Topical issues

FEATURE: The impact of COVID-19 has included changing crime volumes and trends, with forces having to adapt rapidly and implement new ways of working; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett spoke to Cheshire Constabulary’s DCS Gareth Lee and DCI Adam Ross about some of the challenges of tackling and investigating crime during the pandemic, and how the experience could drive lasting change.

OPINION: Events that occurred on London’s Clapham Common last weekend received widespread international media coverage, much of which has focused on the nature of policing and querying its appropriateness; Professor Peter Joyce and Dr Wendy Laverick examine some of the key issues regarding the manner in which the event was managed by the Metropolitan Police Service.

INTERVIEW: Managing conflict and challenging conversations is a key skill for all front-line officers, but police leaders also have to navigate difficult conversations with colleagues, commissioners and partners; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth talks to communication and conflict expert Nicole Posner about the challenges of managing conflict, and how to conduct challenging conversations with confidence.

Opinion: In the second of two articles exploring the current spotlight on policing protests, public order specialist and former chief superintendent Owen West assesses the latest HMICFRS report on the issue, and questions the lack of focus on resources, liaison and leadership, as well as the political timing of the publication.

ANALYSIS: New research has highlighted the increased frequency and volume of cocaine shipments into Europe from South America; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the reasons behind the changes to the drugs market, and how the trade and trafficking routes are likely to evolve in the future. 

FEATURE: A major report into bullying in New Zealand Police has called for a ‘reset of values’ after highlighting a negative culture of fear and punishment, examples of sexist and racist behaviour, and a ‘boys’ club’ based on power relationships and perpetuated by allegiances, cliques and cronyism; but report author Judge Colin Doherty recognised that the service has ‘turned a corner’ under Commissioner Andrew Coster.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: Having experienced personal loss as well as the pressures of lockdown over the past 18 months, Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix is preparing to embark next month on a walking tour of police forces and associated organisations across the British Isles, raising money for charities while rekindling old and existing friendships, and building many new ones.

OPINION: Governments and police agencies around the world are looking for the most effective ways to tackle organised crime; Australian law enforcement and security analyst Teagan Westendorf believes the introduction of Magnitsky-style legislation and the use of sanctions against major criminals could be a valuable, targeted law-enforcement tool.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Police are busy, and always being pulled in too many different directions. There’s not much time for learning – or is there? This Rapid-Fire conference, supported by Policing Insight, breaks the mould: viewers get 10-minute training sessions that cut straight to the point, rather than having to sit through an hour-long presentation only to conclude they didn’t really get anything from it.

ANALYSIS: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 announced by the Government last week looks set to change the nature of protests in the UK, while also placing a greater onus on police to consider the noise and disruption impact of public assemblies, says public order specialist and former Chief Superintendent Owen West.

INTERVIEW: As the impact of COVID-19 continues to create an environment where organised human trafficking thrives, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth talks to Sophie Kenneally of Agenfor International about the threat from the trade in people across Europe, and how a unique project with police in Germany, Italy and Spain will enhance the capacity of investigators to disrupt trafficking networks through financial analysis.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former police officer and New York City Attorney Aurora Curtis calls for an expansion of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence High-Risk Response Model, which has co-ordinated a multi-agency approach to targeting the men most likely to kill their partners – with dramatic results.

INTERVIEW: After 38 years in the police service, British Transport Police Temporary Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock is shortly due to retire, having become the only openly gay male police officer to lead a UK force; he spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about his fears when he first joined the job, the progress policing has made on diversity, and the challenges that still need to be tackled.

INNOVATION: Intelligent automation is delivering significant savings, greater efficiency and improved job satisfaction for many forces across England and Wales; Christy Hopkins and Andy Willmer of consultancy Deloitte highlight some of the key benefits already realised by this automated addition to the police workforce.

FEATURE: While the private sector is increasingly recognising and benchmarking the importance of a high-quality workplace environment in achieving improved performance, the public sector his still some way behind; Dubai Police consultant Jorge Román explains how the force is leading the way, by becoming the first police agency to secure accreditation from the Great Place to Work Institute.

Opinion: Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Andy Marsh, a keen geographer with passion for innovation and collaboration, explores how geospatial data provided by the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA) helps protect our communities, and innovate and enable better decision making.

OPINION: New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster was recently accused by one politician of being a ‘wokester’ and out of step with the public for his commitment to policing by consent; but Dr Bethan Greener of Massey University believes the focus on consent and engaging with communities is entirely in line with the fundamental ethos of democratic policing.

OPINION: As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, former police officer Dr Sarah Jane Fox, now a member of the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University, highlights the key role that women already play in policing – and the efforts to address the gender imbalance in police services around the globe, as well as in wider society.

FEATURE: In the first in a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the key issue of 'What is policing?' – including the definitions of high and low policing, the five approaches to understanding police activity, and the inherent tensions between coercion and legitimacy.

Interview: West Midlands Police data ethics committee could see its role expand into a national portfolio building on its success of scrutinising police use of artificial intelligence-led operations and acting as a vehicle to build public trust in new policing techniques. Policing Insight's Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons talked to one of the committee's creators about its work and the teeth it has despite being only an advisory body.

OPINION: With funding for policing and the wider public sector likely to be under significant pressure in the post-Covid economic landscape, resources for roads policing may be severely stretched; Charlie Norman, Managing Director of DriveTech, believes improved partnerships with the private sector could be crucial to maintaining safety on the roads.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Michael Jenkins, Associate Professor at the University of Scranton, argues that a return to policing’s traditional roots will curb disorder and, in turn, build stronger, healthier police-public relations with a shared vision for communities.

FEATURE: Gender diversity in armed policing is under renewed focus at a national level, so it was timely for this topic to be the subject of a @WeCops debate earlier this year: Superintendent Andrea Quinton of the North West Armed Policing Collaboration and DCI Ops Pip Taylor, Tactical Firearms Commander for Sussex and Surrey Police, hosted the debate, and compiled this round-up from the evening’s key comments and questions.

ANALYSIS: Crime networks are laundering the profits from illegal activities such as trafficking in wildlife, timber and people smuggling through casinos; freelance journalist Georgina Kenyon highlights the challenges facing Australia and other countries in tackling the links between serious and organised crime and the gambling industry.