Topical issues

FEATURE: The 9/11 attacks on the US, which took place 24 years ago this week, were both a shocking series of events on a horrific scale, and a moment which changed the course of world history; Policing Insight’s Andrew Stainforth looks back at the initial response from UK policing and political leaders to those terrorist atrocities, and what it meant for the country both in the immediate aftermath and the longer term.

OPINION: With the changing nature of terrorist threats and the proscription of Palestine Action, former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher, now an author, journalist and terrorism expert, looks at what is potentially emerging as a new ‘Fifth Wave’ of global terrorism, its relationship with crime, and the possible impact of branding criminal organisations as terrorist groups.

FEATURE: In the last article in this series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at the future challenges and trends facing the criminal justice system – from pressure on resources for both policing and their partners, to the issues of legitimacy, the changing nature of crime, and the transformative effect of technology – and considers how these will impact on the role of new police officers.

FEATURE: A trauma peer support (TPS) programme originally launched for officers and staff working in detention areas across the Metropolitan Police has seen more than 3,000 employees trained to deliver support to colleagues, and could now be expanded into other policing roles within the Met as well as to other forces, as former officer and TPS trainer Russell Hughes explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 sparked global calls for racial justice and ignited a wave of police oversight reform across the US; but five years on, Hansel Alejandro Aguilar, public sociologist, former police officer, and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University, warns that civilian oversight of law enforcement in the US is now dying – but meaningful change can still emerge when residents organize, officials listen, and structures are preserved.

FEATURE: The latest Home Office evaluation of the work of violence reduction units (VRUs) across England and Wales highlights “encouraging” reductions in homicides and hospital admissions due to violence and knife crime – particularly among those aged 24 and under – but strengthening partnerships and improving data sharing could lead to better results for the VRU whole-system approach, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The creation of an FBI legal attaché post in Wellington, New Zealand in July was hailed by the US as a way to counter “some of the most important global issues” such as the threat from China, as well as boosting regional crime operations; but University of Tasmania Policing Lecturer Dr Nick Evans warns that the move could in fact threaten existing policing partnerships that Australia and New Zealand have with China, forcing officers to engage in new levels of diplomacy to maintain cordial relations.

INNOVATION: A new report from Europol which offers practical guidance on tackling artificial intelligence (AI) bias in law enforcement is calling for more regular training for personnel “to deepen their understanding of AI technologies”, routine and regular multi-stakeholder reviews of AI models, and more consistent frameworks around their use, to combat the dangers of AI bias – particularly in areas such as predictive policing – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: With an increasing focus on the impact of organisational stress on police officers, University of Cambridge researcher Dr Susannah Hickie explored the perceptions of Police Service of Northern Ireland officers of the formal mental health support available to them, and found that many viewed such provision as inaccessible, highlighting issues such as the repercussions of seeking support, the associated stigma, and a ‘tick-box’ culture as the main barriers.

INNOVATION: The results of a pilot study of wearable wellbeing technology used by new police recruits has highlighted significant positive lifestyle changes among those who used the new tech, along with better sleep patterns, more resilience, and a reduction in the number of young-in-service officers considering leaving the job, as Professor Carol Cox of Liverpool John Moores University explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: While concerns around the rise in Canada’s fentanyl use have focused on a rise in deaths and drug-related disorders, new research by Associate Professors Dr Marta-Marika Urbanik (University of Alberta), Dr Katharina Maier (University of Winnipeg), Dr Matthew Valasik (University of Alabama), and Wilfrid Laurier University Assistant Professor Dr Carolyn Greene, has highlighted the issue of drug gangs exploiting vulnerable people’s homes in Thunder Bay, Ontario, driving up homelessness and violence.

FEATURE: With children and young people increasingly becoming a target for a wide range of online scams, sexual exploitation, bullying and identity theft by cybercriminals, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the inaugural INTERPOL Youth Cybercrime Awareness Webinar which aimed to increase awareness, provide guidance and offer support to youngsters to protect themselves against modern online threats.

ANALYSIS: In the third in this series of articles exploring the links between sport and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the opaque ownership arrangements, shady sponsorship deals and over-inflated transfer and services fees that have created an opportunity for criminals to launder illicit funds through professional football in England and across Europe.

ANALYSIS: Despite the Uplift recruitment programme, research suggests the public feel police are still less visible and less responsive, and the Government has now pledged a further 13,000 neighbourhood police officers by 2029; in the last in this current series of articles on workforce development, Ian Wiggett looks at the availability of the workforce, the way it is deployed, and why ultimately what will matter is whether the public notices the difference.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson, the APCC joint lead on local policing, sets out what PCCs are now doing to drive action against anti-social behaviour, a crime experienced by more than one in 10 people at least weekly – often with a significant and long-lasting impact – as well as being a gateway to other criminality.

INNOVATION: Northumbria Police has become the first force in England and Wales to recruit officers from all entry routes directly onto the neighbourhood policing pathway in an effort to widen workforce skillsets, support the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and get “the right people in the right roles”, as Northumbria’s Assistant Chief Officer Joscelin Lawson explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: The recent joint inspection report published by HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services highlighted key challenges for the criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales; Dee Cowburn, communications specialist and police media advisor, argues that alongside a national strategy, clearer accountability and more effective ICT, improved communications are crucial in strengthening the CJS.

ANALYSIS: A new report into the performance of An Garda Síochána has highlighted the roll out of a new operating model as the “most significant change” to the structure of the force in its history, and has praised achievements in roads policing, tackling drugs and community engagement; but the report warns that persistent recruitment and retention difficulties, a lack of resources and inadequate IT remain key challenges to the performance of An Garda Síochána, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With recent advice to New Zealand Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello that the country is “losing the fight” against organised crime, efforts to control the trade in illegal guns will be crucial in limiting gang activity; University of Waikato Professor of Law Alexander Gillespie argues that another buy-back of all guns that should be on the country’s register by the end of August 2028, and adopting the UN protocol on the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and ammunition, are steps the country needs to take.

FEATURE: Given the ongoing debates around the application of powers under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 in relation to proscribed organisations, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the challenges around keeping non-specialist officers up to speed with ever-evolving terrorist legislation, and why a consolidation act for counter-terrorism laws could benefit both individual rights and the effectiveness of police officers.

FEATURE: New research by Paris Graduate School PhD researcher David Graves, a former UK fraud squad detective, suggests that the creation of a National Crime Co-ordination Centre could enhance collaboration between police and private investigators, co-ordinate the multi-agency response to major and emerging threats including organised crime, and improve public confidence in policing, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen.

OPINION: Following the publication this month of Australia’s National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, which shows a surge in consumption across every major drug type in every region of the country, Dr John Coyne, Director of National Security Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, argues that Australia’s national drug strategy is “in freefall”, and that law enforcement resources should be refocused on disrupting the infrastructure of illicit drug markets.

ANALYSIS: As protests around hotels housing asylum seekers look set to grow in the wake of the recent court decision involving Epping, and supporters of Palestine Action continue to adopt a protest policy of mass arrests, Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone, a former Metropolitan Police officer and public order specialist, looks at the background and implications of the public order challenges facing policing this summer.

ANALYSIS: The latest police workforce data for England and Wales shows that over the last five years, forces have recruited the equivalent of 44% of the current officer strength, but the equivalent of 31% have left; in the second in this new series of articles on workforce development, Ian Wiggett looks at the effect on levels of experience and skills, the high levels of young in service resignations, and how politicians’ fixation on officer numbers has resulted in little attention being paid to the effect on the ground.