Topical issues

OPINION: A report by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) backed the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use; Professor Bill Bogart explores whether the country is ready and willing to take that step.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In this latest article from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Mariam Elgabry discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the growing problem of bio-crime both in the UK and abroad.

FEATURE: COVID-19 has represented a major challenge to the emergency services, but has also led to an acceleration in collaborative working; now a new survey aims to capture and share successful collaborations, as a foundation for future workforce transformation

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight contributor Sarah Gibbons outlines the findings of the latest report from the Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material, highlighting the need for stronger governance and clarity on the use of biometrics technology.

Opinion: In 2019, Dubai Police became the world's first law enforcement agency to achieve the British Standard Certification for delivering effective governance of organizational performance. Force consultant Jorge Román, and Dubai Police Major, Dr Hamdan Al Samt, explore what the standard means for both the force and the community.

ANALYSIS: The lack of interoperability between police systems wastes taxpayers’ money and reduces effectiveness, says Coeus Software CEO Simon Hall. So how can police ICT escape from the silos of legacy systems?

INTERVIEW: Peter Prater, Chair of the International Critical Control Rooms Alliance (ICCRA), chaired the inaugural global Control Room Summit in Amsterdam earlier this year. In this interview for Policing Insight, he discusses the changes he has seen in 35 years in control rooms, the potential to learn from other sectors, and the technologies he thinks will shape the future.

Insight: Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth considers how the use of drones to aid police enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic has been received by the general public both within the UK and abroad.

OPINION: At the inaugural Round Table Event of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) in June, the organisation’s President, Dr Phil Kowalick, outlined plans for transforming the intelligence workforce. His presentation is published here in full, ahead of AIPIO’s National Forum on Wednesday (19 August).

ANALYSIS: A new report by the Revolving Doors Agency highlights the bias in the criminal justice system which leads to disproportionate numbers of young Black adults receiving cautions and convictions for low-level, non-violent crimes.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: With children in England expected to fully return to school in September, Dr Mandy Shaw from Leeds Beckett University considers how bullying has continued during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, and how the risk of this can be managed within the school environment.

OPINION: In what is believed to be a first for the United Arab Emirates, a new multi-agency child protection centre for victims of physical and sexual abuse has opened in Sharjah. Deloitte Middle East’s Public Safety lead, Andrew Morley, explains the context to this move, and what ‘Kanaf’ will hope to achieve.

OPINION: Adrian Timberlake, Chief Technical Officer at Seven Technologies Group, explains how new technology and the improved use of data could help police to prevent and reduce knife crime.

OPINION: The recent stop of London MP Dawn Butler under the Road Traffic Act (RTA), and the media storm which ensued, once again brought the issue of police legitimacy into the headlines; Montell Neufville believes amending the RTA could improve interactions with the public.

ONLINE EVENT ADVERT: Skills for Justice invite you to join them virtually for the first interactive Organisation Development and Changing Practice event on Thursday 20th August 2020

OPINION: The nature of policing is complex and fast moving, as highlighted in the recent Police Foundation Strategic Review. Ahead of their forthcoming one-day online event on changing practice, Skills for Justice Consultant Toby Lindsay highlights the need for effective leaders to master adaptive challenges.

ANALYSIS: In the wake of the National Crime Agency's successful global operation against organised crime, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses how law enforcement agencies are combatting the cartels and whether this is working.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Dr Kartikeya Tripathi and Professor Claudia Cooper from the UCL Jill Dando Institute examine how the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime has increased for older people during lockdown and how this threat can be tackled.

ANALYSIS: Last week saw the release of Australia’s long-awaited Cyber Security Strategy, and a pledge to spend A$1.67 billion over the next decade. Damien Manuel, Director of the Centre for Cyber Security Solutions at Australia's Deakin University, looks at how the funding will be used – and who will be the main winners and losers.

OPINION: Community scrutiny panels (CSPs) can help to ensure the use of stop and search is fair and proportionate, says Nina Champion, Director of Criminal Justice Alliance – but only if they are representative of their communities, allowed to operate independently, and given the necessary funding, training and access to data.

OPINION: The push for greater efficiency and effectiveness has seen UK police forces increasingly collaborating on areas such as procurement, finance and HR with neighbouring colleagues and public sector partners. John O'Halloran of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) highlights some of the key considerations to ensure back-office unification brings significant benefits rather than additional problems.

OPINION: PCCs (and PFCCs) have a statutory duty to consult the public before drawing up plans and setting out priorities. But in an era of social distancing, greater public scrutiny and an increasing appetite for legal challenge, successfully fulfilling that statutory public consultation duty is more complex than ever, as Anna Collins of the Consultation Institute explains.

ANALYSIS: Launched three years ago, Merseyside Police's innovative Evidence-Based Policing (EBP) Knowledge Hub hosts around 150 pieces of research; in 2019 it staged its first event, showcasing some of the research and their practical applications. PS Andrew Fielding explores the presentations and the benefits of EBP to policing.

ANALYSIS: The speed with which coronavirus legislation was introduced, and its reach, led to calls for additional human rights-based scrutiny of the emergency powers. Solicitor Advocate John Scott QC, who chaired Scotland's independent advisory group on the issue, explains how the group was established and operated, some of the lessons learned, and how Scotland led the way.