Topical issues

OPINION: Despite many more people dying on the roads than from terrorism or knife crime, roads policing resources have been significantly cut back over the past decade; now the Police Foundation has called for roads policing to be made a Strategic Policing Requirement, and a new Road Safety Commissioner appointed, in an effort to reverse the de-prioritisation of roads policing, as Police Foundation Director Rick Muir explains.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in this series on continuing professional development (CPD), Dr Paul Walley and Associate Lecturer Laurie Knell of the Open University explore the benefits and opportunities of collaborative learning design between police and higher education, and how a co-creation approach has proved successful for the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

ANALYSIS: The surge in terrorist content online has presented law enforcement agencies and tech companies with significant challenges in tackling dangerous extremists; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at European efforts to target such activities and online material, including new draft legislation governing how the EU can work with third countries to exchange data.

ANALYSIS: The often traumatic nature of policing has long been regarded as having a major effect on police wellbeing, but research in recent years has also highlighted the impact of organisational factors; former police officer Mark Brain, now a PhD Researcher at Cardiff University, used narrative interviewing techniques to determine that lengthy professional standards department investigations are one of the leading causes of officer mental ill-health.

FEATURE: With a diverse range of experiences, skills and backgrounds, apprentices are embraced by many organisations (including emergency services) as an important part of the workforce of the future, but a new survey suggests policing lags behind; Kit Salt, Head of End-Point Assessment at SFJ Awards, looks at the key role apprentices are already playing in some forces, and how they could help to shape the policing workforce going forwards.

OPINION: After a recent IOPC report highlighted racism, misogyny and bullying behaviour by a group of officers at one Met Police station, Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon – an executive coach and leadership mentor as well as former senior officer – argues that leading culture change is everyone’s responsibility, that leadership is not the preserve of senior officers alone, and that the service has been let down by officers at every level.

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.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Colin Stott, former detective chief superintendent and national lead for Regional Organised Crime Units, on funding education and diversion in the fight against organised crime, the importance of targeting criminal gains, and the need for international operational support.

ANALYSIS: Recent UK media headlines have focused on the commitment by some forces to attend all residential burglaries, and its apparent success in cutting crimes and increasing detections; but as Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett reports, lessons learned 20 years ago would suggest that high-quality investigations, dedicated resources and sustained efforts are much more likely to secure results than simple scene attendance.

FEATURE: The surge in Canadian girls and young women becoming victims of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) – as well as the high-profile suicides of two young females bullied as a result of TFSV – have prompted calls for new laws to offer greater protection; Dr Anthony Fong, Global Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto, explores the impact of the crime, and the legal options available.

INTERVIEW: With organised crime and illegal financial transactions increasingly reliant on digital data and online activity, the work of the digital forensics team at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK has become crucial in the fight against fraud and other crimes: Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to HMRC’s Head of Digital Forensics Colin Smith to find out more.

OPINION: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a gamechanger in law enforcement, but only if there is confidence in its deployment both inside and outside of the sector; Steve Ainsworth, Executive Director of Public Safety at NEC Software Solutions UK, argues the case for more transparency around the use of AI in policing.

ANALYSIS: Australia has a lengthy and costly 40-year history of providing assistance to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, but the offer recently accepted by the Islands’ Government of officers and equipment from China has raised some strategic concerns; Gordon Peake and Dr Graeme Smith of the Australian National University explore the Australian Federal Police’s capacity-building efforts to date, as well as China’s moves to extend their policing reach in the Pacific.

FEATURE: Stress has long been part of a police officer’s lot, but the added pressures of Covid, shortage of resources and continuous scrutiny have highlighted the damaging effect on officer wellness; Police Insight’s Christine Townsend looks at a new peer-to-peer support programme pioneered by Florida’s South Miami PD, which is attempting to change cultures, improve communication, and enhance officers’ ability to manage struggles.

ANALYSIS: As tensions continue to rise on the Russia-Ukraine border, public sector organisations in the UK are being urged to strengthen their cyber security resilience amid concerns that the threat of armed conflict on the ground could prompt aggressive actions by Russia in cyber space, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

OPINION: Under the Operation Uplift recruitment initiative, more female officers and staff are joining UK policing than ever before; but Kendal Wright, Dr Sean Bell and Dr Keely Duddin of the Open University argue that policing’s maternity policies are in need of an overhaul, with a more personalised approach offering greater chances of securing the commitment, motivation and positive mental health of mothers returning from maternity leave.

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 police recognition of and response to honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation, while well intentioned, regularly fails to provide adequate support for victims; Jennifer Holton, Citizens in Policing Manager for Wiltshire Police, draws on her own experience and research into the issues (including her Master’s thesis) to highlight key challenges and opportunities for change.

ANALYSIS: The high-profile media investigations into the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers and others brought the issues of illegal financial activity and money laundering to a wider global audience; now a new Europol report has offered a law enforcement perspective on the use of international finance systems for criminal gain, and Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

LONG READ: The use of naloxone by officers to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses is being trialled by several UK forces, having saved hundreds of lives in the US and Canada, and debates are ongoing in Australia and New Zealand – but not everyone believes it’s the best way forward; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro takes an in-depth look at the impact the medication can have, how and where it is being used, and the barriers to a wider roll-out.

ANALYSIS: Criminal justice stakeholders have been urged to take the opportunities offered by a new two-tier approach to out-of-court disposals as a route to cutting reoffending, reducing harm and clearing the CJS backlog – but a lot of work still needs to be done around oversight, openness and the evidence base, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: It’s 10 years since regulation of the private investigations industry in the UK was last considered; Policing Insight contributor Gareth Bryon takes a look at the calls for regulation, the current state of the sector, and whether a revisit of a regulatory framework could professionalise the industry.

ANALYSIS: Despite strong community rules and safeguards, some social media platforms remain a haven for a range of illegality, including the illicit trade in wildlife; University of Cape Town Research Associate Dr Rowan Martin, University of Oxford Senior Research Fellow Dr Amy Hinsley, and Dr Ana Nuno, Research Fellow at Nova School of Business and Economics, believe that trade can only be tackled effectively if experts, big tech and regulators adopt a united approach.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in this series on continuous professional development (CPD), Dr Nicky Miller (Director of Knowledge into Practice), Dr Emma Williams (Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships) and Research Fellow Richard Harding of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning explore the importance of reflective practice, particularly in relation to investigations of rape and serious sexual offences.