Technology and equipment

OPINION: Technological innovation is crucial in enabling digital forensics teams to tackle the growth in devices and data; but the success of innovators relies on police engagement, explains Ian Stevenson, Chair of the Online Safety Technology Industry Association (OSTIA) and CEO of Cyan Forensics.

SUPERINTENDENTS' CONFERENCE: College of Policing CEO Mike Cunningham, and Christine Elliott, Interim Chair of the Board of Directors, outline the latest developments on leadership training, digital advances, and diversity and inclusion.

FEATURE: In our continuing series aimed at supporting the new police degree entry recruits, Policing Insight's Academic Editor Dr Carina O'Reilly outlines a fourth case study of evidence-based policing in practice – this time looking at the promise of technology transforming policing.

SUPERINTENDENTS' CONFERENCE: New legislation around the use of technology in policing would enable forces to have a clear understanding of the parameters, and make much more fair and effective use of systems such as facial recognition, says Met Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House QPM.

ANALYSIS: AUSTRALIA: The wearing of facemasks as a protection against pollution was increasingly common in some countries even before the pandemic, and masks are now commonly worn by protesters to evade identification. Associate Professor Paul Haskell-Dowland of Edith Cowan University examines how facial recognition systems will need to adapt.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Professor Graham Farrell from the University of Leeds, and Dr. Dan Birks from the University of Leeds and The Alan Turing Institute, analyse crime trends both during and post-lockdown and examine the Government's response to these shifting trends.

OPINION: Nathan Bird, UK Policing lead for social media company Hootsuite, believes the changes that policing will need to make as a result of the European Electronic Communications Code – known as ‘Next Generation 999’ – should be seen as a real opportunity to revitalise police engagement and public contact in a digital society.

ANALYSIS: In the wake of the recent sentencing of a far-right terrorist in New Zealand for the horrific Christchurch mosque attacks, Andrew Staniforth looks at efforts in the UK to ensure that places of worship, and those who use them, are protected from hate crimes and the threat of terrorism.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Professor Nick Tilley looks at the damaging impact of fly-tipping, how the coronavirus lockdown is likely to have exacerbated the issue, and the steps that local authorities and others can take to tackle the problem.

OPINION: The challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic have stretched emergency services around the globe in strikingly similar ways; Oscar Bachs, from Barcelona technology company Unblur, describes how innovations such as AI and situational awareness software could be used to enhance the safety and effectiveness of blue light workers.

INNOVATION: A review of Lancashire Constabulary's Force Control Room, which receives more than 1.2 million calls a year, led to the development of an award-winning voice to text system which will significantly improve the force's call handing and service delivery to the public. Project leaders Chief Supt Ian Dawson and Insp Andy Doran explain the background to the project, the actions already completed, and the potential for further advances.

OPINION: Ian Stevenson, Chair of the Online Safety Technology Industry Association (OSTIA) and CEO of Cyan Forensics, outlines the ever-increasing challenge facing police digital forensic teams targeting issues such as online child sexual abuse, and highlights the opportunities for transformational change by utilising new technology to tackle such crimes.

INNOVATION: A new real-time drug analysis system, pioneered by New Zealand Police's Evidence-Based Policing Centre and the NZ Institute of Environmental Science & Research, enables officers to make better decisions in the field; NZ Police Deputy Chief Executive Mark Evans explains how Lumi Drug Scan works.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane Johnson explore the surge in COVID-19-themed bio-assaults – coughing, sneezing and spitting – on key workers and members of the public.

FEATURE: An industry body for security professionals has drawn up a blueprint for the lawful use of facial recognition technology; but, as Sarah Gibbons reports, thousands of leading international academics are warning that the algorithms and data used in such systems inevitably reinforce racial bias and prejudice.

OPINION: As policing by consent and the basis of police interaction with the public are widely debated, Dr Brian Moss of the University of Southampton argues that a hardening of police tactics – such as increased used of CEDs and predictive policing – have been met largely with silence by the UK police inspectorates.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Mariam Elgabry discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the growing problem of bio-crime both in the UK and abroad.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons outlines the findings of the latest report from the Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material, highlighting the need for stronger governance and clarity on the use of biometrics technology.

ANALYSIS: The lack of interoperability between police systems wastes taxpayers’ money and reduces effectiveness, says Coeus Software CEO Simon Hall. So how can police ICT escape from the silos of legacy systems?

INTERVIEW: Peter Prater, Chair of the International Critical Control Rooms Alliance (ICCRA), chaired the inaugural global Control Room Summit in Amsterdam earlier this year. In this interview for Policing Insight, he discusses the changes he has seen in 35 years in control rooms, the potential to learn from other sectors, and the technologies he thinks will shape the future.

Insight: Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth considers how the use of drones to aid police enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic has been received by the general public both within the UK and abroad.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: With children in England expected to fully return to school in September, Dr Mandy Shaw from Leeds Beckett University considers how bullying has continued during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, and how the risk of this can be managed within the school environment.

OPINION: Adrian Timberlake, Chief Technical Officer at Seven Technologies Group, explains how new technology and the improved use of data could help police to prevent and reduce knife crime.

ANALYSIS: In the wake of the National Crime Agency's successful global operation against organised crime, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses how law enforcement agencies are combatting the cartels and whether this is working.