FEATURE: With the three-year European PERIVALLON initiative – which aims to build a better intelligence picture of organised environmental crime, and develop tools and solutions to combat it – drawing to a close later this year, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the project so far, and what more needs to be done by law enforcement and others to tackle the problem.

ANALYSIS: The number of sextortion cases reported to the US National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children skyrocketed from 139 in 2021 to 26,000 in 2023, and the crime is now ruining young lives in countries around the world; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to cybercrime analyst Paul Raffile and financial investigator Detective Brad Thorne about the scale of the problem, the importance of police investigating cases, and the need to overcome challenges around international co-operation.

FEATURE: In the latest article in The Police Student series, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the development and role of the probation service in England and Wales, including the challenges around balancing encouraging desistance with managing the risk to the public; responsibilities ranging from pre-sentence reports to supervising offenders on licence and statutory duties under the Victims’ Code; and the importance of partnership working.

FEATURE: Following an inspection into the force’s prevention, protection and prosecution of domestic abuse, and the support for victims, a new report by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate (now the Policing and Community Safety Authority) calls for more multi-agency measures, better management of offenders and the adoption of a force-wide domestic abuse strategy, among more than 50 recommendations aimed at improving current approaches, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Politicians and journalists on across the US political spectrum have argued that recent election results reflect a frustration with Democratic policies on crime in cities; but new research by Harvard University Professor Justin de Benedictis-Kessner and Professor Christopher Warshaw at George Washington University suggests that neither party is doing a better job at reducing crime, nor addressing the ballooning financial cost and long-term reputational costs of policing in the US.

FEATURE: A new report into the “effectiveness and efficiency” of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), published by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, warns that budgetary constraints have led to the lowest number of officers in the PSNI’s history, hampering the best efforts of the chief constable, his officers and staff to provide a high-quality service and build trust with communities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Marking his first full year in post, Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing Ryan Teschner has launched a new three-year strategy for policing in the province, along with a promise to be a ‘right-touch regulator’ who will propel Ontario to become a global centre of excellence; he spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the aim of the strategy, his ambitions for the service, and how his role and the new organisation he leads has been welcomed by police agencies across the province.

INTERVIEW: Three years after completing his 10-year term as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales, Sir Tom Winsor spoke to Policing Insight about the new financial challenges facing policing, the improper political pressure put on officers, the “chilling effect” of PCC oversight on recruiting and retaining chief constables, and the need for a “network code” which would bind chiefs and PCCs to comply with majority decisions voted for by them and their colleagues.

INNOVATION: Following on from the Cityforum roundtable on transforming police public contact earlier this year, and with the Government’s policing priorities highlighting the issue as crucial to modern service delivery, Content Guru Co-Founder and Deputy CEO Martin Taylor looks at the strategic reform, innovation, and future of police public contact.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Institute of Criminology will host the annual Cambridge University Evidence-Based Policing Conference at the Cambridge Corn Exchange from July 21 to 22, 2025. This year’s conference promises to be the largest one yet, with at least 500 delegates in attendance and 20 top keynote speakers.

FEATURE: In the latest article in The Police Student series, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the development and role of the probation service in England and Wales, including the challenges around balancing encouraging desistance with managing the risk to the public; responsibilities ranging from pre-sentence reports to supervising offenders on licence and statutory duties under the Victims’ Code; and the importance of partnership working.

INTERVIEW: With a string background in education and academia, Durham Regional Police Service Director of Strategy, Research and Organisational Performance Dr Vidal Chavannes one of Canada’s leading advocates of evidence-based policing; he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the importance of data-driven criminal justice, the challenges around addressing disproportionality, and the need to ensure that the data published and used within policing is given adequate context.

INNOVATION: Following on from the Cityforum roundtable on transforming police public contact earlier this year, and with the Government’s policing priorities highlighting the issue as crucial to modern service delivery, Content Guru Co-Founder and Deputy CEO Martin Taylor looks at the strategic reform, innovation, and future of police public contact.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Institute of Criminology will host the annual Cambridge University Evidence-Based Policing Conference at the Cambridge Corn Exchange from July 21 to 22, 2025. This year’s conference promises to be the largest one yet, with at least 500 delegates in attendance and 20 top keynote speakers.

FEATURE: A new survey of more than 2,100 digital forensic examiners, investigators, analysts and agency managers from 97 countries highlights both the overwhelming levels of data involved in criminal investigations, and the “outdated methods” still in place across law enforcement which are creating “bottlenecks and barriers” to the greater use of artificial intelligence in tackling those investigations, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With the three-year European PERIVALLON initiative – which aims to build a better intelligence picture of organised environmental crime, and develop tools and solutions to combat it – drawing to a close later this year, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the project so far, and what more needs to be done by law enforcement and others to tackle the problem.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Institute of Criminology will host the annual Cambridge University Evidence-Based Policing Conference at the Cambridge Corn Exchange from July 21 to 22, 2025. This year’s conference promises to be the largest one yet, with at least 500 delegates in attendance and 20 top keynote speakers.

FEATURE: With the three-year European PERIVALLON initiative – which aims to build a better intelligence picture of organised environmental crime, and develop tools and solutions to combat it – drawing to a close later this year, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the project so far, and what more needs to be done by law enforcement and others to tackle the problem.