Australia’s successful scheme, achieve high victim satisfaction through specialist support, and are heralded as life-saving.

Australia Day Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise the policing recipients of the 2026 Australia Day Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service and contribution to their communities.

FEATURE: The 2025 mid-year performance assessment of Ireland’s An Garda Síochána, published by the Policing and Community Safety Authority, praises the force’s efforts on enhancing recruitment processes, building public confidence, and seizing drugs and weapons; but the report also raises concerns over the force’s ability to tackle cybercrime, and the ongoing lack of an effective performance management system, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With the UK Government’s police reform white paper finally emerging, police leadership is once again due to come under the spotlight; police ethics advisor Montell Neufville, and Kimberley C. Lamb, Director of Legitimacy and Public Service for Bedfordshire Police, set out why this opportunity to create a new leadership model for policing, widen the talent pool, and introduce diverse, standardised, independent selection panels, could strengthen leadership legitimacy and professionalism while building greater public and internal trust.

ANALYSIS: As UK policing continues to wait expectantly for a new white paper, in the second of two articles on police reform organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson takes a closer look at other elements of the ‘Performance Paradox’ – including the technology trap, and the case for national capability – and sets out 10 provocations to challenge conventional reform thinking, in the hope that policing achieve real and sustainable change for victims and officers.

FEATURE: The latest report from Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre is warning that criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling and people trafficking are now more agile than ever and operate in scalable, structured, global networks, with the exploitation of digital tools and social media alongside a growing willingness to use violence all increasingly parts of the criminals’ armoury, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The recently published Metropolitan Police report into vetting failures highlights a wider potential “perfect storm” for good officers, warns former police superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an author and terrorism expert, as the dangers of working alongside colleagues who should not be in the service, the risks of corruption, and a lack of strong leadership leave them doing an increasingly difficult job in the face of growing hostility from the public.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Retrospective Facial Recognition has become an essential investigative technology for law enforcement and government agencies. But how will systems keep pace over the next few years to deal with the ever-increasing quantity of data sources and the use of technology modify or hide identities?

ANALYSIS: Policing in the UK is currently waiting expectantly for the soon-to-be-published police reform white paper; in the first of a two-part article on reform – and why bigger isn’t better, culture trumps structure, and technology won’t save us without transformation – organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson explores the performance myths that need to be dispelled, the real story from the PEEL assessment data, and why Positive Deviance methodology could be crucial for police reform.

LONG READ: With policing facing both growing demand and increasingly complex challenges, the role of leadership has never been more crucial; in this long-read article that draws on his own PhD thesis, Dr Aksar Bashir of the Force Contact Training Academy at West Midlands Police explores the concept of IDEA leadership – which fuses inspirational, distributed, ethical, and authentic leadership – as the ideal approach to equip the next generation of police leaders.

OPINION: The controversial killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis has prompted widespread criticism after it was confirmed the 37-year-old mother was shot in her car; Penn State University Assistant Professor Ben Jones highlights that the tactic of shooting at suspects in moving vehicles has been prohibited in use-of-force policies adopted by many US police forces – both to prioritize the protection of human life, and for the safety of officers themselves.

FEATURE: A recent Coalition for Canadian Police Reform report and webinar highlighted the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in relation to “system racism” in policing that is “not only historical but ongoing”, and called for the creation of a National Centre for Policing Excellence in an effort to advance reconciliation and improve trust between policing and communities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: A new report from the charity JUSTICE into international lessons on the policing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how these can be applied to the UK has called for the creation of an independent central body to set minimum standards for the use of AI in policing and act as a repository of good practice, in an effort to remove inconsistencies created by the 43-force structure in England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With more than 60 presenters from police forces around the world, November’s Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Police Conference 2025 explored the core question of what matters most in policing; and while artificial intelligence, technology and digital transformation were all high on the agenda, it was clear that the overriding focus was on putting people at the centre of policing.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The 24/7, independent and confidential Mental Health Crisis Line is available to everyone in policing who is experiencing a mental health crisis, including suicidal thoughts. Created by Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), the line has made and received more than 200 calls since it went live in July.

FEATURE: Two recent reports into group based child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in the UK – one by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the other by the Hydrant Programme – have highlighted a lack of data around CSAE, the need for more consistency around understanding and identification of crimes, and the importance of a “robust national solution” to tackling CSAE, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Policing stands at a pivotal moment in tackling domestic abuse, demanding better alignment, data, culture and technology to protect victims, prevent harm, and drive a smarter, evidence-led systemwide response. Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) Director, introduce the Policing Insight thematic report, ‘Evolving police responses to domestic abuse’.

FEATURE: As law enforcement around the world prepares to face the challenges of 2026, Editor Keith Potter looks back over the key issues Policing Insight covered in 2025 – from structural reform and the approaches to ongoing and evolving crime threats, to workforce wellbeing, the opportunities from artificial intelligence and new technology, and leadership insights – and how these may affect the next 12 months.