Topical issues

INNOVATION: The Government is currently piloting an algorithmic transparency standard across the public sector, with the aim of improving openness and public trust in the use of technology; a new research study has highlighted the potential benefits for policing of adhering to the standard, including greater public confidence, the sharing of best practice and reduced costs, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ANALYSIS: Seventeen years ago this month the UK faced its first ‘critical’ threat level following a series of terrorist attacks in London that prompted significant changes to the country’s counter-terrorism operations; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks back at the events of July 2005, and considers whether the appointment of former counter-terror chief Sir Mark Rowley as Metropolitan Police Commissioner could improve collaboration and co-operation between the security services and police.

OPINION: With the UK Government’s levelling-up plans and goals to reduce homicide, serious violence and neighbourhood crime by 2030, police and crime commissioners and policy makers will be looking to evidence-based solutions to tackle crime; Jon Yates, Executive Director of the Youth Endowment Fund, believes the Fund’s toolkit could provide valuable resources for successfully targeting youth violence.

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 International Criminal Court (ICC) was set up during a unique period of global co-operation, but has faced criticism for its failure to hold the US and other major powers to account; however, Dr Matt Killingsworth, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Tasmania, believes the ICC has played a valuable role in creating expectations that global justice can be realised.

INTERVIEW: Trauma-informed leadership (TIL) builds on a foundation of recognizing and understanding the mental and emotional scars and challenges that officers may be experiencing; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to law enforcement psychologist Dr David Black about the potential benefits of TIL, the risks of generational trauma, and how giving leaders the opportunity to share stories can have a positive impact on them and their staff.

FEATURE: As the ‘big four’ social media companies continue to successfully tighten up the identification and removal of harmful terrorist content, delegates at the recent Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) discussed how extremist organisations and those intent on violence are looking for alternative ‘low-tech’ online routes to broadcast their message, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on cybercrime and fraud, workshop chair Dr Stuart Hyde (the former Chief Constable of Cumbria and a cybercrime specialist) talked to Policing Insight about the need for an improved government response to the challenge, the importance of collaboration between industry and policing, and why Action Fraud is currently not fit for purpose.

OPINION: The wellbeing of police officers and staff has been a growing cause for concern in the wake of a series of challenges, including austerity cuts putting pressure on police numbers, and the impact of Covid on workloads, welfare, and the relationship with the public; James Scott, CEO & Co-Founder of the Thrive app, believes technology could and should play a greater role in the wellbeing and engagement of officers and staff.

OPINION: Over the last two decades, organised crime – and the motivations and modus operandi of its actors – has become much better understood, and the subject of a wide variety of books, with the best offering valuable insights for the public, police and academics alike; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at some of the essential texts on organised crime, in time to add to your holiday reading list.

ANALYSIS: Over the past five years a series of drug deaths in Australia has highlighted the arrival of an increasing range of synthetic drugs, many originating from factories in China and India and ordered online; this article from the Lens, the research publication of Monash University, explores the forensic medicine efforts of ‘toxico-surveillance’ specialists to identify and track the influx of new illicit drugs, and the dangers they represent.

FEATURE: The latest report from consultants PwC has highlighted the risks posed by external rather than internal fraud, as organised crime and other entities look to exploit a perfect storm of environmental, geopolitical, financial and social pressures; the survey also urges departments in US organisations to adopt a “unified approach”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Police officers in the US are at higher risk of suicide than any other profession, but despite an increase in wellbeing programs across policing, evidence-based, data-driven approaches to tackle the issue and provide support are in short supply; the launch of the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection could be about to change that, as Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend reports.

OPINION: Violent extremism is on the rise globally, and in countries such as Pakistan, vulnerable young people are routinely targeted and manipulated by extremist groups; new research by PhD student Umair Asif and Professor Tegwen Gadais of the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum of UNSW Sydney, highlights the valuable role that sport can play in countering violent extremism and terrorism.

ANALYSIS: The UK’s access to Horizon Europe’s research and innovation programme funding as an associate member – and with it the ability to undertake pioneering research into policing and security that has delivered real benefits to UK law enforcement – appears to be increasingly under threat, thanks to ongoing political wrangles over the Northern Ireland post-Brexit border arrangements, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recently launched its new Police Encounter Panels (PEPs) to provide feedback on the use of force by officers and build closer relationships with the community; MPS Inspector Zed Asghar spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the aim of the PEPs, and how virtual reality technology was offering Panel members greater insight into the difficult decisions officers face.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of next week’s London Policing College workshop on tackling violence against women and girls, and the lessons learned from Operation Soteria Bluestone, workshop facilitator Parm Sandhu (a former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent who specialised in VAWG) talked to Policing Insight about improving the sharing of best practice, the need to identify cost-neutral measures, and the internal police cultures that still need to be overcome.

FEATURE: Almost a third of women experiencing the menopause consider quitting their jobs because of the severity of their symptoms, yet employers including police forces have been slow to offer support and advice; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at the efforts within Thames Valley Police to address those issues and ensure that its growing female workforce have the support they need.

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OPINION: Despite the high murder rate in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi, few cases ever make it to the courts; Dr Douglas Lucas Kivoi of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis believes that poor evidence gathering, police negligence and recklessness, a lack of forensic capability and claims of police involvement in extra-judicial killings are among the reasons behind the failure to solve so many murders, and sets out some key steps to address the issues.

INTERVIEW: In the second part of his interview with Policing Insight, Superintendents’ Association President Paul Fotheringham spoke to Keith Potter about the structural and operational challenges facing the rank, the pressures on measuring and improving performance, and the importance of focusing on wellbeing and good leadership.

INNOVATION: A start-up project pioneered by four UK universities is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify patterns of tech-facilitated coercive control sent by perpetrators through text messages; researchers believe the project, which recently received a £115,000 funding boost from the Home Office, could develop an AI tool that will encourage more victims of domestic abuse and coercive control to come forward, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

ANALYSIS: Purposeful community engagement is now widely recognised and recommended as a crucial step in delivering social change, including policies around crime reduction, preventing radicalisation, and building trust and confidence in policing; in the first of a series of articles, Intensive Engagement’s Richard James (a former police territorial commander) and Associate Professor Dr Tim Curtis explore the essential processes needed to create focused, sustainable and effective community engagement.

OPINION: The decriminalization of hard drugs such as cocaine and MDMA in Canada’s British Columbia province follows many years of campaigners calling for a public health approach; Professor Andrew Hathaway of the University of Guelph looks at the background to the decision, and considers what lessons can be learned from similar processes undertaken in other countries.