Technology and equipment

OPINION: Law enforcement agencies with “good policies” often continue to get bad outcomes; experienced officer Keith F. Lazaron II, who currently serves with the West Kittanning Police Department in Pennsylvania, explains why policy (what an agency sets out as its standard for behavior) almost always loses out to culture (what officers know gets tolerated) – and what good leaders should be doing to ensure policy and culture align more closely.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Entering 2026, multimodal location is emerging as a court ready pillar of digital forensics, while law enforcement faces growing pressure to implement offensive cyber collection capabilities. AI is maturing to amplify analyst efficiency but requires strong governance – even as criminals continue weaponizing it for illicit use. SS8 helps law enforcement adapt to these trends with highly-accurate location intelligence and powerful, real-time data monitoring and analytics.

OPINION: As policing in England and Wales moves towards meeting the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing commitment, former South Wales Police detective Steve Dodd, a subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation and advocate of the community intelligence-led policing methodology (CILPM), explores how the approach can re-establish trust between modern-day policing and communities, and prevent neighbourhood policing from becoming a white elephant.

FEATURE: Recent research into the frontline police responses to domestic abuse incidents involving children highlights the inconsistent and sometimes inadequate service provided by officers to young people, with pressure on time and resources, ‘compassion fatigue’, and a lack of confidence or training in navigating conversations with children among the reasons, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: A new report from the charity JUSTICE into international lessons on the policing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and how these can be applied to the UK has called for the creation of an independent central body to set minimum standards for the use of AI in policing and act as a repository of good practice, in an effort to remove inconsistencies created by the 43-force structure in England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With more than 60 presenters from police forces around the world, November’s Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Police Conference 2025 explored the core question of what matters most in policing; and while artificial intelligence, technology and digital transformation were all high on the agenda, it was clear that the overriding focus was on putting people at the centre of policing.

FEATURE: With 2025 seeing some of the most disruptive cyberattacks in recent history, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explores the likely challenges for the 12 months ahead, and the threats and opportunities posed by the increasing evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) which will trust and resilience becoming key themes in cyber security.

OPINION: Ahead of the publication later this month of his new book on the ongoing roll-out of body-worn cameras, Brandon University’s Professor Christopher J. Schneider explains how research suggests the continuing expansion of the technology is being driven by media coverage and the “new discourse of police reform” focusing on transparency and accountability, rather than evidence of its effectiveness in reducing civilian complaints and police use of force.

FEATURE: As law enforcement around the world prepares to face the challenges of 2026, Editor Keith Potter looks back over the key issues Policing Insight covered in 2025 – from structural reform and the approaches to ongoing and evolving crime threats, to workforce wellbeing, the opportunities from artificial intelligence and new technology, and leadership insights – and how these may affect the next 12 months.

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a four-year strategic plan featuring priorities on public reassurance and code of practice compliance – and which also includes provision for thematic reviews on fingerprints, evidence from body-worn cameras, and retrieving of data from electronic devices – against a backdrop of “exponential growth” in biometrics and databases, and the associated privacy, human-rights, and equality considerations, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A recent report on police performance in England and Wales, published by the Institute for Government, highlights the “ballooning volumes” of digital evidence and more administrative work being undertaken by officers, and the damaging impact on chiefs officers’ ability to set local priorities amid the continuing delays in publishing the plans for police reform, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With UK police forces under growing pressure to increase efficiency and productivity, Darren Nicholas, Assistant Director of Criminal Justice Services at UK social justice charity Cranstoun, looks at the potential for more effective use of out-of-court resolutions – particularly when combined with technology – to save police and criminal justice resources while improving outcomes for offenders and communities.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol’s Innovation Lab on the impact of robotics and unmanned systems on law enforcement highlights the range of new threats posed by technology such as drones and robots generating new types and patterns of crime, as well as the potential for policing to leverage such technology to respond to many of the key criminal challenges, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The recent maiden public speech from the new Chief of MI6, Blaise Metreweli – the first female head of the Service – highlighted the challenges around state actors operating in the ‘grey zone’ to pose a risk to the UK’s security and stability; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the nature of those threats, including drones and cyber-attacks, and the role MI6 and policing will need to play in countering them.

INTERVIEW: Having recently taken up his new role as CEO of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), Carl McLennan spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the importance of sharing and collaboration at regional, national and international levels, the threats and opportunities presented by new technology, and the need to ensure that the frontline are fully engaged with new developments and innovative thinking.

FEATURE: A new report from the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme which analyses the latest figures around child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in the UK highlights a 6% rise in recorded offences – although under-reporting of CSAE is still regarded as a major concern – with the growth in online platforms, the wider use of AI, and the effects of the cost-of-living crisis among a range of factors contributing to the increase, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: Artificial intelligence (AI) AI is advancing rapidly, but human systems remain slow and often focused on immediate pressures; Odette Meli, former Co-ordinator of the Australian Federal Police’s Strategic Insights Centre, warns that without “leadership uplift and value-aligned governance” AI will amplify organisational weaknesses, and points to how policing in the UK, Australia and New Zealand have structured AI governance as an example of what can be done.

INNOVATION: As forces adopt new approaches to digital evidence, integrating privacy with intelligence tools is proving key to efficiency, prediction, and community trust; Simon Randall, CEO of automatic redaction specialists Pimloc, explores the technology opportunities available to police forces to ensure that privacy and productivity advance hand in hand.

OPINION: With police forces facing crime challenges at national and international levels, the 43-force structure across England and Wales can present a barrier to speedy and effective interventions; NTT DATA UK&I Executive Head of Public Safety and Justice Ian Rimington, Senior Director Brian Cliff, and Director Keith Ward, argue that closer digital collaboration between neighbouring forces would preserve local independence while giving officers the speed, clarity and unity of purpose to face crime that moves without borders.

INNOVATION: An award-winning pilot project launched by the Norwegian Police Service utilises artificial intelligence (AI), assisted reality and automated processes to help crime scene investigators enhance the quality of investigations during the ‘golden hour’, improve outcomes, and reduce costs; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Dr Bente Skattør and Superintendent Kjeld Helland-Hansen about the AI4Interviews project.

INNOVATION: An evidence-based review of Thames Valley Police’s deployment of its Tactical Cycle unit in public order operations is calling on the College of Policing to develop Authorised Professional Practice for the approach, in an effort to encourage other forces in England and Wales to adopt the agile and versatile resource that can also improve public engagement and build trust and confidence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: Automation and digitisation are delivering increased efficiency and other benefits across wider society, and there are significant potential gains for UK policing and the criminal justice system; police and technology advisor Paul Kennedy, and former Detective Inspector Tina Macleod, an out-of-court resolutions (OoCRs) specialist, explore some of the opportunities arising for policing and criminal justice across a range of areas, and take a closer look at how the use of OoCRs could be transformed by the new technology.

INNOVATION: A new film produced to help police and other professionals recognise cuckooing and understand the perspectives of ‘alpha victims’ – young victims who go on to become offenders themselves – is due to be trialled by police forces shortly, as the latest addition to a wider toolkit to help practitioners identify and act on the risks and vulnerabilities around the issue, as Dr Laura Bainbridge, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds, explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A recently foiled plot to assassinate Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is the latest attempt by terrorists to use 3D printers and drones to create potentially deadly weapons to carry out attacks; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at examples of terrorists employing such technology, the availability of components and manuals to undertake such operations, and what can be done to tackle these threats.