Topical issues

OPINION: UK police forces are increasingly opting to divert people found in possession of small quantities of drugs away from the criminal justice system; drugs policing expert and social justice charity leader, Meg Jones, who led the development and implementation of pre-arrest drug diversion in the West Midlands, considers the impact of the changing approach, and what it means for the future of policing drugs.

INNOVATION: The latest cybersecurity research and innovation opportunities published under the Horizon Europe programme offer police forces the chance to improve operational cyber monitoring and threat detection; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the opportunities available, and encourages UK forces to make the most of the funding available to strengthen security and detection through collaboration with EU partners.

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ANALYSIS: Collaboration is increasingly the approach of public sector service delivery, yet common insights highlight that collaborative efforts face a number of challenges that can lead to failure or discontinuation; University of Southampton Lecturer Dr Fatema Zaghloul draws on her current research to explore the emerging challenges and essential elements in developing and maintaining collaborative IT/IS projects across UK police forces.

INTERVIEW: Not all emergency service personnel are comfortable talking to their organisation’s wellbeing teams when struggling with mental health issues or personal challenges; for former Ontario Police Constable Dave McLennan, the answer was straightforward – set up a confidential peer support line – as he explained to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons.

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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 Dr Simon Sneddon, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Northampton, about firearms research, the links between organised crime and environmental injustice, and the potential growth of the synthetic narcotics trade.

OPINION: Police officers often deal with deaths and suicides by detaching and ‘normalizing’ distressing situations, but for former Queensland Far North Sgt Matthew Moloney, the suicide of someone he knew from the local Indigenous community prompted him to embark on an educational and research journey in an effort to change things for the better [WARNING: the article contains a graphic description of suicide that some readers may find distressing].

FEATURE: While some criminal activity has fallen during the pandemic, serious crimes have continued, which means so has the work of crime scene investigators; Paola Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Murdoch University, looks at the challenges of protecting CSI teams from COVID-19, and discusses some of her recent research on the steps agencies can take to keep staff safe.

INTERVIEW: The opportunity to spend a year as a White House Fellow gave LAPD officer Sgt Brian Churchill an incredible insight into leadership, one which he wanted to use to improve leadership training within the force; when the impact of Covid then shifted all learning online, the development of LAPD’s University app and online Leadership Program was the ideal solution, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: An Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention on Cybercrime contains important legal tools that will “enhance international co-operation”, according to Virgil Spiridon, Head of Operations at the Council’s Cybercrime Programme Office, who explained the latest developments to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Tour.

OPINION: With UK police forces witnessing a significant churn of experienced officers for new recruits, concerns over confidence, and a continuing challenge to maintain the policing by consent model, Acting Supt Stephen Lenney fears the service could be facing a perfect storm, one which could leave policing all at sea unless there is clarity of purpose and a shared consciousness of the challenges facing officers.

OPINION: Québec is currently experiencing its second province-wide pandemic curfew, introduced at the end of December in response to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant; but for Brandon University’s Professor Christopher Schneider, the new restrictions bring with them a dangerous expansion in police discretionary powers that could lead to the inconsistent and unfair application of enforcement.

ANALYSIS: The recent siege in a synagogue in Texas highlighted once again that terrorists increasingly view places of worship as legitimate and accessible targets; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on a new EU operational briefing published this week, providing guidance for law enforcement, faith leaders and their communities on improving protection at places of worship.

OPINION: A significant proportion of the 800,000 people detained in police custody in 2019 were children and young people, but Transform Justice Research and Policy Lead Fionnuala Ratcliffe believes that such detentions often lead to unreliable evidence and long-term damage to police legitimacy, and suggests alternatives such as voluntary attendance and out-of-court disposals could prove more effective.

OPINION: Police forces both in the UK and internationally are increasingly equipping officers with overdose reversal medication such as naloxone, in an effort to cut the catastrophic numbers of drug-related deaths; drugs policing expert Ben Twomey, who wrote the policy for the first force in the UK to carry the medication, writes about what it means for the war on drugs.

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: With America facing a continuing surge in violent crime, the Council on Criminal Justice established its Violent Crime Working Group, bringing together 16 leaders from law enforcement, public health, academia and community initiatives to identify solutions to the growth in violence; below is the Group’s 10-point, evidence-backed, short-term action plan to reverse the trend and promote peace in the streets.

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FEATURE: The latest Africa Organised Crime Index published by the EU-funded ENACT organisation reveals that criminal groups across the continent adapted quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the illicit activities of state actors and the growth in trafficking of both people and cocaine represent major challenges, as Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

FEATURE: The latest report on the policing of the pandemic in the UK has suggested expanding the ‘4Es’ approach to other law enforcement activities, investing the additional capability from Operation Uplift into neighbourhood policing, and improving national co-ordination and workforce planning, as some of the key lessons from Covid policing; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons takes a closer look at the report.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Former Cambridgeshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Alan Baldwin (centre-right in picture) believes clearing the vetting backlogs and attracting the right people into policing – including increased recruitment of under-represented groups – are essential steps for the future of the service in the UK, as he explained to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Walking Tour.

FEATURE: The use of learning analytics to measure, collect and analyse data from police learners – with a view to optimising programmes and improving the development environment – could revolutionise policing learning, as Dr Matthew Jones and Prof Bart Rienties of the Open University explain in this latest in a series of articles on police CPD.

ANALYSIS: While banking and financial transactions move increasingly towards digital platforms, criminals are resurrecting a more traditional fraud – bank check theft – to build bitcoin profits and steal identities, as Georgia State University Criminology and Criminal Justice Professor David Maimon explains.