Topical issues

FEATURE: At a time when scrutiny of policing has never been greater, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the European PRECRISIS initiative to tackle insider threats, and how this impacts and influences the vetting and ongoing insider risk safeguarding of police officers and staff.

OPINION: With Canadian homicide rates increasing by 50% over the past 10 years, Carleton University PhD candidate Jeffrey Bradley and Professor Irvin Waller of the University of Ottawa argue that to reverse the trend, newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney will need to follow successful examples from the UK and US and invest significantly in crime prevention and youth outreach programmes.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Law enforcement is taking advantage of the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs.) When combined with intelligence data in the knowledge graphs, the police can query the data using natural language and get accurate, reliable answers due to the nature of graph technology.

INTERVIEW: Merseyside Police’s two-pronged approach of piloting serious violence reduction orders and increasing high-profile uniformed foot patrols as part of a hotspot project has led to a drop in overall crime, and a 50% cut in violent crime in some areas; the force’s Supt Phil Mullally spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about how the two initiatives work together, the opportunities to improve community relations, and why “excellence in the basics” is better than “reinventing the wheel”.

OPINION: With the training schedule for the new Neighbourhood Policing Pathway (NPP) beginning next month, and first measures under the new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee due to be in place across England and Wales in July, former South Wales Police detective Steve Dodd, a subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation, looks at the opportunities and challenges for the NPP, and the role of community intelligence-led policing methodology within it.

FEATURE: A new report on county lines, policing and vulnerability, published by the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre, has highlighted the “postcode lottery” of UK policing approaches and outcomes in relation to viewing young people and vulnerable adults as victims of criminal exploitation, and called for more training, a new national policing strategy on exploitation, and a rethink over the use of the term ‘county lines’, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: A review of public order policing in Ireland published by the Garda Síochána Policing Authority (now the Policing and Community Safety Authority) has highlighted a shortage of officers and training, outdated policies, the need for more support for the frontline from managers, and inconsistency and lack of understanding among senior operational ranks about the role of public order policing, as key concerns that need to be addressed, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With geopolitical changes potentially placing considerable financial pressures on the UN, its role in fighting international organised crime is also under threat; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the current challenges in countering organised crime globally, and what steps could be taken to address the issues.

FEATURE: A new report into artificial intelligence (AI) and online crime, published by the Alan Turing Institute, has warned that UK policing needs to “get serious” about the threat posed by AI or risk a rapidly escalating problem, with calls for a new taskforce to be based in the National Crime Agency to work with national security and industry partners to tackle the threat, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Recent research by Dr Azwihangwisi Judith Mphidi of Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria highlights concerns over the levels of corruption and moral degradation across the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department; in this article she sets out the main findings from that research, as well as the steps that need to be taken to reform the Department policing South Africa’s capital.

FEATURE: Following last month’s Royal Assent of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – known as Martyn’s Law – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the background to the new legislation and the key measures it will include, as well as highlighting the long delays in bringing the much-needed new powers into play.

INTERVIEW: Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh took up the top job with Canada’s Lethbridge Police Service in the aftermath of a reputational crisis for the organisation, and set about building stronger, trust-based relationships with both the community and the workforce; as he approaches five years in posts, he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the progress that has been made, his leadership style, and the importance of creating and maintaining a sense of shared ownership.

FEATURE: New research exploring the impact of a police-sent, low-cost text message ‘nudge’ reminding Class A drugs offenders to attend a mandatory drug assessment has highlighted the increased chances of helping offenders to “make it through the door” towards treatment, improving compliance and potentially reducing recidivism and offending, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

OPINION: Victoria’s Supreme Court recently decided to keep Abdul Nacer Benbrika – Australia’s most notorious terrorist – under an extended supervision order, after police surveillance highlighted his continuing radical intent; but the lack of coverage of the case has prompted warnings from Dr John Coyne, Henry Campbell and Justin Bassi of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), who argue that such successes should help to reassure the public that Australia’s counter-terrorism policy is working well.

OPINION: Having spent more than 20 years advising and supporting police forces and stakeholders in the UK on how to bring meaningful change to police-community relations, Montell Neufville, Chair of the Joint Protective Services (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Police) Scrutiny Panel and a National Advisory Group member of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, shares his top tips on the steps police and crime commissioners and mayors can take to improve trust between forces and the communities they serve.

ANALYSIS: New research investigating healthcare provision inside police custody suites has highlighted long delays in people receiving vital treatments, with some denied their medication altogether – even when they have serious health conditions – as Newcastle University Senior Lecturer in Sociology Dr Gethin Rees explains.

INNOVATION: Following on from the Cityforum roundtable on transforming police public contact earlier this year, and with the Government’s policing priorities highlighting the issue as crucial to modern service delivery, Content Guru Co-Founder and Deputy CEO Martin Taylor looks at the strategic reform, innovation, and future of police public contact.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Institute of Criminology will host the annual Cambridge University Evidence-Based Policing Conference at the Cambridge Corn Exchange from July 21 to 22, 2025. This year’s conference promises to be the largest one yet, with at least 500 delegates in attendance and 20 top keynote speakers.

FEATURE: A new survey of more than 2,100 digital forensic examiners, investigators, analysts and agency managers from 97 countries highlights both the overwhelming levels of data involved in criminal investigations, and the “outdated methods” still in place across law enforcement which are creating “bottlenecks and barriers” to the greater use of artificial intelligence in tackling those investigations, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the three-year European PERIVALLON initiative – which aims to build a better intelligence picture of organised environmental crime, and develop tools and solutions to combat it – drawing to a close later this year, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the project so far, and what more needs to be done by law enforcement and others to tackle the problem.

OPINION: By the end of 2026 all Police Scotland frontline officers will wear body-worn video (BWV) cameras while on duty – one of the last UK forces to deploy the technology nationally; but the University of Stirling’s Professor William Webster and Dr Diana Miranda argue that despite the widespread use of BWV, there is little robust evidence about its effectiveness, and warn that without consistent training, scrutiny and accountability, the technology could damage community relations and encroach on citizens’ rights.

ANALYSIS: The number of sextortion cases reported to the US National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children skyrocketed from 139 in 2021 to 26,000 in 2023, and the crime is now ruining young lives in countries around the world; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to cybercrime analyst Paul Raffile and financial investigator Detective Brad Thorne about the scale of the problem, the importance of police investigating cases, and the need to overcome challenges around international co-operation.

FEATURE: In the latest article in The Police Student series, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the development and role of the probation service in England and Wales, including the challenges around balancing encouraging desistance with managing the risk to the public; responsibilities ranging from pre-sentence reports to supervising offenders on licence and statutory duties under the Victims’ Code; and the importance of partnership working.

INTERVIEW: With a string background in education and academia, Durham Regional Police Service Director of Strategy, Research and Organisational Performance Dr Vidal Chavannes one of Canada’s leading advocates of evidence-based policing; he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the importance of data-driven criminal justice, the challenges around addressing disproportionality, and the need to ensure that the data published and used within policing is given adequate context.