Topical issues

OPINION: After a number of high-profile protests over the past year, a community’s successful efforts to prevent the arrest and possible deportation of two men in Glasgow last week may represent a turning point in the public’s willingness to support policing by consent, believes public order expert and former Chief Superintendent Owen West – and that change in approach may bring a significant challenge for UK policing.

TAKE PART IN THE SURVEY: Policing employers and employees across the UK are being encouraged to take part in a biennial research project, to gauge the skills and training support needs of the entire workforce. Leading the national study, Jon Parry, Head of Research at Skills for Justice, discusses how the findings will help shape a future where staff resilience and wellbeing is both nurtured and adept to meeting the demands of the modern service.

ANALYSIS : The pandemic has focused attention on our reliance on infrastructure; but organised criminals rarely miss opportunities to 'repurpose' technology. Martin Gallagher, serving officer with Police Scotland, and Chris Foster of the University of Manchester, explore the concept of 'shadow infrastructure' and its dangers.

FEATURE: The recent Europol terrorism report confirmed that violent Jihadism remains a serious concern in the UK, and also redefines ‘Jihadist terrorism’; as Jihadist attacks on soft targets continue, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on why the definition and terminology used is a key issue for law enforcement.

Policing Friendship Tour: The impact of Covid on policing by consent, the fight against human trafficking and the future challenges of cross-border policing were just some of the issues discussed as Policing Insight’s Publisher Bernard Rix began his Policing Friendship Tour. Bernard was talking to Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, who joined him on the first leg of the walking tour, which began in Barnstaple.

ANALYSIS: DNA and other biometric samples are retained in the UK under clear regulations and an overarching legal framework; but as Post-Doctoral Researcher Karen Richmond of the University of Copenhagen explains, misaligned legislation between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, means that more than one million samples are being illegally retained – leaving police personnel who enrol those subject onto databases open to litigation.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professor Michael Fortner of City University of New York explores the political limitations of the ‘causal story’ attached to #defund and why a blended reform approach rather than the moral clarity of police abolition will save more lives.

FEATURE: New research has highlighted the hugely profitable, ‘industrial scale’ wildlife crime taking place in West Africa, co-ordinated largely by organised crime groups, as well as the potential for financial investigators to target the criminals; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the options for tackling a severely damaging global trade, often undertaken at a local level by some of the world’s poorest people.

FEATURE: Wales has been a pioneering country in its public-health approach to policing, but now a multi-agency initiative is aiming to create a truly trauma-informed nation that understands and recognises the impact of adverse childhood experiences, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

OPINION: The death earlier this year of Mthokozisi Ntumba, shot by police as he walked past a student protest, has highlighted South Africa’s painful history of police using excessive force against protesters; Frans Viljoen, Professor of International Human Rights Law, believes a recently published report on public order policing, and a proposed amendment to the South African Police Act, could be a catalyst for change.

OPINION: The recent announcement that the Home Office is considering new police performance measures for forces in England and Wales drew a strong negative response from the service; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett, a former member of the NPCC Performance Management Committee and national lead for continuous improvement, outlines the key concerns around league tables and the inevitable targets that follow, and suggests an alternative approach.

UK PCC ELECTIONS 2021: As the dust slowly settles on the 2021 police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections, and those in post start to implement their manifestos, Professor Peter Joyce (Wrexham Glyndŵr University) and Dr Wendy Laverick (University of Hull) take a closer look at the election process – who fought on what issues, how the parties fared, the profiles of those now in office, and what the challenges will be for PCCs going forwards.

FEATURE: A six-month secondment to Police Scotland enabled two Vietnamese officers to support the force’s work targeting organised crime groups involved in trafficking people into the country from Vietnam; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi, Police Scotland’s lead for modern slavery and human trafficking, about the ‘lawfully audacious and exploratory approach’.

ANALYSIS : Are police and crime commissioners fit for purpose? In the wake of the May elections, Dr Simon Cooper of the University of Essex, unveils new research which suggests stark differences in the calibre of PCCs – with some identified as ‘ill-equipped’ for the job.

ANALYSIS: The results of a recent survey of New Zealand Police Association members have confirmed high levels of post-traumatic stress (PTS) among both serving and former and serving officers, and underlined the need for greater support and services for those experiencing the effects of PTS.

FEATURE: A new Social Media Management & Engagement Framework has been launched by the Police Digital Service, to enable forces to meet nationally agreed strategy standards on consistency and engagement, with the potential for using digital channels for both emergency and non-emergency contact, as Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and gun violence remains worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Maria (Maki) Haberfeld of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice argues that improving national standards in law enforcement and taking politics out of policing would be much more effective in reducing violence than defunding the police.

OPINION: As the public head to the polls today to vote in local council and police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections, two-term North Yorkshire PCC (becoming one of only four Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners) Julia Mulligan – who is not standing again this year – looks back at her time in office, and explores how commissioners can champion causes, change priorities, focus minds and deliver results as catalysts for reform.

OPINION: In his latest article in relation to the Strategic Review of Policing, Police Foundation Director Dr Rick Muir sets out the key steps needed for an effective crime prevention strategy – including a ‘duty to prevent crime’ on the private sector, a national agency working with big tech to tackle online crime, and Cabinet Office ownership and leadership.

ANALYSIS: A new report by the New Zealand Law Commission has set out 193 recommendations to overhaul the use of DNA in criminal investigation; but Professor Carrie Leonetti of the University of Auckland believes the report still overlooks key issues in the use of the country’s DNA databank in relation to over-representation of Māori, the use of familial searches, and concerns over privacy, discrimination and consent.

INNOVATION: With increasing pressure on policing restricting opportunities for research and innovation, a new EU funding programme – to which UK forces still have access – could offer fresh avenues for transformation and change that will enable law enforcement to tackle existing and emerging threats, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: A unique collaboration between the UK’s Joint International Policing Hub (JIPH) and the People’s Police Academy in Vietnam has led to a lasting legacy for Vietnamese police training in tackling human trafficking; DI Mark O’Donoghue of the JIPH spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about the project.

OPINION: At a time when relationships between police and some communities are under growing strain, and in an era when law enforcement is encouraged to engage more positively through social media, there is always a danger that police forces themselves become the ‘fake news’; when that happens it’s important to address the problem quickly and effectively, explains Yael Bar tur, digital communications expert and former NYPD Director of Social Media.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and gun violence remains worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, DeVone Boggan, CEO of Advance Peace, explains why investing in ‘Violence Interrupters’ – reformed gun offenders operating as mediators, de-escalation experts and violence interventionists – has the real potential to drive change in gun-impacted communities.