Crime

ANALYSIS: As well as changing society, the Covid pandemic has changed crime, as the disarray caused by rapidly introduced polices at national and international levels has presented all sorts of opportunities for criminals; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen examines one particular growth area of illicit activity – the sale of counterfeit COVID-19 passports.

ANALYSIS: Fraud is now the most common crime in England and Wales, costing the UK economy £137bn each year; in this article, Richard Hyde, Scott Corfe and Bill Anderson-Samways of the Social Market Foundation (SMF) examine the inadequacy of police resource dedicated to tackling the problem, and call on the Government to take a comprehensive ‘systems approach’ to tackling fraud, enacting reforms that can endure over decades.

ANALYSIS: While the digital revolution has created new methods for criminals to sexually exploit and traffic people, it has also increased the ability of law enforcement and others to target offenders and protect those at risk; in this briefing paper Nicole Munns and Dr Gabriel Katz of Justice & Care, which rescues victims of slavery and human trafficking around the world, explore some of the challenges and opportunities offered by the growth of digital intelligence.

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 Ian Broughton, a former detective sergeant and specialist drug advisor with London’s Metropolitan Police and now a drugs expert witness and trainer, about targeting drug gangs, deterring criminals, and the challenges police face with encryption.

ANALYSIS: Three recent high-profile firearms cases involving the UK’s National Crime Agency have underlined the continuing fight against the flow of illegal guns into criminal hands; and as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, tackling the trade and trafficking in illicit firearms is a challenge that will involve collaboration and co-operation across Europe.

ANALYSIS: For millions of people across the globe, sport is life – and for many others corruption is also part and parcel of the daily routine; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the intersection between the two, and examines new research that shows how organised criminals have infiltrated sport at every level.

ANALYSIS: While climate change is generally seen as damaging for communities across the globe, transnational organised crime gangs are ready to take the opportunities offered by fragile states, scarce resources and regulated markets to further their profits while putting the pubic at risk, as Dr John Coyne of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute explains.

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 Ian Davidson, a former detective superintendent with Derbyshire Police and now an independent researcher, about the importance of experience and understanding, the need for resources to back up strategies, and what we really know – or think we know – about organised crime.

FEATURE: In his latest Annual Threat Assessment Mike Burgess, Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), has revealed that minors now account for half of ASIO’s priority counter-terrorism investigations, as the online radicalisation that went into overdrive during Covid lockdowns has created a new wave of more intense extremists ready to use violence.

ANALYSIS: New research has highlighted the increasing use of non-traditional ports for trafficking cocaine, as organised crime groups try to keep pace with growing demand for the drug; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen takes a closer look at the research, and considers what the findings mean for law enforcement agencies involved in targeting the narcotics market.

ANALYSIS: The surge in terrorist content online has presented law enforcement agencies and tech companies with significant challenges in tackling dangerous extremists; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at European efforts to target such activities and online material, including new draft legislation governing how the EU can work with third countries to exchange data.

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 Colin Stott, former detective chief superintendent and national lead for Regional Organised Crime Units, on funding education and diversion in the fight against organised crime, the importance of targeting criminal gains, and the need for international operational support.

ANALYSIS: Recent UK media headlines have focused on the commitment by some forces to attend all residential burglaries, and its apparent success in cutting crimes and increasing detections; but as Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett reports, lessons learned 20 years ago would suggest that high-quality investigations, dedicated resources and sustained efforts are much more likely to secure results than simple scene attendance.

FEATURE: The surge in Canadian girls and young women becoming victims of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) – as well as the high-profile suicides of two young females bullied as a result of TFSV – have prompted calls for new laws to offer greater protection; Dr Anthony Fong, Global Journalism Fellow at the University of Toronto, explores the impact of the crime, and the legal options available.

INTERVIEW: With organised crime and illegal financial transactions increasingly reliant on digital data and online activity, the work of the digital forensics team at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK has become crucial in the fight against fraud and other crimes: Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to HMRC’s Head of Digital Forensics Colin Smith to find out more.

ANALYSIS: As tensions continue to rise on the Russia-Ukraine border, public sector organisations in the UK are being urged to strengthen their cyber security resilience amid concerns that the threat of armed conflict on the ground could prompt aggressive actions by Russia in cyber space, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

ANALYSIS: The police recognition of and response to honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation, while well intentioned, regularly fails to provide adequate support for victims; Jennifer Holton, Citizens in Policing Manager for Wiltshire Police, draws on her own experience and research into the issues (including her Master’s thesis) to highlight key challenges and opportunities for change.

ANALYSIS: The high-profile media investigations into the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers and others brought the issues of illegal financial activity and money laundering to a wider global audience; now a new Europol report has offered a law enforcement perspective on the use of international finance systems for criminal gain, and Policing Insight’s Chris Allen reports.

LONG READ: The use of naloxone by officers to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses is being trialled by several UK forces, having saved hundreds of lives in the US and Canada, and debates are ongoing in Australia and New Zealand – but not everyone believes it’s the best way forward; Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro takes an in-depth look at the impact the medication can have, how and where it is being used, and the barriers to a wider roll-out.

ANALYSIS: Despite strong community rules and safeguards, some social media platforms remain a haven for a range of illegality, including the illicit trade in wildlife; University of Cape Town Research Associate Dr Rowan Martin, University of Oxford Senior Research Fellow Dr Amy Hinsley, and Dr Ana Nuno, Research Fellow at Nova School of Business and Economics, believe that trade can only be tackled effectively if experts, big tech and regulators adopt a united approach.

ANALYSIS: In the latest in this series on continuous professional development (CPD), Dr Nicky Miller (Director of Knowledge into Practice), Dr Emma Williams (Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships) and Research Fellow Richard Harding of the Open University’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning explore the importance of reflective practice, particularly in relation to investigations of rape and serious sexual offences.

INNOVATION: The latest cybersecurity research and innovation opportunities published under the Horizon Europe programme offer police forces the chance to improve operational cyber monitoring and threat detection; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the opportunities available, and encourages UK forces to make the most of the funding available to strengthen security and detection through collaboration with EU partners.

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 Simon Sneddon, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Northampton, about firearms research, the links between organised crime and environmental injustice, and the potential growth of the synthetic narcotics trade.

POLICING FRIENDSHIP TOUR: An Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention on Cybercrime contains important legal tools that will “enhance international co-operation”, according to Virgil Spiridon, Head of Operations at the Council’s Cybercrime Programme Office, who explained the latest developments to Policing Insight Publisher Bernard Rix on a recent leg of the Policing Friendship Tour.