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 Roy McComb, organised crime consultant and former Deputy Director of the UK National Crime Agency, about the switch from terrorism to organised crime in Northern Ireland, the success of Project Aidant, and organised crime’s evolution in the cyber world.

OPINION: Governments and philanthropists have poured significant sums of money into tackling the illegal wildlife trade, with militarised anti-poaching projects and cutting-edge technology leading the targeting of the trade; but Professor Rosaleen Duffy of the University of Sheffield argues that addressing the problem purely as a criminal matter fails to reduce demand or offer economic alternatives for those driven to poaching.

FEATURE: A documentary film sharing the harrowing stories of Romanian domestic violence victims driven to kill their abusers, efforts to ensure Spanish support services are accessible for all, and a project to provide common operating standards for India’s two million police officers were among international initiatives to tackle VAWG discussed at a recent global conference, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro 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 John M Sellar, author and former detective and UN wildlife crime specialist, about the route from Scottish cop to the UN, the need for transnational co-operation, and the difficulties of trying to overcome police and government corruption around the globe.

FEATURE: A collaborative approach between police, prison and probation services to the threat posed by organised crime groups in prisons was one of the more innovative measures within the Government’s 2018 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy; new research with police officers and prison staff on Humberside offers the first evaluation of the approach, highlighting the ‘cultural shift’ driven by this multi-agency response, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ANALYSIS: A ‘whole of government approach’ to human trafficking in Australia, which combines awareness raising with a focus on support for victims and an understanding of their complex needs, has led to a significant increase in the number of victims identified across a wide range of modern slavery-related crimes including forced marriage, forced labour, sexual exploitation and organ trafficking, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The violence that erupted this month between members of the Muslim and Hindu communities in Leicester took many community leaders by surprise, and has prompted concerns that disorder could spread to other parts of the UK; the confrontations suggest such faith-based tensions could be a worrying development, says Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth, but a new EU project has been launched to target religion-based community conflicts.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The violence against women and girls delivery framework, which launched in December 2021, sets out how policing will radically improve its response to violent and sexual crimes, and build trust and confidence. The WEPROTECT instant victim referral service enables officers to provide faster access to civil legal support and court orders to help protect victims from further abuse.

ANALYSIS: New research into the experiences of youngsters involved in county lines drugs in the UK has found that a lack of effective safeguarding or guidance, a focus on enforcement rather than prevention, and a shortfall in police resources is leaving vulnerable youngsters at growing risk of criminal exploitation by organised gangs, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, countries across Europe and further afield have opened their doors to more than seven million refugees fleeing the conflict; but a new report warns that as the war continues and refugees remain in their new host countries, tensions could increase at community level, creating potential challenges for law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

OPINION: The recent death of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in a shooting in Liverpool has highlighted the city’s continuing struggle with gangs, guns and violent crime; Dr Robert Hesketh, Policing Studies lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, believes a continuing pattern of social exclusion and poverty is leading to organised crime and violence on Merseyside and elsewhere, but that preventative policing could be a step towards solving the problems.

ANALYSIS: The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programme developed in the US was originally a post-arrest initiative, but has evolved to incorporate referrals from “any concerned individual”; with more than 60 schemes now operating or under development in the US, as well as a South African programme and interest from the UK, the LEAD approach is gaining traction and delivering results, as Policing Insight’s Tina Orr-Munro reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: This year, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Homicide Working Group will be returning to The Queens Hotel, Leeds to host the 2022 National Conference for Senior Investigating Officers running from 31st October to 2nd November. In a world emerging from the Covid pandemic and returning to a new normality, and with early signs of homicide returning to pre-pandemic levels, the focus is on learning from shared investigative experience whilst adopting a reduction and homicide suppression mindset.

ANALYSIS: The United Nations has recently held its first meetings to develop plans and parameters for a new ‘global instrument’ to tackle cybercrime; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at the details behind the proposal, and some of the challenges the UN will face in establishing an effective body to target the activities of cyber criminals on the global stage.

OPINION: A year on from taking up her appointment as the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead in tackling violence against women and girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth reflects on UK policing’s efforts and achievements over the past 12 months, and the plans for continued progress going forwards.

INTERVIEW: A report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) has revealed significant growth in gun homicides and a proliferation of firearms, part-funded by Covid support fraud; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to MCCA Executive Director Laura Cooper about the findings of the report, the threats posed by ghost guns and irresponsible owners, and why police arresting their way out of the crisis is unsustainable.

ANALYSIS: As many as one in three people in Australia, New Zealand and the UK have experienced image-based abuse, yet fewer than half of those who witness it have intervened; research by Dr Asher Flynn of Monash University, Elena Cama of the University of New South Wales, and Dr Adrian Scott of Goldsmiths, University of London explores why people do or don’t intervene in such instances, and the vital role that bystander intervention programs could play in responding to image-based abuse.

FEATURE: New Government provisions to safeguard funding for EU-supported research projects include a guarantee scheme to allow UK organisations to apply for this year’s Horizon Europe Security for Civil Society programme – which could be good news for policing agencies with project proposals to tackle drug trafficking, as Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: A series of workshops for UK and international delegates on key policing issues has developed recommendations to tackle some of today’s toughest policing challenges; ahead of next week’s London Policing College International Conference, where the proposals will be further debated and refined, College Managing Director and former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rod Jarman outlines the workshop outcomes, the recommendations to date, and the potential benefits for policing.

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 Shaw, Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GITOC), about the continuing growth of criminal use of the internet, the success of GITOC, and why a global vision is crucial in the fight against organised crime.

OPINION: In the US, like other countries, identity theft is a burgeoning crime, but the nature of the offence and the difficulty in dealing with criminal activity that may traverse different national and international jurisdictions can mean that responses are inconsistent, and victims feel unsupported; David Smith, an independent consultant for the SmartCard Institute, looks at some of the steps policing and lawmakers can take to improve that response.

ANALYSIS: Long-established in America, the focused deterrence approach to tackling violent crime has in some instances reduced offences by a third, but has had limited trials in the UK; now a £6 million pilot project involving four English police forces as well as partner agencies and violence reduction units has been launched to evaluate the potential of the initiative, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on violence against women and girls (VAWG), has warned that long-lasting change can’t be achieved by police alone and will take more than a decade; in an interview with PolicingTV she also highlighted the ‘difficult conversations’ that police leaders need to have around inappropriate behaviour, and the potential of Operation Soteria to improve the rate of rape convictions, as Keith Potter 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 Dr Seán Columb, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Liverpool, about tackling the trafficking of human organs, the importance of labour protection and better healthcare, and the development of illicit trade around migrant routes.