Topical issues

FEATURE: Family violence, bullying, social anxiety and Covid are just some of the factors contributing to a significant truancy problem in New Zealand; the NZ Police Association recently reported on a joint operation that has seen a simple knock on the front door of houses reopening the doors to education for hundreds of children in South Auckland.

ANALYSIS: As the race to take on the top role of Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police service hots up, it has been revealed that former New Zealand Commissioner of Police Mike Bush has thrown his hat into the ring. PolicingTV presenter and former BBC Home Affairs Correspondent Danny Shaw takes a closer look at the man behind the uniform and, if appointed, what impact he might have on policing London.

ANALYSIS: As an Irish organised crime group worth more than a billion dollars has made headlines after the US Government offered a $5 million reward for their capture, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a look at how we can tackle the biggest and most sophisticated criminal entities.

OPINION: The EU’s recently agreed Digital Services Act and the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill are the latest attempts to target illegal online content, particularly on social media platforms; but Dr Greig Paul of the University of Strathclyde believes that the struggles to balance moderation with free speech, and the sheer scale of social media, means that such efforts are unlikely to succeed.

INTERVIEW: Former College of Policing CEO Mike Cunningham QPM started his policing career at Lancashire Constabulary in 1987, becoming Assistant Chief Constable in 2005, before joining the not-for-profit Skills for Justice in 2021 to support the professional development of officers and staff in policing; Policing Insight caught up with him to hear about his latest work, including the Inspire Justice Awards, which will launch next month.

FEATURE: With funding increases partially ringfenced for recruitment, more budgetary pressure is on the horizon for UK policing; Neil Amos and Richard Davis of PA Consulting spoke to a panel of police and crime commissioners and former and serving police leaders to discuss what could be done to build better partnerships with the private sector, and drive efficiencies and improved services.

ANALYSIS: With business, security and many other aspects of everyday life increasingly reliant on software, the frequency of attacks on the software supply chain – and their potential impact – is growing; Sarah Sloan, Palo Alto Networks’ Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for ANZ, looks at what more Australia could be doing to tackle the software security threat.

ANALYSIS: As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the lessons that need to be learned in relation to protecting public spaces from terror attack, and the important balance between community security and the rights of individual citizens.

FEATURE: With policing under ever-increasing scrutiny over the use of force, a new programme launched by America’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is looking to improve understanding among the media and the public about law enforcement use-of-force policies and the split-second decisions officers may need to take, as Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend reports.

INTERVIEW: Ahead of this week’s Police Digital Summit, and a year after his interview for CoPaCC’s Future Police Contact Management report, PSNI ACC Alan Todd, the NPCC lead for contact management, spoke to Policing Insight about the digital contact developments over the past 12 months, the challenges still ahead, and next month’s launch of a new British Sign Language video relay service for emergency calls.

OPINION: With two high-profile recent reports identifying the capacity, capability and organisational issues facing policing, it’s evident that more effective collaborations with industry partners will be essential to meet the challenges of digital transformation, as former chief police officer Paul Kennedy and Adrian Leer, Managing Director of Triad Group Plc, explain.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Salesforce is pleased to be a principal supporter of the Police Digital Summit 2022. Please come and say hello to us on stand 1 where we will be pleased to walk you through our end-to-end capabilities to help Police Forces with their transformation plans.

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 financial crime consultant Richard Gould about enabling financial investigators to “cause mayhem in the criminal community”, the ongoing challenge of trade-based money laundering, and why the decision to discontinue some the UK’s international law enforcement projects was so misguided.

FEATURE: The risks around the use of anti-harm suits to prevent custody detainees from ripping material for self-harming have been highlighted in the UK both by inspectorates and the College of Policing; now a new pilot is underway in Dyfed-Powys to identify alternatives to the suits, as well as establish greater consistency around their use, as Ashley Bertie, CEO of the Independent Custody Visiting Association explains.

INNOVATION: With the continuing proliferation of technology and digital innovation across society, Tom Weeks, Technical Director of Informed Solutions, explores the importance of data science, standards, and citizen trust as drivers for sustainable policing success in a rapidly evolving digital world.

ANALYSIS: Many ex-prisoners end up in the vicious cycle of homelessness, reoffending and reincarceration; but new research by academics from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, the University of Tasmania and Melbourne’s RMIT University indicates that providing public housing for those released from prison could cut crime and reduce criminal justice costs.

INTERVIEW: As LAPD’s Director of Police Training and Education, Dr Luann Pannell is using her insight as a psychologist to reshape the Department’s training approach and ensure resilience and good mental health receive as much focus as procedures and practical skills, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

FEATURE: Greater use of data analytics in policing could offer significant opportunities to reduce crime, but the increased adoption of such technology is not without challenges; John Salt, CEO and co-founder of data recruitment specialists Only Data Jobs, explores some of the potential benefits of the new technology, as well as examples where law enforcement is already reaping the benefits.

INNOVATION: Having recognised the potential criminal threat from the use of drones, the INTERPOL Innovation Centre has now joined forces with law enforcement agencies across Europe to launch Project COURAGEOUS, an initiative to identify and assess the most effective technology to detect, track and intervene against illicit drones, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

OPINION: With the latest survey of police superintendents in England and Wales as well as Northern Ireland revealing record levels of low morale – and fewer than four in 10 officers prepared to recommend joining the police service to others – Police Superintendents’ Association President Paul Fotheringham has called for a “determination to value and care for our people” that matches efforts to repair policing’s relationship with the public.

INTERVIEW: New Zealand Police Senior Sergeant Steve Harwood has led disaster victim identification (DVI) teams in the wake of some of the world’s largest mass casualty events; and while officers and staff are driven by the desire to reunite grieving relatives with the remains of their loved ones, the mental and physical wellbeing of those teams must also be a priority, as he explained to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: Acknowledged as a potentially influential document in shaping UK law enforcement for the future, the Police Foundation’s recently published final report on the Strategic Review of Policing also recommended major changes in tackling organised crime (OC) going forwards; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen considers some of the report’s key points on OC.

ANALYSIS: Despite several attempts at reform, successive governments in Pakistan appear to have had little success in tackling the corruption, undue political influence and paramilitary involvement in policing; Zoha Waseem, Assistant Professor in Criminology at the University of Warwick, believes Pakistan’s new government must now take the opportunity to deliver localised, effective change.

FEATURE: As movements of migrants and refugees across European borders reaches new levels in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ensuring border security while protecting refugees and preserving human rights has become increasingly difficult; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the latest EU funding for police and security projects that will help countries to meet those complex challenges.