Crime

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Michael Jenkins, Associate Professor at the University of Scranton, argues that a return to policing’s traditional roots will curb disorder and, in turn, build stronger, healthier police-public relations with a shared vision for communities.

ANALYSIS: Crime networks are laundering the profits from illegal activities such as trafficking in wildlife, timber and people smuggling through casinos; freelance journalist Georgina Kenyon highlights the challenges facing Australia and other countries in tackling the links between serious and organised crime and the gambling industry.

INTERVIEW: Dame Sara Thornton, the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, has urged forces to invest in training for specialist teams, more financial investigations and closer cross-border working to tackle the huge but often hidden and complex crime of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Analysis: Hateful extremism must be addressed before it manifests itself as violent extremism – as unfolded in the 2019 Christchurch massacre in New Zealand – argues Professor Greg Barton, whose analysis of the Australian response to extremism calls for groups espousing hate that do not reach the threshold of criminality to be tackled, and new ways for police to record complaints that capture hate motivations.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former Baltimore City Police Deputy Commissioner Tony Barksdale highlights the urgent need for policing to be able to confront the violence that is devastating some of the most vulnerable sections of the community.

ANALYSIS: In their second Policy Briefing on the impact of COVID-19 on child exploitation through country lines drug dealing, the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, in partnership with the De Montford University School of Law, highlight the ability of county lines drug networks to adapt to lockdown conditions, and the effect of pandemic restrictions on the safeguarding and vulnerability of children and young people.

ANALYSIS: The criminal use and manipulation of cryptocurrencies has been a growing threat over recent years, brought into sharper focus by the financial disruption of the pandemic; Eray Arda Akartuna of the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science at UCL highlights some of the key emerging risks and trends, as well as the steps to be taken to tackle them.

OPINION: Proposals by the UK Government to criminalise trespass look set to affect Travellers more than any other group; but Helen O’Nions, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, warns that the laws will contradict human rights legislation, lack support, and be very difficult to enforce.

UCL COVID-19 SERIES: One response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the encouragement of more contactless payment, and with it the increases in transaction limits; but in this latest article from the UCL COVID-19 series, Professor Graham Farrell (University of Leeds) and Professor Nick Tilley (UCL) warn that such moves could lead to a rise in thefts of credit and debit cards and have a lasting effect on crime rates.

OPINION: Statistics show that incidents of domestic violence increase significantly in the aftermath of natural disasters; Professor Jennifer Boddy and Researcher Celeste Harris of Queensland’s Griffith University set out how and why violence prevention should be a crucial part of emergency response.

OPINION: The financial impact of global cybercrime is growing at an alarming rate, yet the role of the chief information security officer in both public and private organisations is still largely undervalued and unrecognised; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the growing importance of public-private partnerships in the battle against cybercrime.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Denise Rodriguez, a leading expert on collaborative reform, police accountability and community engagement, explains why improved police-community relations is crucial to reducing levels of violence.

OPINION: With the debate around the legalisation of heroin back in the headlines, Professor Bill Bogart of the University of Windsor sets out the case for legalisation and strict regulation of all currently illegal narcotics, with decriminalisation as the first step towards resolving the failed war on drugs.

Opinion: The arrest of one of the world’s most wanted alleged drugs lords has sparked debate around strategies to best tackle organised crime and minimise the harm caused to communities; Dr John Coyne, Head of Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement Program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, explains the need for a more nuanced approach, rather than simply decapitating OC groups.

ANALYSIS: The economic impact of COVID-19 is set to significantly increase levels of extreme poverty, and with them the volume of vulnerable people likely to fall prey to people trafficking; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the effect of the pandemic on the trade in humans, and the latest efforts to target this transnational crime.

ANALYSIS: Dr George Karystianis and Professor Tony Butler of the University of New South Wales have used data mining techniques to analyse almost half a million police reports of domestic violence, revealing that mental health issues play a key role in the crime for both victims and perpetrators.

ANALYSIS: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professors Jerry Ratcliffe and Evan Sorg – both former police officers – argue that effective use of foot patrol could be the key to re-engaging with communities and reducing violence.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight’s Chris Allen examines how the pandemic has forced drug traffickers to change tried and tested smuggling routes, and explores how this will impact on the new transit countries as well as the wider European cocaine trade.

FEATURE: Against a backdrop of unprecedented rising violence in 2020 – with murders across the biggest 65 cities in the US increasing collectively by a third – Professor Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer, launched the Violence Reduction Project; in this first in a series of essays from practitioners, experts and academics, he highlights the aims of the Project, and the need for urgent action.

Analysis: Amid concerns that rising levels of large scale VAT fraud now represent a national security threat, Andrew Staniforth examines how new working arrangements between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) and Europol will be vital in ensuring that essential information sharing mechanisms are in place for effective investigations.

OPINION: Scholars and practitioners have debated the extent to which terrorism and organised crime form a nexus. Serving officer Martin Gallagher examines the evidence - and concludes that, regardless of the overlap, the criminal justice system needs to be alive to the distinction in motivations between serious and organised criminals, and those engaged in terrorist activities.

FEATURE: Now the dust has settled on the Brexit agreement, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen examines the impact that the UK’s deal with the EU will have on information exchange, collaboration and co-operation, and the policing of serious and organised crime.

ANALYSIS: Ports have long been magnets for serious and organised crime - but in the post-Brexit environment these risks are magnified and the capacity of the UK police to counter them limited by the end of access to European databases. Dr Anna Sergi of the University of Essex analyses the risks.

FEATURE: As advances in technology made drones more accessible and easy to use, so growing concerns about their potential use by terrorist organisations prompted the launch of the European DroneWISE project; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports on the project’s operational briefing which contains clear messages for first responders, police and security agencies.