Topical issues

OPINION: The recent case of Child Q has highlighted the use of strip searches by police, particularly in relation to searches of children and the disproportionate use of the process involving Black, Asian and minority ethnic people; Matteo Tiratelli, Political Sociology Lecturer at UCL, believes the lack of accurate data around strip-searches in the UK underlines the need for a much wider debate about the issue.

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: The market for cocaine is booming, with production and consumption at their highest ever levels, according to the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report: Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at the state of the cocaine industry and the possible impact of measures designed to counteract it.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The National Police Chiefs' Council Disability in Policing Conference, supported by Policing Insight, is a unique opportunity improve equality and inclusion for one of the largest protected groups in policing. Register today for the event taking place 28th-29th September at the Holiday Inn Coventry.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s London Policing College workshop on policing public protest in Germany, keynote speaker Dr Bernd Bürger of the Bavarian Police Institute of Further Education spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the importance of communication and negotiation in handling demonstrations, the need for officers and commanders to have expertise and experience, and the benefits of establishing full-time public order policing units.

FEATURE: With more than 240,000 legitimate firearms holders among New Zealand’s five million population, and a large hunting community, previous attempts to tighten firearms licensing have been met with long and loud opposition; but plans for a new gun registry to target firearms criminality have gathered pace in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, and will come into effect next year, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the cyber threat growing continuously and becoming increasingly aggressive, law enforcement and public authorities will need to raise their investment and expertise in tackling cyber criminals; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest funding available from the EU to support improvements in digital investigation tools, techniques, and technologies.

INTERVIEW: The Capitol Building riots on 6 January 2021 were a dark day for US politics and an incredibly difficult one for policing, especially the officers of the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department; Department Chief Robert Contee spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the continuing impact of the insurrection, his pride and passion for his role, and the ongoing challenges of policing America’s capital city.

OPINION: With policing seemingly under continuous pressure – financial, political and public – it’s clear that to deliver the best possible service, parts of the job need rethinking, and others a radical overhaul; Iain Donnelly, a former officer and now author, podcaster and policing technical consultant, suggests 10 “relatively quick” fixes which also highlight the need for more common sense in UK policing, especially among senior leaders.

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: While Canada has experienced an increase in gun violence in recent years, Professor Yanick Charette of the Université Laval believes that existing political and law enforcement approaches to tackle the problem focus mainly on increasing police resources, and should be replaced by more effective deterrent programs, built on interventions that involve both the police and the community.

LONG READ: Forensic scientist Stuart Kind, who was brought in by the UK Home Office to help track down the Yorkshire Ripper, is widely recognised as a pioneer of geographic profiling; former Met Police detective Geoff Monaghan and geospatial intelligence specialist Ian Oldfield explore whether the genesis of the geographic profiling concept can be traced back further to a piece of 1920s detective fiction, and the story of a string of animal maimings in Surrey.

ANALYSIS: A new study into the evolution of cybercrime on the dark web has highlighted an increasingly professional approach from criminals, with greater collaboration, the packaging of tools and services, and a buoyant online market; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, businesses and organisations can use similar collaborative techniques to improve their own cybersecurity.

INTERVIEW: Against a backdrop of violent arrests and oppressive responses in the 1970s, New South Wales Police has had a difficult relationship with the LGBTQ+ community; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to NSW Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot about the journey the force has been on to rebuild relationships, addressing equality and diversity issues internally, and her own Leadership Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

ANALYSIS: With public services under increasing pressure, leaders need to refresh their thinking on harnessing the considerable untapped resources in every community; in the second in a series of articles, Intensive Engagement’s Richard James (a former police territorial commander), Citizens in Policing specialist Dr Iain Britton, and Jayne Pascoe (Neighbourhood Watch Network) suggest there is no shortage of support available – but can leaders turn the key to unlock this resource?

ANALYSIS: Covid fixed penalty notices were issued to BAME individuals in England and Wales at up to twice the rate as white individuals; now a new report has found that officer ‘discomfort and uncertainty’ of the regulations led to a focus on ‘blatant’ breaches, with fines more dependent on the circumstance of the breach and the how officers perceived an individual’s attitude and responses to them, than on the potential risk of harm, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ANALYSIS: Shiaphobic hate crimes were highlighted in the wake of the recent Lady of Heaven film controversy, and came to the fore gain last month with the religious celebration of Eid al-Ghadīr; Michael Dhanoya of the University of Leicester’s School of Criminology explores the context and background to Shiaphobia, and the importance of recording and investigating it as an Islamic sectarian hate crime, rather than as examples of Islamaphobia.

INTERVIEW: In the wake of the 2014 University of California shootings, a number of US states began utilising Extreme Risk Protection Orders, with Florida’s Fort Lauderdale PD among those leading the way; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to Detective Christopher Carita about the success of the so-called ‘red flag’ laws, and how the Parkland high school shooting in 2018 made things much more personal for FLPD’s Threat Response Unit.

FEATURE: Police protecting spectators and ensuring the safe running of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last week were quick to seize a drone and its pilots after the unmanned vehicle flew dangerously close to crowds; such incidents at sporting events are not new, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, but do highlight the potential threat posed by drones in crowded public spaces.

OPINION: As the London Police Services Board in Ontario prepares to call on Canada’s federal government to add femicide to the criminal code – and with other police boards indicating their support for the move – Professor Myrna Dawson of the University of Guelph says introducing femicide-specific legislation would be a crucial first step in reducing the crisis of violence against women and girls.

ANALYSIS: With police budgets under pressure as countries around the world face the prospect of recession, and the worsening economic situation likely to drive an increase in crime, the relationship between policing and the private sector will be more important than ever; Policing Insight’s Michael Hardiman, a former economist with Australia’s Victoria Police, looks at the challenges posed by the economic pressures, and opportunities arising from them.

FEATURE: A new mental health project launched by Cambridgeshire Constabulary to identify frontline detectives suffering from compassion fatigue has found that significant numbers are at ‘high risk’ and will be offered tailored support and treatment, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Police forces across England and Wales have been warned they face a tough challenge to hit the UK Government’s 20,000 Uplift recruitment target as latest figures show a slowdown on new joiners as well as record levels of resignations – prompting fresh calls for forces to improve their understanding of why officers leave the job, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter 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.