Criminal justice

ANALYSIS: Despite repeated recommendations for forces in England and Wales to record ethnicity data of the people they deal with, two new reports from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services have highlighted continuing failures to gather data on ethnicity and gender that “presents a real risk to plans for improving the service provided by police”, and could lead to regulations being imposed by the Home Secretary, as Policing Insight's Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: With gang membership on the rise in recent years in New Zealand, the country’s novel approach – prioritising deep engagement with gang communities through bodies such as the Gang Harm Insights Centre, alongside tough enforcement – is under more pressure than ever, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: Earlier this year British Columbia began Canada’s first drug ‘decriminalisation’ policy, removing criminal sanctions for adults in possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs; but research scientist Dr Kanna Hayashi, an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University, warns that while police continue to seize drugs even when users aren’t charged with offences, toxic drug deaths will remain a major problem.

ANALYSIS: With the criminal justice system in England and Wales facing court backlogs, growing prison populations and a range of other pressures, Transform Justice’s latest report Close to Home sets out how localising many criminal justice services could reduce waste, cut crime, increase public confidence and improve the experiences of victims, as Research and Policy Lead Fionnuala Ratcliffe explains.

OPINION: The recent trial and conviction in the UK of nurse Lucy Letby, who was found guilty of multiple child murders and attempted murders, has horrified the country, and prompted many questions about the trial process and why her actions weren’t identified and prevented sooner; former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher believes some of those questions are pertinent both for policing and the wider criminal justice system.

OPINION: Despite concerns about the use of ‘release under investigation’ powers in the UK, police were given greater discretion to use the alternative approach – pre-charge bail – in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022; but Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, argues that both the legislation and the subsequent guidance for police are muddled, with the powers punitive, stigmatising, and ultimately unenforceable.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to fraud and financial crime consultant Gerald Doyle about researching the true scale of waste crime, the changing focus of organised crime from drugs to finance, and why asset recovery may be the best way to target organised crime’s ever-evolving business model.

FEATURE: The UK’s National Security Act 2023 came into effect last month, strengthening the country’s protection against threats from foreign interests and actors, building on existing laws, and creating a range of new criminal offences; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the new legislation, and the vital role that police will have to play.

ANALYSIS: Various sectors of criminal justice systems around the world are increasing their use of artificial intelligence (AI), but AI has played a key part in offender assessment decisions in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and other countries for more than 20 years, with little or no transparency or independent inspection of the algorithms involved, as University of Surrey Professor Melissa Hamilton and Professor Pamela Ugwudike of the University of Southampton explain.

OPINION: Three years after the death of George Floyd, the latest report by the US Justice Department in to policing in Minneapolis features a raft of worrying findings, including discrimination against Black people and Native Americans, and routine use of excessive force; but Arizona State University Associate Professor Rashad Shabazz believes the report also demonstrates that rather than being an aberration, such misconduct is part of how policing was historically intended to be in the US.

FEATURE: As the expansion of the metaverse and the rapid development of AI create the potential for significant increases in the grooming and online sexual abuse of children, Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is leading efforts to force tech giants and social media platforms to take much more effective measures to prevent the online sexual exploitation of youngsters, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Last year saw the publication in the UK of the national Police Race Action Plan, published jointly by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing, to address racial inequality and injustice in policing; Criminology Lecturer Finley MacDonald explores the plan itself, the challenges arising from the efforts to tackle disproportionality and inequality, and what more needs to be done.

OPINION: The illegal organ trade sporadically hits the national and international headlines, with suggestions that the activity largely takes place underground, carried out by organised criminals; but Assistant Professor and organ trade researcher Frederike Ambagtsheer argues that the reality is far removed from that, involving close collaborations between professionals and the criminals, and requires a broad range of responses.

FEATURE: With facial recognition increasingly prominent in the news agenda in recent months, a novel application of this technology has recently been announced by Nottinghamshire Police; the force’s new remote breathalyser – which integrates facial recognition technology – is the first recorded use of this tool anywhere outside of the US, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Whitehall has long raised questions about the impact of end-to-end encryption on law enforcement efforts to tackle terrorism and child abuse; UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat raised the stakes at a recent policing conference with a speech dedicated to slamming Meta’s future plans, while others present had a more nuanced view, as Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports.

FEATURE: Coverage of the recent State of Policing in England and Wales report focused in large part on HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke’s warning that “public trust in the police is hanging by a thread”; but Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone believes other messages from the report around a “dysfunctional and defective” criminal justice system, a return to the “basics” of policing and the need for new policing priorities are equally important, but have been largely overlooked.

OPINION: Neurodiverse young people and adults – particularly those with ADHD – may experience a number of traits that are likely to push them towards criminality; Met Police DC Daley Jones, co-chair of the ADHD Alliance, believes asking detainees to complete a simple, 18-step questionnaire could give them an indication that they might have a life-changing condition that can be helped with treatment and care, which may lead them away from offending.

LONG READ: As policing globally faces significant challenges around effective responses to those in mental health crises, Western Australia Sgt Glen Blackwell, the force’s first Mental Health Co-Response Trainer, received a Churchill Fellowship award to establish diversionary practices for mentally and intellectually disabled persons engaging police; this long-read article, based on his final report to the Churchill Trust, explores international best practice, and makes recommendations for police in Australia that could also benefit other forces.

ANALYSIS: Forced marriage affects millions of people around the world from many different cultures, and forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs) were introduced in England and Wales to prevent such crimes; but new research by Prof Sundari Anitha and Prof Aisha K Gill shows that the legal tools currently available fall seriously short of protecting victims of forced marriage from further abuse.

OPINION: The UK’s new Public Order Act completed its late night passage through the House of Lords this week, with the Government using rare secondary legislation to secure its success; Senior Policing Lecturer Owen West, a former chief superintendent and public order policing specialist, believes it is not only members of the upper house who regret the new law – police officers and commanders will face an impossible task in trying to interpret and implement the Act.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Nominations are now open for the 2023 Inspire Justice Awards, delivered by Skills for Justice.  Supported by UNISON, HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), SFJ Awards and Policing Insight/Policing TV, the Inspire Justice Awards celebrates and shines a light on the wider justice workforce that helps to keep our criminal justice system running smoothly. 

OPINION: Convicted al-Qaeda terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika is currently challenging his ongoing imprisonment in Australia under a continuing detention order, a measure which the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor recently argued should be abolished; but John Coyne and Justin Bassi of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute believe a systemic approach to managing risk must also recognise that some offenders are too dangerous to be released.

FEATURE: New powers introduced by the European Union to tackle terrorist content online includes far-reaching obligations for host service providers both inside and outside the EU; but as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports, much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the regulations among tech providers, government, law enforcement and others in order for them to be effective.

FEATURE: In the third of a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the biological theories of crime heralded by the emergence of positivism, which saw the focus switch from the offence to the offender, and considered the implications of biological predisposition, heritable traits, and the need for a response that includes rehabilitation.