Topical issues

INTERVIEW: The lockdown has led to a steep rise in calls to domestic abuse helplines in the UK. While they offer vital support, alternative accommodation is essential to enabling people to escape their situation, but Co-APCC Victims lead on domestic abuse Julia Mulligan says refuges are all but full and more accommodation is urgently needed.

Exclusive interview: Medical hardware is the latest addition to a growing list of areas targeted by criminals during the Covid-19 pandemic. In an exclusive interview INTERPOL's Executive Director Stephen Kavanagh QPM DL gives an update on the emerging threats, the impact on traditional crime and how law enforcement is responding.

Analysis: A decade of falling police officer numbers in England and Wales has been a continuous focus of concern. In a new series of articles Ian Wiggett analyses where the cuts have been felt the deepest and the implications for the workforce mix. This first article looks at how police officer numbers and the total size of the workforce have changed for each force since 2010 and what the picture is likely to look like in 2023.

Analysis: The latest in our Report Watch series summarises a report by Europol on how criminals are profiteering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

OPINION: Call handling – often the public’s only point of contact with police – is under ever-increasing pressure, and deserves more attention says CoPaCC Director and former Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Ian Wiggett in his introduction to the CoPaCC Police Contact Management: Demand Analysis Report. The recently published report examines trends and performance in UK call handling and online reporting.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE WINNERS: An innovative joint initiative between Australia’s Queensland Police Service and Griffith University to educate revellers about the dangers of excess alcohol was awarded Highly Commended in the World Class Policing Awards, sponsored by Accenture. In the tenth of twelve articles focusing on the award winning nominations, Keith Potter takes a closer look at this innovative approach to harm reduction through community engagement.

Analysis: As police services across the globe play a vital role in helping to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Dr Zoha Waseem, Research Fellow at the Institute for Global City Policing at UCL, examines the reasons for the 'hard policing' approach taken in some South Asian countries and the growing need to adopt more a compassionate, community-orientated policing response.

Opinion: Figures show 64 per cent of short-term prisoners in the UK re-offend. Director of Operational Safety at Northgate Public Services Steve Ainsworth examines how better information sharing between the police and the probation service has the power to reduce re-offending rates and make communities safer.

Innovation: The rolling out of a new perpetrator programme proven to be successful in reducing domestic violence has been put on hold, due to the outbreal of COVID-19. Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons discusses the Drive programme, the methodology behind it and how it can make a real and sustained difference to victims everywhere.

OPINION: Necessity is, as they say, the mother invention and here Nick Bradley, Managing Director of Enlighten Training and Consultancy describes how the Coronavirus emergency has accelerated the modernisation of training delivery with one large police force.

ANALYSIS : While many commentators are asking how 'organised crime' is adapting to the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Anna Sergi warns that such questions may be missing the point. Rather, we should be looking at variability of organised crime structures and activities, and preparing ourselves for a new research agenda in a changed and unknown landscape.

INTERVIEW: As the government seeks to implement new anti-terror emergency measures to prevent the early release of convicted terrorists, Professor Emeritus Clive Walker, international terrorism expert and senior special adviser to the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, tells Policing Insight about the complex challenges around convicted terrorists and suspects.

Opinion: Travelling through France as the lockdown was announced, Tristram Hicks, a former detective superintendent and now a global consultant on organised international crime, money laundering and corruption, gives a personal account of how the French are enforcing the lockdown as the country attempts to counter the spread of Covid-19.

Opinion: A Crest Advisory report has revealed overwhelming support for the UK police's approach to policing the pandemic. Crisis Communication Consultant Amanda Coleman says now is the time to build community involvement into the communication strategy, laying the foundations for how the next generation view the police.

ANALYSIS: As law enforcement across the world adjusts to policing the pandemic, Associate Professor Terry Goldsworthy and Assistant Professor Robyn Lincoln from Bond University explore the role the Australian police forces play in managing this crisis.

Advertisement Feature: Police forces have been given unprecedented powers to help reduce the spread of coronavirus but face challenges in reducing their own risk of infection whilst carrying out their duties. Jamie Wilson of NICE Public Safety explains how using a Digital Evidence Management System can help and invites those concerned to attend a free webinar on Wednesday, 15th April at 10am UK / 11pm CET / 7pm AEST.

ADVERTISEMENT: PolicingPeople is a new technology solution for interim police recruitment, launched today. PolicingPeople Managing Director, Ian Tomson-Smith, explains how this new initiative can help police forces worldwide meet the challenge of Covid-19. Have you got relevant skills and experience? Register your availability now to "Play Your Part".

INTERVIEW: Norfolk Constabulary axed the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) role two years ago as part of a wider initiative to improve service delivery and reduce costs by 2020. Despite increased funding, the drive to recruit more officers and the NPCC and College of Policing's commitment to the role, Norfolk Chief Constable Simon Bailey tells Policing Insight why PCs, not PCSOs, are the way forward.  

INTERVIEW: As cybercrime continues to rise, Policing Insight talks to Superintendent Rebecca Chapman, Director of the North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC), a unique partnership between police, big business and universities to help protect smaller businesses from the threat of online crime.

OPINION: Dr Emma Williams of Canterbury Christ Church University provides her review of the #WeCops Twitter debate last week, examining UK police's response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

Opinion: Whilst the police are highly adept at managing emergency calls, data on the many other reasons people call the police is lacking. Crisis Communication Consultant Amanda Coleman, who has more than twenty years experience in law enforcement communications, says it is this detail that is needed for a truly effective call-handling response.

Opinion: In her most recent blog, director of Transform Justice Penelope Gibbs considers the issue of police custody for adults who have been arrested and detained and offers suggestions on how to keep this to a minimum during the Covid-19 crisis.

ANALYSIS: Just twelve days ago, Policing Insight established an International Advisory Board (IAB), to help shape our contribution to policing's global response to Coronavirus Covid-19. Here, Policing Insight's Publisher, Bernard Rix, provides an early update on the IAB's work.

OPINION: Deloitte's Public Safety lead in the Gulf region, Andrew Morley, examines how police and other public safety agencies in the Middle East might respond to Covid-19. There are already very significant demands placed upon these agencies in enforcing the critical public health measures introduced to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus - but is there more?