Technology and equipment

INNOVATION: A new set of simple digital tools used to arrange police interviews and organise officer appearances in court are now being rolled out to forces across England and Wales by the Police Digital Service; although still in the early stages, it’s been estimated that the Video Enabled Policing programme could save more than £60m a year and free officers up to handle more complex tasks, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Disinformation campaigns can impact on citizens’ health, environment and security, potentially provoking community tensions and violence; now a new EU initiative is bringing together academic, industrial and media partners from across Europe, as well as the latest artificial intelligence tools, to tackle the dangerous threat of digital disinformation, as Policing Insights’ Andrew Staniforth reports.

ANALYSIS: Drones are proving an increasingly popular tool in the armoury of police, public sector and military organisations – as well as in the hands of criminals and terrorists; but new research from Germany has highlighted software faults in drones produced by the dominant market manufacturer which could leave the machines open to hi-jack and operators locatable and at risk, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: “We’re now seeing cases move in hours instead of weeks and months.” Axon is accelerating justice as Scotland’s Digital Evidence Sharing Capability system will now allow police, lawyers & courts access to a unified database nationally, reducing burdens on victims and freeing up officer time to focus on frontline police work.

OPINION: This year’s International Women’s Day has a clear focus on driving gender equality through innovation and technology change; Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester explains that while considerable progress has been made on gender equality in policing, much more needs to be done both in law enforcement and in society more widely to keep women safe and provide the same access and opportunities as men.

FEATURE: As specialists and stakeholders from the UK public safety communications sector gather for this week’s BAPCO annual conference and exhibition, PoliceBox CEO Simon Hall highlights the importance of interoperability in police IT systems, and explores whether ‘Integration Platform as a Service’ products could finally provide the solution to greater co-operation and collaboration.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: For over 30 years policing has followed a model of ‘siloed’ digital solutions, with frontline staff reliant on a variety of products from multiple vendors. Today’s connected officer can now tap into a huge range of apps and information via a single integrated interface on their mobile device. In the first in a series of articles, Ian Williams outlines the workflow efficiency benefits of Motorola Solutions’ Pronto digital policing platform.

FEATURE: Sexual harassment and sexual assault are worryingly common features of the night-time economy for many women and girls; now a novel policing tactic being utilised by Thames Valley Police, codenamed Project Vigilant, is seeking to address the problem with a preventative approach that exploits the unique talents of ‘super recognisers’, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INNOVATION: A 12-month trial which allows officers from Queensland Police Service to use body-worn cameras to record interviews with domestic violence victims that can then be used as evidence-in-chief has been hailed a success for reducing the trauma experienced by victim-survivors and enabling officers to re-invest more time providing support, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: In his latest annual report the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC) – who regulates the way police use biometrics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – challenges how policing is deploying facial recognition; a separate survey by the Office of the BSCC also raises major concerns that policing is “shot through” with Chinese surveillance tech, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Learn how Cumbria Constabulary empowers their force to reduce costs and boost efficiency with Axon technologies. By collecting and managing evidence with digital tools, Cumbria officers are better able to focus on what brought them to the force to begin with – being in the community.

FEATURE: Against the backdrop of the public outcry over police criminality and misconduct, Psychologist Dr Heather Taylor argues that the key to reducing the risk of problematic workforce behaviours lies as much in the hands of thoughtful leadership and effective HR management as it does in a powerful culture of vetting checks and professional standards enforcement.

FEATURE: New research suggests that by 2026, one in every four people will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse to work, study, shop and socialise; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at what this will mean for law enforcement, and how organisations such as INTERPOL are playing a key role in preparing policing for a very different beat.

FEATURE: The theft of livestock is a serious and growing problem in Australia, with large-scale and sophisticated thefts are being reported with increasing frequency; Kyle J D Mulrooney and Alistair Harkness, Co-directors of the Centre for Rural Criminology at the University of New England, explore the scale of the problem as well as highlighting new technologies which could help to tackle the challenge.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: In two weeks, the Dubai Police will host the second edition of the World Police Summit, the world’s most influential gathering of law enforcement officials, security experts, and decision makers. The Summit will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 7-9 March 2023, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

FEATURE: Covid-19 had a considerable impact on a wide range of criminal activity, including dramatically changing the terrorism landscape; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the research around how the pandemic pushed terrorist activity increasingly online, the way in which extremist organisations continue to exploit online platforms, and the regulatory reforms intended to tackle that threat.

OPINION: The use of police body camera footage and surveillance video has proved crucial in prosecuting many court cases and highlighting criminal activity – including the recent death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis – but video evidence expert, Assistant Professor Sandra Ristovska, believes the way such videos are presented can have a significant impact on a jury’s perception of a case.

FEATURE: After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of collaboration, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: Five US police officers charged with the murder of Tyre Nichols were part of an elite Memphis PD crime suppression unit; University of South Carolina Professors Ian T. Adams and Seth Stoughton believe that such specialist units set up to aggressively target crime fighting have a problematic history, often becoming another source of violence in already victimized communities.

LONG READ: Despite four decades of recognition of the challenges a policing career poses to officers’ mental health and wellbeing, police organisations still seem to struggle to deliver an effective response for their workforce; new research by Policing Insight’s Dr Alan Beckley and colleagues at the University of Technology Sydney highlights the nature and scale of those challenges, and will explore what interventions work best.

FEATURE: With terrorism increasingly evolving online, the need for effective partnerships between police and the tech industry has never been stronger; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at new research which highlights the progressive, co-operative and collaborative partnerships between law enforcement and the private sector to tackle the online terror threat.

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 Sheelagh Brady, Co-founder and Chief Security Analyst at SAR Consultancy, about hooliganism in the West Balkans, working for the UN in Nigeria, and the need to understand the motivation of organised criminals.

ANALYSIS: Predictive hotspot policing has been heralded by some as the way to do more with less and secure better outcomes, but others have questioned its effectiveness and the dangers of reinforcing bias; Criminology Lecturer Dr Daniel Marciniak, a key speaker at the recent Policing in the Age of the Machine conference, looks at the learning from existing research into predictive policing, and where the approach goes from here.

INNOVATION: With terrorism moving increasingly online, the use of steganography – embedding potentially dangerous data inside seemingly innocent files – is becoming a growing concern for law enforcement; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at this new technology being adopted by terrorist organisations, and the efforts being made to counter their activity.