Topical issues

OPINION: New research suggests the unique nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has left policing struggling to make the most effective use of social media; crisis communications expert Amanda Coleman believes that the wide range of social media platforms could be used not just to engage the public, but to target and tackle crime.

INTERVIEW: On the eve of his departure as Chief Constable of South Wales Police, before taking up his new post as Assistant Commissioner at the Met, Matt Jukes spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the challenges of policing the pandemic, the importance of preparation and communication, and the ‘hidden heroes’ of the policing effort.

OPINION: With policing resources under greater pressure than ever, prioritising police activity has never been more important; Professor Lawrence Sherman, Director of Research, Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology, at the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology and crime harm index (CHI) pioneer, explains why the concept could be crucial for modern policing, ahead of a free, live CHI webinar tomorrow.

OPINION: The American presidential election was fought against a backdrop of protest, division and unrest, with law and order and policing more politicised than at any time since the 1960s; Professor Temitope Oriola of the University of Alberta believes legislation is needed to prevent a repeat of similar politicisation in the future.

FEATURE: In the second of two articles exploring crime harm indexes, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at the rationale behind the Cambridge index, and how the approach as been adopted in other countries including Sweden and Australia.

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.

OPINION: The coronavirus pandemic has put significant pressures on policing, which in turn have been significant catalyst for change. In this recently published white paper, former Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Craig Mackey explores how UK policing can use the current appetite for radical change coupled with technological advances to improve performance.

OPINION: Headlines talking about the continuing exodus of exhausted emergency services staff raise few eyebrows, suggesting society has become comfortably numb to the plight of frontline first responders; former officer and now Mightify CEO Tom Wheelhouse says it’s time the public sector started investing in the person, rather than the post.

OPINION: Around 120 million Nigerians have access to the internet, with more than half using at least one social media platform, but police in Lagos have yet to maximise the potential of digital communications to fight crime; criminologist Dr Usman Ojedokun explores why, and what more could be done to engage with the public.

FEATURE: In the first of two articles exploring crime harm indexes, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at the thinking behind the concept, and the latest calls for resources to be prioritised around a harm-based framework as part of the new approach to policing after the pandemic.

OPINION: Even before COVID-19, the next UK Comprehensive Spending Review was set to be a crucial moment for police funding; but as West Midlands Chief Constable Dave Thompson QPM explains, the future of policing is about much more than budgets, with greater accountability, improved public trust and a clearer understanding of local delivery among the key issues.

FEATURE: With COVID-19 contributing to a court case backlog in the UK that may take years to clear, out-of-court disposals (OOCDs) could offer an alternative to court for low-level offenders, while also providing early, effective interventions; Andrew Inwards of Fujitsu outlines the company’s co-creation work with police forces to develop a fast, effective OOCD app.

INTERVIEW: In the last in the series of articles linked to the Policing in the Time of Pandemic workshops organised by the London Policing College, Policing Insight talks to former senior Met Police officer and crisis management / incident response specialist Roger Gomm – and poses four key questions on police operation and crises – ahead of his workshops on the issue later this week.

ANALYSIS: How does policing affect people’s willingness to comply with COVID-19 restrictions, and does the public support the actions police may have to take? Having surveyed public opinion across 10 British cities at regular intervals during the pandemic, Dr Arabella Kyprianides, Dr Julia Yesberg, Dr Zoe Hobson and Prof Ben Bradford of UCL, Prof Jonathan Jackson and Dr Krisztián Pósch (LSE), and Dr Reka Solymosi of the University of Manchester discuss the findings of the Policing the Pandemic study.

OPINION: In the wake of the killing of George Floyd in America, further deaths and injuries to members of the public following police use of force have led to major protests and campaigns for police reform around the world, including Canada; but Professor Temitope Oriola of the University of Alberta argues that achieving reform requires pressure on politicians rather than policing.

OPINION: The growing suicide levels among police officers and emergency response staff highlight the heavy toll on mental health that these roles can take; in the first of a series of articles focusing on issues such as vulnerability, shame, and self-worth, former police leader turned development coach Gareth Davies outlines some of the key steps forces can take to enable officers to ask for help and support.

FEATURE: The social and economic conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have fuelled a surge in human trafficking in many countries; Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth reports on one US initiative which has brought together a range of covert intelligence and overt investigative agencies to tackle the issue – with impressive results.

OPINION: The debate over whether police forces should be ‘defunded’ – or funding reallocated to alternative community resources – has continued on both sides of the Atlantic; police ethics adviser Montell Neufville believes it’s important to understand the existing police and community criminal justice funding landscape, before considering the alternatives.

FEATURE: A study by the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales into rape survivors’ experiences of the criminal justice system has found that only one in seven felt that victims could get justice by reporting the crime to police; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons looks at some of the key findings from the report.

ANALYSIS: Cases of sexual misconduct by police officers are still relatively rare, but such an abuse of position can have serious implications for the public’s view of policing, and the trust of the police as an institution; PhD researcher and serving police officer Fay Sweeting explores the scale of the problem, and what forces could be doing better to tackle the issue.

ANALYSIS: A second report published today by the Institute for Government examining the impact of COVID-19 on public services has highlighted a record backlog of criminal cases and a rapid expansion of the use of remote hearings; Nick Davies, the Institute’s programme director leading its work on public services, outlines the key findings.

OPINION: Not all disability or difference is obvious; for Avon and Somerset Police Inspector Lee Moore, a diagnosis of dyspraxia more than 20 years into his police service explained some of the struggles he had faced from an early age and throughout his career, but also highlighted the positives that difference can bring.

INNOVATION: Drones are already part of the policing toolkit, but the introduction of new 5G networks will significantly enhance their law enforcement use – as well as potentially posing a greater criminal threat; Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest European project to identify and address the 5G drone challenges.

OPINION: The UN reports a 320% increase in right-wing terrorism globally in the five years prior to 2020; as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic provides a fertile breeding ground for fanaticism, Sean Spence, doctorate student in security risk management at the University of Portsmouth, explains why any current 'fifth wave' of terrorism is likely to come from the far right.