Topical issues

ANALYSIS: Drawing on interviews with senior police leaders and frontline officers, Dr Arabella Kyprianides et al* examine how COVID-19 legislation and government guidance impacted policing during the lockdown in the UK and the implications now restrictions are being eased.

Opinion: With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) on the increase, Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth discusses the progress of the ROXANNE project in discovering criminal networks and identifying their members by capitalising on certain aspect of AI technologies.

Opinion: In his first blog as President of the Disabled Police Association, Simon Nelson highlights the impact of Covid-19 on disabled officers and staff, and calls for national policing strategies to truly value difference, diversity and disability.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Nadine L. Salman and Dr Paul Gill from the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science discuss the terrorist threat during the coronavirus pandemic and how the lockdown has increased the risk of radicalisation online.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This year Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) celebrates 25 years of delivering educational courses in policing. CCCU has been instrumental in the national conversation about shaping the higher education offer within policing and as a result, we have adapted our programmes to fit the changing context of policing over time.

Analysis: At 9.9 million square kilometres, the UK can fit into Canada 40 times. Perivale and Taylor Consulting Vice President Robert Taylor and Senior Associate and Police ICT Specialist Kevin McQuiggin examine how policing has evolved in this vast country.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Professor Nick Tilley, UCL Jill Dando Institute, and Professor Ray Pawson, Leeds University, examine the factors impacting behaviour during the pandemic and suggest a way forward to securing voluntary compliance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: How the police have responded to enforcing the lockdown in the UK has received considerable attention. Ben Bradford, Zoe Hobson, Arabella Kyprianides and Julia Yesberg from the Jill Dando Institute, UCL plus Jonathan Jackson and Krisztián Pósch from the Methodology department of LSE look back and discuss the public's compliance with these tactics over the duration of the lockdown.

Analysis: A survey carried out by Working the Doors, which represents UK door staff, on the relationship between door staff and the police has revealed a lack of communication and, in some cases, a misunderstanding of each others' roles. Working the Doors Content Manager Steve Johnson explores the survey's results in detail.

ANALySIS: The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matters protests have highlighted the fragile relation between exercising police powers and public consent. Dr Nick Evans of the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency explores how the Agency's 'Four Pillars of Trust' offers forces a tool to consider the impact the policing response has on building trust with communities.

analysis: USA: Community groups and protesters are calling for major reforms of policing - including defunding and even disbanding forces - in the fallout from the killing of George Floyd. But, as Dr Jill McCorkel explains, the strength of police unions across the USA, together with protective legislation, represent a significant barrier to meaningful change.

ANALYSIS: The coronavirus pandemic has affected billions of people around the world, impacting daily lives, national economies, international trade and relations among nations. Prof Manuel Eisner of the University of Cambridge and Prof Amy Nivette of Utrecht University analysed worldwide data to identify violence trends and the implications for in public health, social work and policing. Their findings were published in April 2020 in a report commissioned by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation entitled Violence and the Pandemic – Urgent questions for Research.

EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS: Policing Insight's International Advisory Board (IAB) was established in April 2020 at the start of the pandemic lockdown in the United Kingdom. This article, the first by the IAB, offers a perspective on changes that policing leaders and key senior stakeholders might make to take advantage of some of the new working practices or insights emerging from the COVID-19 response.

ANALYSIS: The killing of George Floyd, caught on camera by a member of the public, has reignited the debate over whether body-worn cameras increase police accountability and transparency. Associate Professor in Law Robert Diab welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's support for the wider use of body-worn cameras, and sets out how and why that use should be enshrined in law.

Analysis: In the latest edition of the Thames Valley Police Journal, Inspector James Ravenall examines how wellbeing is impacted by a range of factors and offers ways to develop positive practice.

Analysis: Police forces must adapt, collaborate and innovate to get ahead of criminals, according to INTERPOL. Policing Insight Contributor Andrew Staniforth examines how INTERPOL is helping law enforcement to embrace innovation to keep communities safe.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: In Australia, both the Covid-19 infection rate and the number of fatalities have been relatively low compared with other countries. In an exclusive interview with Policing Insight, the Commissioner of Queensland Police Service Katarina Carroll explains how their '3 Cs' strategy - compassion, communication and compliance - was pivotal to the success of the policing operation.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: Internationally, police forces are having to enforce and respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Dr Zoha Waseem and Julian Laufs from the Department of Security and Crime Science at the Jill Dando Institute UCL examine the impact policing the pandemic is having on police forces and their staff.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: In the latest of the series of articles from the UCL Jill Dando Institute, Dr Lisa Tompson and Dr Jyoti Belur examine the effect of stalking on victims during the lockdown and how agencies are working to address this.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: The COVID-19 pandemic has been exploited by some criminals selling fake medical and health products. Dr. Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane Johnson, Director at the Dawes Centre for future crime at UCL, examine how criminals have preyed on people's fear and vulnerability and how this type of crime can be prevented.

Opinion: Professor of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia Thalia Anthony says Australia is appalled by racist police violence in the United States, but does not confront discrimination within its own criminal justice system against First Nations people.

INNOVATION: Just before the lockdown, Devon and Cornwall Police held the UK's first national conference on neuro-diversity in policing which examined the challenges faced by neuro-diverse officers and staff, but also the contribution they can make to policing.

Opinion: The lockdown has led forces to re-evaluate how they use technology to support their operations with some innovative results. Director at technology consultancy Tisski Ben Austen explores how having an integrated technology platform at the heart of policing will enable forces to continue to innovate.

Insight: The UK introduced new quarantine laws for those entering the UK earlier this month. Policing Insight contributor Andrew Staniforth explores the nature of these new restrictions and the ability of Border Force and the police to enforce them.