INNOVATION: Immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality are increasingly important in society, as well as transforming how police forces train, adapt, and respond to challenges; Wrexham University Professional Policing Lecturer Darren Jacks – a former police officer with 30 years of experience – believes higher education institutions have a vital role to play in partnering with police to leverage the maximum benefits from these new technologies.

OPINION: The Australian Federal Police’s recent Operation Kraken targeted organised criminals who were using the Ghost encrypted app, and among those arrested was a senior syndicate member believed to have run a disinformation campaign; Dr John Coyne and Justin Bassi of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) warn that, with the demand for disinformation activities growing, the threat posed by fee-for-service organised criminals needs to be addressed.

FEATURE: Speaking at an international workshop hosted by the University of Gothenburg and CRISP, Research Fellow Amir Cahane of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem warned that Israel Police engage in “a disturbing pattern of acquire first and ask questions later” when deploying domestic AI surveillance tools – with “a lack of legal constraints” meaning that court battles over individual cases play an outsized role, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

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INTERVIEW: With almost half of police forces in England and Wales having adopted and implemented the Operation Soteria model to tackle rape and serious sexual offences, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to City University of London Professor Katrin Hohl and Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Sarah Crew about the continuing roll out of the programme, the expansion of the approach to address domestic abuse, and concerns that an end to funding could threaten the progress already made.

OPINION: New figures have revealed that drug-related deaths in England and Wales have reached record levels, with a significant increase in deaths linked to cocaine use among the worrying figures; Ian Hamilton, Honorary Fellow (Associate Professor) at the University of York, and Professor Harry Sumnall of Liverpool John Moores University, explore the possible reasons behind the latest data, and consider what can be done to address the challenges.

INNOVATION: With artificial intelligence (AI) advances hailed widely as a huge opportunity for law enforcement, police now face the challenge of identifying effective AI systems from those that don’t do the job; University of Cambridge PhD candidate Jacob John Verrey, and Chief Inspector Lewis Lincoln-Gordon of the National Police Chiefs’ Council AI Portfolio, argue that adapting and implementing the ‘snake oil filter’ approach used in medicine could offer policing an efficient process for assessing and deploying the right technology.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a two-part series marking the 30th anniversary of the police use of TASER, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the current less-lethal weapons marketplace – dominated in the UK by TASER – and looks at concerns about monopoly supply, whether competition is crucial to driving efficiency and technology, and what the less-lethal alternatives could be, drawing on interviews with NPCC less-lethal weapons lead Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, and others.

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FEATURE: After a 12-month pilot which saw more than 100 high-risk missing persons and lost bush walkers located and brought to safety, New South Wales Police is rolling out its BluLink web-based media platform across the force, with the aim of using capabilities such as GPS location services, live streaming, evidence uploads and chat functions to enable officers to work smarter rather than harder, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: The latest report on the efforts of police forces in England and Wales to tackle antisocial behaviour has highlighted the need for more consistent resourcing for neighbourhood teams, better training for officers, and the need for improved IT and stronger partnerships to enhance data sharing with other agencies, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a series of five articles looking at the big debates in police use of facial recognition (FR) – extracted from this year’s ‘Facing the future: The rise of facial recognition in policing’ report – Policing Insight spoke to senior officers, academics and technical experts to explore concerns around bias and accuracy, a subject central to the facial recognition debate and a common reason for some people’s opposition to police use of this technology.

OPINION: Forensic science plays a key role in solving crimes as well as overturning wrongful convictions, but recent studies suggest public trust in forensic science is declining for a range of reasons; University of the West of England Forensic Science Lecturer Dr Emmanuel Nsiah Amoako, who is part of a research project examining (dis)trust in forensic science, believes a “collaborative effort” from policing and scientists to listen and address public concerns will be essential if that lost trust is to be regained.

FEATURE: With all police forces facing budget constraints, improving efficiencies and ensuring value for money are constant drivers; Mark Dewell, SVP at business software firm OneAdvanced, explains how working with West Mercia Police to bring staff uniform procurement in-house has resulted in costs savings, improved service, and greater DEI support for the workforce.

FEATURE: The EU’s Terrorist Content Online Regulation came into effect in June 2022, and included a requirement for media platforms and host service providers (HSPs) to take down terrorist content within an hour of receiving a removal order from a ‘competent authority’; but a new report suggests that a lack of technical expertise and awareness leaves many smaller HSPs struggling to comply with the Regulation, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

ANALYSIS: In the first of a two-part feature marking the 30th anniversary of police use of TASER, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the global growth of this tool, what it offers policing, and concerns about racial disproportionality and use in mental health incidents – drawing on interviews with National Police Chiefs’ Council less-lethal weapons lead Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, and others.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens compares and contrasts the use of AI drones as patrol tools and first responders with the traditional role of patrol cars, and explores the key issues around privacy, accountability and oversight.

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INTERVIEW: Policing Insight’s recent ‘Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing’ report drew on 34 interviews with operational leaders and experts to examine how police use facial recognition (FR) around the world, and the key debates about the technology; as part of that project, James Sweetland interviewed Dr Nessa Lynch, Matheson Lecturer in Law, Innovation and Technology at University College Cork, about the risk and regulation of FR – and in this article, we share more from that insightful conversation.

INNOVATION: Social media contacts with police forces soared during the disorder in England and Northern Ireland in the summer of 2024; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass looks at the role digi desks played during the crisis, and examines how useful they are for day-to-day operations.

OPINION: A series of recent high-profile stabbing incidents in Australia has prompted increased concerns from communities and calls for politicians to act against knife crime; but Macquarie University lecturers Dr Vince Hurley and Dr Alex Simpson argue that, despite public fears, when it comes to knife crime Australia compares favourably with countries such as the UK and Canada.

ANALYSIS: In the second of two articles on the community intelligence-led policing methodology (CILPM), Steve Dodd, a former South Wales Police detective and College of Policing subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation, looks at how CILPM can help to tackle some of the existing key policing challenges, and why the current focus on community and neighbourhood policing make it the ideal time to adopt the new methodology.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol sets out how artificial intelligence (AI) could “significantly transform policing”, with tools such as generative AI offering a “treasure trove of possibilities” for law enforcement; but the report also highlights the profound risks around AI systems embedding “longstanding societal biases”, and the important restrictions coming into force via the landmark EU AI Act passed earlier this year, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports. 

INTERVIEW: As the new Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), ex-Home Office official Rachel Watson is heading up a body that’s constantly in the headlines; in an interview with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, she explained the IOPC’s aim to be “really radical in speeding up parts of its investigations”, why a funding boost’s needed to mitigate a 34% real-terms budget cut, and why it’s “healthy” that the watchdog “won’t always agree with policing”.