Topical issues

INTERVIEW: Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, has urged forces to invest in training for specialist teams, more financial investigations and closer cross-border working to tackle the huge but often hidden and complex crime of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Insight: The UK’s Advanced Research & Invention Agency will help to accelerate the digitalisation and technological transformation of policing; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth examines how the new agency will provide forward-thinking innovators with a unique opportunity to revolutionise the service.

ANALYSIS: When is it acceptable for off-duty officers and staff to engage in protests – and do they need permission to do so? This article by Dr Hannah Maslen, Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University, and Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Paine, Head of Professional Standards at Thames Valley Police – republished from the latest TVP Journal – considers these and other key issues around the rights of officers and staff to engage in public protest.

OPINION: Jon Parry, Head of Research at Skills for Justice, was part of the conversation at the recent Police Foundation conference exploring the skills and capabilities required to build a workforce capable of meeting the challenges of the next 20 years; here he shares findings from his research, taking an evidence-based, workforce-centred approach to future proofing policing.

OPINION: Steve Ainsworth, Director of Operational Safety at Northgate Public Services, believes public concern over the ethical use of AFR is blocking it from being seen as a force for good, and sets his sights on debunking facial recognition technology’s Big Brother image.

Analysis: Hateful extremism must be addressed before it manifests itself as violent extremism – as unfolded in the 2019 Christchurch massacre in New Zealand – argues Professor Greg Barton, whose analysis of the Australian response to extremism calls for groups espousing hate that do not reach the threshold of criminality to be tackled, and new ways for police to record complaints that capture hate motivations.

INTERVIEW: An Garda Síochána's new Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon welcomes the extra scrutiny she will attract as an outsider joining the top team of the force from Toronto next month. Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons talked to her about her role and how her change management experience and ability to think differently stand to benefit her new colleagues and the Irish community.

FEATURE: There is growing evidence that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are responsible for many negatives outcomes in adult life, including issues such as violent behaviour and drug addiction; and as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports, the failure to address ACEs early can cost society billions of pounds in the long term.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former Baltimore City Police Deputy Commissioner Tony Barksdale highlights the urgent need for policing to be able to confront the violence that is devastating some of the most vulnerable sections of the community.

ANALYSIS: A wide range of measures were introduced across the criminal justice system in the UK to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, including greater use of remote legal advice for those in police custody; but as Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice explains, a new report highlights both the lack of meaningful monitoring of such measures, and their potential to compromise justice and jeopardise fairness.

FEATURE: The National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) has launched the Trouble with the Law campaign, urging police and crime commissioner candidates to make an election commitment to protect and empower care-experienced children and young people; Joshua Williams, NYAS Public Affairs Officer and Jennifer Downie, NYAS Policy and Research Officer, explain why it’s important to keep care-experienced young people out of the criminal justice system.

ANALYSIS: In their second Policy Briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on child exploitation through country lines drug dealing, the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, in partnership with the De Montford University School of Law, highlight the ability of county lines drug networks to adapt to lockdown conditions, and the effect of pandemic restrictions on the safeguarding and vulnerability of children and young people.

ANALYSIS: Policing in the UK is witnessing a ‘steep and troubling’ rise in the number of officers resigning early in service, citing poor leadership and management, organisational injustice and exhausting working patterns among the reasons for leaving: Dr Sarah Charman – a panellist at this week's Police Foundation workforce conference – and Dr Stephanie Bennett, both of the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth, explore the key reasons why officers leave mid-service.

INNOVATION: Among a number of key issues covered at this month’s UK Police Digital Summit was the importance of agile, cloud-based services for frontline officers; Simon Hall, CEO of PoliceBox, believes the move to adaptable, police-specific solutions is crucial for future policing.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: As one of the UK's leading control room software experts, APD Communications has been working hard behind the scenes on developing new technologies to help against the fight of the ever-increasing demands experienced with the control room.

ANALYSIS: The criminal use and manipulation of cryptocurrencies has been a growing threat over recent years, brought into sharper focus by the financial disruption of the pandemic; Eray Arda Akartuna of the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science at UCL highlights some of the key emerging risks and trends, as well as the steps to be taken to tackle them.

INNOVATION: Digital transformation within policing and the criminal justice system has gathered pace in recent years, and the pandemic in particular has been a key driver; but Raj Singh, CEO of digital transformation specialists Innotatio, warns that successive waves of future transformation will bring with them fresh challenges.

OPINION: Proposals by the UK Government to criminalise trespass look set to affect Travellers more than any other group; but Helen O’Nions, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, warns that the laws will contradict human rights legislation, lack support, and be very difficult to enforce.

Job advertisement: Police Lecturer vacancies at Babcock International for their new flagship contract partnering with several Higher Education Institutes across London to deliver the new Metropolitan Police Service Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) framework.

ANALYSIS: In the final part of their trilogy of articles on Canadian policing, Keith Taylor and Dr Barbara Herring of consultants perivale+taylor explore some of the developments and often unique challenges faced by the country’s law enforcement agencies in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.

FEATURE: The recent Frontline Fulfilment online event attracted an audience and speakers from around the world; Mightify CEO Tom Wheelhouse, one of the organisers of the event, looks at some of the key issues covered, including mental fitness and resilience, leadership, and personal development.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professor Gary Cordner, former Maryland police chief and Academic Director of the Baltimore Police Department Police Academy, explains how better police education and training can contribute to reducing violence.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr-Munro explores the growing efforts to understand and acknowledge the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on adult behaviour, and adopt a public health policing approach.

OPINION: Applying and enforcing COVID-19 legislation has been a difficult balancing act for many police forces, but in Northern Ireland the added context of sectarian conflict and discrimination has proved particularly challenging; Dr Kevin Hearty of Queen’s University Belfast believes the recent actions of the Police Service of Northern Ireland could reopen long-standing divisions.