Topical issues

OPINION: Recent protest activities in the UK – in particular those by the Just Stop Oil group – have prompted much debate about the effectiveness of the police response to such actions; Graham Wettone, who spent much of his policing career managing public order policing, highlights some key challenges in responding to the current protests, and why it may be time for a more robust approach to those groups unwilling to engage.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in a series of articles examining the intricacies of the cocaine industry, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at how the influx of billions of pounds in drug money is impacting the economy of Western African nations that are increasingly acting as transit countries.

OPINION: Despite pervasive ‘common sense intuitions’ to the contrary, a new report from the Sentencing Council for England and Wales states there is no evidence that harsher sentences deter crime; Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, believes the findings of the report underline the need for a more effective sentencing regime that can help to reduce both crime and prison populations.

OPINION: Last month’s violent confrontations between groups of Hindu and Muslim men in Leicester seem to take many in the English city (including police) by surprise; however, Professor Chris Allen of the University of Leicester believes that rushing through a proposed review into the violence risks a failure to recognise that neither Muslim nor Hindu communities are one-dimensional or singular, and that not all the problems they experience are based in religion.

INTERVIEW: The culture of policing continues to be a matter of international discussion, and global law enforcement leaders gathered in Dublin over the summer to move the debate forward; An Garda Síochána Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the issues discussed in Dublin, and how they will feed into efforts to address cultural change, starting with a leaders workshop at this weekend’s International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.

ANALYSIS: It’s little surprise that the contentious nature of policing will in some cases give rise to complaints, but the way those complaints are handled and resolved has been an issue of concern for both the public and police officers in the UK; in this first of three articles reviewing the police complaints process, Dr Rob Heaton and Professor Stephen Tong identify why some policing activity will inevitably lead to complaints, and why attempts to reform the complaints system to date seem to have fallen short of expectations.

INNOVATION: Making better use of technology has been recognised as key to improving police performance for many years, but security concerns around the use of cloud computing have been a source of tension; Jon Graham, Business Development Manager at digital solutions specialist Triad, believes that by developing effective security-first cloud strategies, police forces could achieve significant benefits from a move to the ‘new emergent model’.

INTERVIEW: With the continuing global focus on improving public trust and confidence in policing, the issue of ethics in law enforcement has been central to many discussions; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to Michael Josephson and Jim Dugan of the Josephson Institute of Ethics about their work with policing, the changing perceptions of ethical behaviour, and the challenges created by an exodus of senior leaders.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the second in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the European Network of Cybersecurity Centres and Competence Hub for Innovation and Operations (ECHO), and its efforts to strengthen the EU’s cyber defences.

FEATURE: With the dramatic increase in reports of sexual violence linked to dating apps and online violent pornography in recent years, ANZPAA facilitated a project which brought together police, government and industry to share experiences about online-initiated sexual violence, as Chloe Boyd, ANZPAA’s Senior Policy and Research Officer reports.

ANALYSIS: With many police forces around the world facing workforce challenges such as recruitment, retention and attrition, demonstrating the nature of the problem to policymakers and budgets holders is not always straightforward; Policing Insight’s Michael Hardiman, a former economist with Victoria Police in Australia, looks at analytical tools such as Pen’s Parade and Bollinger Bands that can help workforce planning and support resourcing bids.

FEATURE: Continuing the latest series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a closer look at the key issues around the police use of force, including the challenges around the ways the use of force is measured (and any data interpreted), the guidelines on when and how officers can use force, and why wider work on public confidence is crucial to ensuring the use of force doesn’t damage police legitimacy.

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INTERVIEW: Former UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Dame Sara Thornton has called for an increase in the number of trained financial investigators following the money to identify the organised crime groups behind modern slavery, and better collaboration between government departments to support children caught up in county lines, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

INNOVATION: With forces in England and Wales facing surging demand from domestic abuse victims, Kent Police embarked on a randomised control trial of a new rapid video response (RVR) to victims; Stacey Rothwell, Network Director for England’s Eastern Region of seven forces, explains the methodology behind the trial, and the key findings – including greater victim satisfaction, faster police response times and a 50% increase in arrests – which have led Kent to a force-wide introduction of RVR.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Until recently, UK police forces had to rely on manual processes to share digital evidence with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This involved copying evidence onto CDs, DVDs, USB drives and paper files, and hand-delivering them to the CPS. Increased wait times for evidence in turn resulted in slower pre-charge and remand decisions. With new national requirements now mandating that all digital evidence be shared with the CPS electronically, many UK forces, including Leicestershire Police, are working with NICE to forge a better way.

ANALYSIS: A multi-agency, multi-disciplinary initiative to safeguard children at risk in domestic abuse situations in Dorset involves social workers, police and healthcare professionals focusing on efforts to rebuild and restore family relationships and taking a ‘whole family working’ approach, explains Lisa Reid, Dorset Children’s Service’s Corporate Director for Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Families Together.

FEATURE: When Wisconsin police officer Adam Meyers was involved in the fatal shooting of an armed suspect, the resulting mental health challenges he faced – and the associated stigma – led him into a downward spiral of poor coping mechanisms and suicidal thoughts; now he’s using his own experiences to inspire other struggling officers to speak out and seek help, and urging leaders and law enforcement agencies to address the mental health stigma.

FEATURE: The EU’s European Cybersecurity Month is now underway, with a series of awareness-raising events and learning opportunities scheduled throughout October; in the first in a series of articles, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the history of the campaign, its successes to date, and the risks and threats it is hoping to address in 2022.

OPINION: Two recent reports into modern slavery have highlighted Australia’s leading role in efforts to eradicate human trafficking and modern slavery; Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay and research assistant Jennifer Katrib believe the reports also underline the importance of Australia’s continued leadership in this role, both for the country and for the wider region.

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Feature: As UK policing’s lead on trauma-informed practice, Lancashire’s Supt Justin Srivastava outlined county and country-wide efforts to establish the new approach to reducing violence at a recent public health policing conference; but those taking part in the session reiterated that responsibility to end patterns of chronic violence should not fall on the shoulders of police forces alone, as Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar reports.

ANALYSIS: Calls to address the crisis of public confidence in British policing have become increasingly insistent, with many recognising that technology has a vital role to play in facilitating change; Andy Higgins, Research Director of the Police Foundation, outlines the organisation’s new project to examine how technology can build confidence and improve police-public interactions in the digital age.