FEATURE: Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest opportunities for police researchers and innovators under the Horizon Europe programme, which includes funding specifically to explore the ability to mitigate new threats and to adapt investigation strategies in the ‘Internet of Things’ era.

INTERVIEW: Having had her own battles with anxiety and mental health, Police Scotland’s Sgt Laura Gibson embarked on a Churchill Fellowship study to explore the efforts made by law enforcement agencies in the US to better prepare recruits for the psychological impact of the job, as well as to understand more about why officers do take their own lives – lessons she believes could have real benefits in the UK, as she told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

REPORT LAUNCH: Policing Insight launches a new thematic report – Facing the future: the rise of facial recognition in policing. The report aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about facial recognition; with contributions from 34 expert stakeholders from around the world, we explain the technology and highlight the big debates around its use.

FEATURE: A new report from the Childlight campaign group has highlighted the staggering scale of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) – with estimates that at least 300 million children a year are victims – and has urged governments, health experts and law enforcement to tackle OCSEA as “a global health pandemic”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With 2024 marking the 25th anniversary of the launch of Europol, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the organisation’s efforts to support member states in the fight against key crime threats, and in particular the work of the Innovation Lab in identifying and developing new technologies, and promoting partnerships and regulatory standards.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a two-part series about the modern ransomware threat, Policing Insight’s James Sweetland explores the development and defining features of this complex crime type – including the effect of bitcoin, the potential impact of artificial intelligence, and the role of Russia – drawing on exclusive interviews with the National Crime Agency, the National Cyber Security Centre and other experts.

INNOVATION: An 18-month sleep, fatigue and recovery biometrics pilot programme run in Merseyside Police by the UK’s National Police Wellbeing Service and Liverpool John Moore’s University has received funding to undertake an evaluation of the benefits of wearable technology, with a view to rolling out a toolkit across the service, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The significant health impacts of cybercrime, particularly psychosocial crimes, have a disproportionate negative effect on the wellbeing of women and girls, explains international policing consultant and GLEPHA Fellow Dr Melissa Jardine – and preventing and successfully responding to many of those crimes will take the multi-agency approaches and collective actions already evident in good public health policing.

INNOVATION: With UK police forces working hard and looking at innovative approaches to improve the victim experience and enhance public trust and confidence, Jamie Robinson and Saman Ridha of Capgemini Invent look at the latest digitally-driven communications portals being pioneered by Thames Valley Police and others to create a more effective victim-centric approach.

FEATURE: Environmental crimes such as large-scale dumping, illegal waste sites, and illegal export of waste have become one of the fastest growth areas for organised crime groups; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the scale of the problem, and efforts by countries across Europe to tackle the threat using the latest technologies including artificial intelligence.

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 explores the potential for improving officer safety, wellbeing and performance though the use of AI systems to detect fatigue in police drivers.

FEATURE: With law enforcement agencies around the world looking to make the best use of volunteers, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at a EU new report by a group of research projects which has identified a range of measures to leverage the maximum potential from community volunteers in responding to and recovering from major disasters.

OPINION: The pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses in the US and around the world have prompted fresh debates around policing, public order and people’s right to protest; Jess Reia, Assistant Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia, argues that decisions over what constitutes urban disorder often target the most disadvantaged communities, and that deploying big data under the guise of enforcing public order can backfire.

ANALYSIS: With the ongoing fentanyl crisis claiming hundreds of lives ever day in North America, a new class of synthetic opioids – nitazenes – is causing real concern both in the US and more widely, including the UK, Canada and Australia; former Ottawa Police Service Chief Vernon White takes a closer look at the background to both the growth of fentanyl, the emergence of nitazenes, and the steps countries are taking to tackle the threat.

FEATURE: Interpol Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh has warned that a new international “poly-criminal age” is posing harm to millions around the world, and that while Interpol remains uniquely placed to lead the response, it will require a “global mindset” from law enforcement, government, communities and the private sector to tackle the threat, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

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 explores implications of synthetic identities, how they can be adopted and exploited for criminal use, and the strategies law enforcement needs to put in place to combat them.

INNOVATION: Alongside legitimate and beneficial uses of the internet, the spread of digital hate speech and employing online platforms to harass, threaten, and in some instances encourage real-world violence presents a significant challenge; Police Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest attempts to use artificial intelligence to tackle a large and growing problem.

INTERVIEW: A new report from the UK’s National Rural Crime Network has highlighted the role of organised crime in many of the machinery thefts devastating farming communities; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Northumbria Police Superintendent Andy Huddlestone, head of the National Rural Crime Unit, about the need for better data sharing, more resources, and greater prioritisation by forces to tackle a growing crime trend.

OPINION: Police in Scotland were among the frontrunners on officer safety training and de-escalation techniques, prompted in part by the tragic on-duty murder of PC Lewis Fulton almost 30 years ago; but Michael Greville, a former long-serving officer who played a key role in developing the officer training programme, believes Police Scotland needs to address a significant gap between training and operational application that leaves officers and the public at risk.

INNOVATION: The surge of digital data and evidence has meant that policing is under growing pressure to maximise the opportunities offered by technology, particularly around data sharing; Naomi Bolton, Account Manager for Blue Light Services at Cloud Gateway, examines how police forces can effectively navigate the transition to cloud to enhance their operational capabilities and collaboration.

FEATURE: The Annual Report of Canada’s Edmonton Police Service has highlighted a range of measures including stronger community partnerships, diverting young people away from crime, and a clearer focus on addressing offenders’ “criminogenic risks and needs” as among the key steps to improving public confidence in the Service despite concerning trends on crime and violence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in policing, Chief Philip Lukens explores how AI can enhance and improve the services police provide without cutting workforces, and ensuring there is no damaging impact on public trust and legitimacy.

OPINION: In an opinion piece that sets out to challenge UK policing’s “intellectual and doctrinal confusion”, recently re-elected Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson argues that most of the public “feel abandoned to the intimidatory threats of vocal and shrill minorities”, amid concerns over “risk-averse” policing leadership and a perception that forces are failing to police without fear or favour.