Crime

FEATURE: A new report measuring police performance on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in England and Wales has revealed more than half a million reported crimes in just a six-month period, as well as more than 1,500 police officers and staff facing VAWG-related public complaints or misconduct allegations – with warnings that the real level could be even higher – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Recent high-profile sentencing hearings involving individuals responsible for the shooting murders of multiple victims in the US have brought the term ‘lone wolf’ back into the media focus; but Rutgers University Professor Alexander Hinton believes the term is misleading – with violent extremists almost always part of a pack – and its use could impede efforts to combat far-right extremist violence.

ANALYSIS: The recent shooting of PSNI DCI John Caldwell has once again turned the spotlight on terrorism in Northern Ireland, but former Police Scotland Superintendent and terrorism expert Martin Gallagher believes many of the supposed ‘freedom fighters’ in the Troubles and other terrorist campaigns were more interested in reputation and criminal gain than any cause, and are turning to organised crime to maintain their relevance and power.

ANALYSIS: In the second in a month-long series of articles celebrating International Women’s Day, Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn and Dr Anna Hopkins of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department share details of two key research projects that concern the policing of domestic abuse.

FEATURE: Four pilots of Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are now underway in England and Wales, but only in Merseyside are the powers being trialled force-wide; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Supt Phil Mullally about the impact of SVROs, the use of associated stop and search powers, and the potential for the orders to reduce violent crime.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, about the negligible impact of the National Intelligence Model, the myth of the criminals’ code of silence, and policing’s inability to reduce the supply of drugs.

ANALYSIS: The third and final report of the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing highlighted opportunities missed by the intelligence services to prevent the attack, and failings in the response of police and others; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth believes the overall findings of the inquiry underline several key lessons to be learned, and the importance of an holistic approach to avoid further tragedies.

FEATURE: In the first in a series of articles celebrating this month’s International Women’s Day, Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn and Dr Anna Hopkins of the Open University’s Policing Organisation and Practice Department explore both the current challenges for police and the wider criminal justice system, and the work being done by OU Policing, in support of women and the issues they face.

FEATURE: Sexual harassment and sexual assault are worryingly common features of the night-time economy for many women and girls; now a novel policing tactic being utilised by Thames Valley Police, codenamed Project Vigilant, is seeking to address the problem with a preventative approach that exploits the unique talents of ‘super recognisers’, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: Police officers and staff investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) are regularly exposed to traumatic images and videos; but following a survey of officers in 2022, and a conference for CSAE investigators earlier this year, Dr Theresa Redmond of the Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) highlights that it’s often the culture and work-based support around the officer, rather than the horrific imagery itself, that has the greatest impact on wellbeing.

INNOVATION: A 12-month trial which allows officers from Queensland Police Service to use body-worn cameras to record interviews with domestic violence victims that can then be used as evidence-in-chief has been hailed a success for reducing the trauma experienced by victim-survivors and enabling officers to re-invest more time providing support, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: This month’s 2023 Australian threat assessment maintained that the risk of terrorist attacks was ‘possible’ rather than ‘probable’; but Dr John Coyne, head of the Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warns that the domestic terror threat hasn’t gone away, and that policing’s focus on early intervention around extremist beliefs could prove counter-productive.

OPINION: As a veteran of the lengthy stakeouts of heroin dealers, cultivation of informants, and the stitches, lost teeth and broken bones that come with the war on drugs, former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher believes it’s time for international agreement that the failed war should be over – and for co-operation and collaboration in putting together a more effective plan for peace.

INTERVIEW: Last year Donna Adams became the first female Commissioner of Tasmania Police; but while she acknowledges that her pioneering role will be “nice to reflect on” at the end of her career, she believes her diverse experience and a commitment to leading from the front will be more important in delivering positive change for the force, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: The theft of livestock is a serious and growing problem in Australia, with large-scale and sophisticated thefts are being reported with increasing frequency; Kyle J D Mulrooney and Alistair Harkness, Co-directors of the Centre for Rural Criminology at the University of New England, explore the scale of the problem as well as highlighting new technologies which could help to tackle the challenge.

FEATURE: The latest people trafficking report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found that while overall the number of reported victims has fallen, the restrictions of the pandemic may have pushed some forms of the crime to more hidden areas, while wars and climate change have also raised the level of risk that potential victims are exposed to, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Mark Nuttall, Director of Risk Solutions at Thomson Reuters, about his early investigations into crystal meth and GHB dealing, the geopolitical challenges of tackling organised crime, and how successful criminals increasingly act and operate like business CEOs.

FEATURE: Covid-19 had a considerable impact on a wide range of criminal activity, including dramatically changing the terrorism landscape; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the research around how the pandemic pushed terrorist activity increasingly online, the way in which extremist organisations continue to exploit online platforms, and the regulatory reforms intended to tackle that threat.

ANALYSIS: While the vast majority of members of diaspora communities emigrate to start a better life or flee a traumatic existence, for some the intersection between criminality and terrorism in their country of origin can re-emerge and have serious implications for life in their new home nations – and the law enforcement agencies that police them – as former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher explains.

FEATURE: The criminal justice system’s treatment of victims of rape and serious sexual offences has long been recognised as deeply flawed, with policing playing a significant part in this; a new study published by academics from three UK universities raises concerns about the phenomenon of ‘rape myth acceptance’ among those tasked with investigating these serious crimes, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: The launch of the Financial Action Task Force in 1989 marked the start of the global war on dirty money, but victories seem to have been few and far between; financial crime experts Dr Nicholas Gilmour and Tristram Hicks (both former police officers) challenge the nature of this global approach, and highlight steps that could see criminal assets used to tackle some of the world’s greatest social problems.

FEATURE: With terrorism increasingly evolving online, the need for effective partnerships between police and the tech industry has never been stronger; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at new research which highlights the progressive, co-operative and collaborative partnerships between law enforcement and the private sector to tackle the online terror threat.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Sheelagh Brady, Co-founder and Chief Security Analyst at SAR Consultancy, about hooliganism in the West Balkans, working for the UN in Nigeria, and the need to understand the motivation of organised criminals.

OPINION: The introduction of freeports, and the potential economic boost they can deliver, are an essential part of the UK Government’s ‘levelling up’ strategy; but University of Portsmouth Lecturer and former police detective Dr Paul Gilmour believes the approach could open up opportunities for a new wave of international crime including drug smuggling, the illegal wildlife trade, and money laundering.