Technology and equipment

FEATURE: The latest report into use of force by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has recommended reconsidering the issuing of firearms to all officers, and restricting the use of Tasers; but the Police Federation has warned that such moves would lead to more officers being attacked and injured, particularly with the continuing terrorist threat, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Amid growing demand and tighter budgetary constraints, police and other bluelight services are under increased pressure to do more with less, particularly by making more effective use of technology; Hexagon Director Nick Chorley spoke to Policing Insight about the potential benefits – for service delivery, citizens and staff – of digital transformation, as well as some of the challenges that journey presents.

ANALYSIS: While significant steps have been taken to improve Police Scotland’s response to domestic abuse, a new thematic review of the issue by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland has highlighted outdated and problematic attitudes to the crime, substantial pressure on resources, and significant delays in securing digital evidence that are hampering that response, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The announcement last week by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that she will be stepping down within the next two weeks caught many of the public – and members of her own party – by surprise; but as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth explains, while Ms Ardern may no longer be holding high office, she will leave a lasting legacy globally in the fight against terrorism and online extremism.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Digital evidence is growing by leaps and bounds, especially with the roll out of new body worn camera systems. But this evidence is not always easily accessible. To address the challenges of managing digital evidence, Lancashire Constabulary adopted a new approach. The force leverages NICE Investigate to make digital evidence from multiple connected systems, including body worn video, readily accessible to officers through a single login and to speed up Lancashire's ability to share video with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

OPINION: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s recently unveiled plan for reform of the force is underpinned throughout by the introduction of “precise community crime-fighting”; Police Foundation Research Director Andy Higgins takes a closer look at what the term will mean in practice, how similar ideas have fared elsewhere, and why unifying neighbourhood and evidenced-based policing approaches could deliver significant benefits.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Front-line police deserve to be protected by equipment that not only protects them, but the public too. TASER technology is one of the most studied, safe and effective means of quickly stopping a threat. In this article, we’ll dig into the research around TASER energy devices and address misconceptions and myths.

ANALYSIS: Public trust in policing is essential in maintaining police legitimacy and effectiveness, and people’s perceptions of police are a valuable indicator of levels of community trust and confidence; Dr Rasha Kassem and Dr Ian Kennedy of the Open University explore some of the factors influencing negative and positive perceptions of policing, many of which were highlighted during a recent University of Oxford public engagement event.

OPINION: The Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) has been at the forefront of identifying new and ongoing challenges for law enforcement, as well as the tools, techniques and guidance required to enable officers to meet them; ANZPAA CEO Dr Tracey Green outlines some of the key issues policing will be facing over 2023, and how the Agency is working with practitioners, stakeholders and others to deliver solutions.

FEATURE: Hot-spot policing is widely regarded as a high-profile success of evidence-based policing; but recent trials in London suggest that cities which are already strongly policed see little impact on crime figures from adopting a hot-spot approach, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The creation of a new Australian cybercrime taskforce following the huge Optus and Medibank data breaches is an encouraging step by government; but Magnet Forensics founder and Chief Technology Officer Jad Saliba, and Vice-President Neil Desai, argue that without a co-ordinated strategy, increased police training and investment in tools and techniques to support it, Australians will still be left vulnerable to further cyber attacks.

ANALYSIS: Cybersecurity is a critical part of the delivery of public services, with increasingly sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals using bait attacks and other new techniques to target organisations; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at some of the main cybersecurity threats over the coming year, and what organisations can do to counteract them.

FEATURE: Data obtained from digital devices is now as essential to modern police investigations as DNA evidence or fingerprints; but a recent a report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services presents a damning assessment of how forces in England and Wales are handling digital forensics, and calls for new governance structures and more funding, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

END OF YEAR REVIEW: As 2022 draws to a close, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over some of the key law enforcement themes covered over the past 12 months, the challenges met and opportunities offered, and our continuing commitment to provide a platform for sharing expertise, understanding and best practice throughout 2023.

ANALYSIS: The pandemic presented new challenges for policing across the world, along with valuable lessons around the response; latest research by Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane D Johnson of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL reveals what law enforcement stakeholders thought worked well in relation to Covid-19 (and what didn’t), and how these might shape the response to future threats such as climate change and the technological advances of crime.

ANALYSIS: New research by Dr Jens Binder of Nottingham Trent University and Dr Chris Baker-Beall of Bournemouth University has found that terrorism radicalisation now takes place predominantly online, and that those recruited without face-to-face interaction are less likely to carry out violent attacks – but there is still a thin line between online only activity and mixed radicalisation processes, so internet extremism must still be taken seriously.

INNOVATION: Recent commercial research in the US has highlighted the key role that technology could play in increasing public trust in policing; Kinana Hussain, Vice President of Product Management at Digi International, explains how connectivity solutions can keep law enforcement and first responders safe while increasing trust in the communities they serve.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The complexity of policing challenges is ever-evolving. In this article, we discuss how we made strides, with your feedback, to strengthen the Axon ecosystem in 2022 to help solve pain points and offer better support for positive policing outcomes.

ANALYSIS: With inspectorate reports highlighting concerns over the use of anti-rip clothing in police custody, the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) recently undertook a pilot project with Dyfed Powys Police to improve the monitoring, recording and risk assessments around the use of such clothing, with a long-term aim of ending the measure altogether, as ICVA Interim Chief Executive Sherry Ralph explains.

FEATURE: Despite several examples of terrorist attacks being livestreamed and online games being used to spread extreme propaganda and groom young fanatics, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth warns that the full extent of the terrorist use of the internet remains poorly understood by many frontline practitioners, and a multi-faceted, holistic approach is essential to tackle the threat.

OPINION: Law enforcement agencies around the world often rely heavily on eyewitness testimony, but unreliable eyewitness evidence is often a contributing factor in miscarriages of justice; Dr Michel Funicelli a Lecturer in Police Studies at Teesside University and a 33-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, believes new technology analysing brainwaves could be a significant asset for policing in assessing the credibility of witnesses.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Ensuring a safe community and supporting victims of crimes are core missions of Merseyside Police. But as digital evidence continued to grow, Merseyside Police’s investigative resources were stretched to the limit. The force found a solution to all of these challenges in NICE Investigate. NICE Investigate collapses Merseyside’s digital evidence silos into a single login, so investigators can do all of their work in one place, and it eliminates long wait times for evidence. Now, cases can be resolved successfully and sooner.

FEATURE: ‘Hybrid’ threats, which aim to exploit a country’s vulnerability by undermining fundamental democratic values and liberties, look set to pose a growing challenge to both society and law enforcement, yet rarely receive a policing focus; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at EU collaborative attempts to address those threats.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: London’s Metropolitan Police Service now shares 600% more digital evidence with the CPS than in initial rollout. Learn how Axon Evidence helps facilitate efficient sharing for faster investigations.