Topical issues

FEATURE: A new joint report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, and HM Inspectorate of Probation into victims’ services has found that despite agencies recognising the need to improve services for victims, poor communications and a focus on meeting the Victims’ Code meant that the findings highlighted ‘depressingly familiar’ shortcomings, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Shoplifting has become a focus for policing in the UK and around the world, amid claims that the retail sector is experiencing a theft epidemic fuelled by organised gangs, social media and a poor police response; Professor Graham Farrell of the University of Leeds and Professor Rachel Armitage of the University of Huddersfield explore the veracity of some of the key recent assertions made about shoplifting.

INTERVIEW: After his first six months leading the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group – a not-for-profit partnership that enhances the cyber resilience of small businesses – Detective Superintendent Ian Kirby has ambitious plans for growth and a call to arms for police officers around cyber prevention, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: A scheme in Thames Valley is helping to improve outcomes for young people with a parent in prison; Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to Sgt Russ Massie to find out how it works, how other areas could emulate it, and if police really are the best agency to work on it.

LONG READ: Having explored the challenges and opportunities faced by policing in collating and analysing the huge growth in data sources – including the potential for technology to offer solutions, the skillsets required and the ethical concerns – what does law enforcement need to do to tackle these issues? In the last in the series of five features, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter spoke to police practitioners, stakeholders and specialists about the way forward.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Dr Eleanor Beevor, Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime about motorbike trafficking and armed criminals in the Sahel, environmental crime eradication, and how directly supporting people living in crime-affected areas can be transformative.

FEATURE: A new report by the UK’s House of Lords has called for greater use of community orders to reduce reoffending and address the growing prisons crisis, arguing that intensive rehabilitative support rather than longer tariffs would bring the most benefit to communities and individuals, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: Social media platforms identify and remove huge volumes of online terrorist and violent extremist content on a daily basis, with much of the detection relying on artificial intelligence and automated processes; a new white paper by the Tech Against Terrorism Europe and NOTIONES projects examines the scale of the problem, and suggests steps that could improve and expand the response to such potentially damaging content, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: Natural disasters can have a huge impact on communities in any location, but the response from police and emergency services in rural areas can be particularly stretched because of the lack of resources; Dr Jessica Peterson of Southern Oregon University believes law enforcement agencies could gain significant benefits from partnering with academic institutions to improve their preparedness, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Paris became the first European city to ban the use of rental e-scooters under a law that came into force in September, and concerns have been raised in other towns and cities in the UK and elsewhere about riders breaking the rules; but research by Senior Lecturer Dr Petya Ventsislavova and colleagues at Nottingham Trent University has found that a lack of knowledge of the law – rather than a desire to flout it – is behind most rule breaking by riders.

OPINION: Policing is understandably keen to embrace the latest technology in its efforts to protect the public and fight crime; but Dr David Lydon, a former police officer and now Senior Lecturer in Policing at Canterbury Christ Church University, believes that the move towards technocracy inevitably threatens the service’s ability to operate a consensual model in line with the principles and features of traditional community policing.

FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

FEATURE: Perpetrator programmes can prove controversial, but the new Chrysalis Centre – a £2m scheme funded by the Home Office – is hoping that a prevention-first approach can protect domestic abuse victims and their families from harm, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: The New Zealand Coalition Government has made a crackdown on gangs a priority in its first 100 days, setting out its expectations in a letter to the Police Commissioner and promising new police powers; but Auckland University of Technology Law Professor Kris Gledhill argues that necessary laws to tackle the problem are already in place, and a focus on diverting people from gang membership would be more effective.

FEATURE: New research to be undertaken by Dr Kyle Mulrooney and Dr Alistair Harkness of the University of New England will explore how the combination of limited resources and deep-rooted community connections is leaving rural policing ill-equipped to deal with the growing ideological and political conflict between urban and rural communities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The latest report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services into the police response to group-based child sexual exploitation in England and Wales has found that inconsistent definitions are fuelling a lack of understanding of the scale of the issue, with some officers still engaging in victim-blaming language, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: With cyber threats on the rise, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to Professor Stuart Macdonald, Director of the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC), about the current threat landscape, the cyber challenges for 2024, and how new regulations are combatting online terrorist propaganda.

INNOVATION: In the final instalment in a series exploring Essex Police’s Hothouse technology innovation programme, Policing Insight examines how the force is adopting new approaches to tackle drug-driven violence, and what it tells us about how policing could work with the tech sector, as James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: This year saw Cleveland Police emerge from the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services ‘Engaged’ status with some impressive performance figures; Tom Gash, Managing Director of strategy and decision-making consultancy Leapwise Advisory – which worked with the force on its improvement journey – sets out some of the key steps forces need to take to achieve a successful turnaround.

FEATURE: A joint approach between New Zealand Police and multi-agency partners to fast track action plans for young offenders and provide wrap-around support has led to significant reductions in some crimes, stronger police-community relations, and improved youth engagement, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The proposed closure of 29 police stations in Scotland is symptomatic of a wider problem in UK policing’s role and relationship with the community, believes former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher – one which will require innovative thinking coupled with a refocusing on policing’s core functions if it is to be successfully addressed.

FEATURE: A new study from academics at Stirling University and the University of Edinburgh imagines how biometric artificial intelligence (AI) could be deployed by policing in the future, setting out both the potential risks and the opportunities that tools such as facial recognition drones could bring, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: Stop-and-frisk is a controversial policy in US policing, but formed a key plank of Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker’s campaign manifesto in an effort to tackle gun violence; Arizona State University Professors Michael D White and Henry F Fradella believe stop-and-frisk can be used effectively and without contravening the constitution, if coupled with careful controls and a change in culture and accountability.

FEATURE: The growing application of artificial intelligence (AI) by law enforcement has been the topic of much discussion and debate, including the importance of oversight and the potential need for regulation; the recently agreed European Parliament political deal on an AI bill means progress can now be made towards introducing Europe-wide regulation on AI, with significant exemptions built in for its use in critical situations by police, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.