Topical issues

ANALYSIS: New research into the experiences of youngsters involved in county lines drugs in the UK has found that a lack of effective safeguarding or guidance, a focus on enforcement rather than prevention, and a shortfall in police resources is leaving vulnerable youngsters at growing risk of criminal exploitation by organised gangs, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia from 10 to 14 continues to gather pace; but Dr Terry Goldsworthy, a former police officer and now Associate Professor at Bond University, argues that incarceration of youth offenders is a sentencing outcome rather than a determination of criminal responsibility, and raising the age of responsibility will do little to address the underlying causes of youth crime.

OPINION: This month saw the appointment of a new Commissioner and Acting Deputy Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Service, the UK’s biggest police force; Martyn Underhill, a former Met police officer who served as Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012-2021, believes the new leadership team will have to make some swift and fairly radical changes to address the key challenges affecting public confidence and performance in the force.

FEATURE: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, countries across Europe and further afield have opened their doors to more than seven million refugees fleeing the conflict; but a new report warns that as the war continues and refugees remain in their new host countries, tensions could increase at community level, creating potential challenges for law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

OPINION: As UK policing once again faces criticism for its response to anti-monarchy protests – with officers accused of creating a ‘police state’ if they take action, and being ‘woke’ if they don’t – Senior Policing Lecturer Owen West, a former chief superintendent, argues that it’s time for policing leadership to fill the vacuum in the public debate by defending and promoting the values of the service, or risk a further loss of public trust and confidence.

INTERVIEW: With police officers across the country facing unprecedented pressure and demand, Thames Valley Police is looking to support its frontline by introducing a Behavioural Science Unit; Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar spoke to Superintendent Felicity Parker about the scale of the project and how it could reshape UK policing in the future.

OPINION: The recent death of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a shooting in Liverpool has highlighted the city’s continuing struggle with gangs, guns and violent crime; Dr Robert Hesketh, Policing Studies lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, believes a continuing pattern of social exclusion and poverty is leading to organised crime and violence on Merseyside and elsewhere, but that preventative policing could be a step towards solving the problems.

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ANALYSIS: The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programme developed in the US was originally a post-arrest initiative, but has evolved to incorporate referrals from “any concerned individual”; with more than 60 schemes now operating or under development in the US, as well as a South African programme and interest from the UK, the LEAD approach is gaining traction and delivering results, as Policing Insight’s Tina Orr-Munro reports.

ANALYSIS: While there is much talk about ethics in policing, to date it would appear there has been less consideration of how to apply ethical decision-making to practical policing problems; Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Paine and Dr Hannah Maslen of Thames Valley Police outline a new approach by the force which aims to do just that.

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.

OPINION: The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) launched its Trouble with the Law campaign last year, pushing for police and crime commissioner (PCC) candidates, if elected, to directly involve care-experienced children in their police and crime plans; Tobiloba Osogbiye (NYAS Public Affairs and Engagement Officer) and Jennifer Downie (NYAS Policy and Research Assistant) believe PCCs’ efforts are playing a role in reducing the criminalisation rates of care-experienced children – but more could be done.

ANALYSIS: The United Nations has recently held its first meetings to develop plans and parameters for a new ‘global instrument’ to tackle cybercrime; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at the details behind the proposal, and some of the challenges the UN will face in establishing an effective body to target the activities of cyber criminals on the global stage.

OPINION: In what are widely recognised as difficult times for policing, new technology could help to transform service delivery and performance, but is still often regarded as a problem rather than an opportunity; Martin Taylor of cloud communications specialists Content Guru believes the successful implementation of that technology – particularly in relation to omnichannel public contact – could achieve real transformative benefits for both police and the public.

OPINION: A year on from taking up her appointment as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead in tackling violence against women and girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth reflects on UK policing’s efforts and achievements over the past 12 months, and the plans for continued progress going forwards.

INTERVIEW: A report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) has revealed significant growth in gun homicides and a proliferation of firearms, part-funded by Covid support fraud; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to MCCA Executive Director Laura Cooper about the findings of the report, the threats posed by ghost guns and irresponsible owners, and why police arresting their way out of the crisis is unsustainable.

ANALYSIS: As many as one in three people in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have experienced image-based abuse, yet fewer than half of those who witness it have intervened; research by Dr Asher Flynn of Monash University, Elena Cama of the University of New South Wales, and Dr Adrian Scott of Goldsmiths, University of London explores why people do or don’t intervene in such instances, and the vital role that bystander intervention programs could play in responding to image-based abuse.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The 2021/22 PEEL assessments of police forces in England & Wales by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) have highlighted some exceptional performances but also areas to improve in contact management and providing a service to the victims of crime. Steve Norris explains how the Salesforce solution can equip forces with appropriate technology to improve communication with victims of crime and meet their needs.

FEATURE: New Government provisions to safeguard funding for EU-supported research projects include a guarantee scheme to allow UK organisations to apply for this year’s Horizon Europe Security for Civil Society programme – which could be good news for policing agencies with project proposals to tackle drug trafficking, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: The latest HM Inspectorate review of call handling at Police Scotland – a function that’s been the subject of five reports since the tragic deaths of two members of the public in 2015 – has highlighted impressive progress in the service’s contact model, but has called for better links with other public sector agencies to ease the response burden on policing, as Policing Insight’s Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: The challenges of digital forensic examinations, and the backlog caused by a combination of limited capacity and capability in policing, and the exponential rise in devices requiring examination, have long been a concern for forces, the inspectorate and other stakeholders; Paul Kennedy, of the Accelerating Growth in Policing programme, and Richard Cockerill, Digital Forensics specialist for CACI, believe closer partnership between policing and the private sector could be the key to meeting those challenges.

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.

ANALYSIS: Data-driven performance management, local political accountability to PCCs, and the wild west of social media-driven accountability are just some of the factors that have had a disorientating effect on decision-making for UK frontline police officers; Ian Palmer, Academic Lead for Policing in the University of Central Lancashire’s School of Justice, believes the introduction of Schwartz Rounds and reflective practice could significantly improve officers’ decision-making processes.

FEATURE: A series of workshops for UK and international delegates on key policing issues has developed recommendations to tackle some of today’s toughest policing challenges; ahead of next week’s London Policing College International Conference, where the proposals will be further debated and refined, College Managing Director and former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rod Jarman outlines the workshop outcomes, the recommendations to date, and the potential benefits for policing.