Good practice

FEATURE: When the Swedish Police launched a recruitment drive to employ more than 6,000 additional officers by 2022, the challenges included ‘no show’ applicants, unsuitable candidates and concerns over diversity; by adopting a data-driven approach to the issues, they have been able to adopt new ways of working that have improved the application process and kept them on track for their ambitious target, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports. 

ANALYSIS: Interviewing techniques used in the UK by law enforcement and the security services have improved considerably over the last two decades, but leading expert Prof Laurence Alison believes some simple errors and areas of confusion still remain; here, ahead of this month’s Rapid-Fire Conference on Investigative Interviewing, he sets out 10 top tips for interviewing and building a rapport with interviewees.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Do you interview suspects, victims or witnesses as part of your role? Do you supervise those that do? Do you investigate crimes? Or are you just interested in investigative interviewing? Register to attend this free online conference, being held by the Police Science Dr and supported by Policing Insight, focusing on gathering evidence from victims, witnesses and suspects.

INSIGHT: Prosecution levels in rape cases nationally have been described as ‘pretty woeful’, and Avon and Somerset had one of the worst charging rates in England and Wales; Project Bluestone has seen the force working with leading academics to assess the problems and address the failings, an initiative which one senior officer said has put ‘fire in the belly of our investigators’, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Modernisation and digital transformation are at the heart of creating a police service capable of protecting communities against future threats; policing adviser and former deputy chief constable Paul Kennedy, and James Cottam of IT recruitment specialists Futures, believe the key to delivering the fast, versatile and responsive transformation required is through a hybrid, collaborative approach to building teams with the necessary skills and expertise.

INNOVATION: With the national police recruitment uplift programme well underway, and many forces also looking to recruit additional officers on top of those identified by the Government, Hayley Wallis, Recruitment Marketing Lead at Lancashire Police, explains how the implementation of a flexible communications platform at the organisation has helped to drive recruitment.

FEATURE: A judge-led review of missing persons investigations in Canada – prompted by the murders of eight gay or bisexual men in the Toronto area by serial killer Bruce McArthur – has recommended a new approach to cases that draws on models from other countries including the UK; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports on the review, and the launch of an international database to share good practice.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Laura Huey, Professor of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, argues that programs for ‘supportive reporting’ have the potential to reduce often unrecorded violence through increased reporting, not something easily dismissed.

ANALYSIS: The N8 Policing Research Partnership is currently holding the Policing Innovation Forum, focusing on ‘Effective Partnerships in Policing’; At the first session in May, Dr Layla Skinns of the University of Sheffield presented on research on vulnerability in police custody, including the growing role of health care professionals and liaison and diversion, and the concept of ‘universal vulnerability’.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Police forces in England and Wales face a huge challenge to recruit an extra 20,000 officers by 2023, but there are helpful lessons to be learned from elsewhere. PwC has been working with the Swedish Police, who have a similarly ambitious recruitment target. In their second article, Muz Janoowalla, Director of Data and Analytics at PwC UK, and Fredrik Birkeland, Public Sector Consultant at PwC Sweden, look at the Swedish experience of how data analysis of the applicants’ experience can provide insights to improve the application process.

INTERVIEW: Not all officers relish the prospect of a high-pressure ‘no-comment’ interview, where a suspect’s lack of response can lead to oppressive silences; but new research by Acting Detective Inspector Dan McCarthy of Sussex Police suggests additional training to master the uncomfortable interview room dynamics can lead to much more positive outcomes, as Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: The debate over the benefits of double-crewed versus single-crewed police response units has continued for some time, but new research from West Midlands Police indicates that pairing up is more productive, safer and delivers more successful outcomes; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at how this new data can help to deliver a better assessment of the numbers required on response policing, and offer the best chance of detection in the safest way.

OPINION: With Sadiq Khan re-elected as London Mayor, the focus now turns to one of the key issues of the campaign – tackling knife crime; Greg Berman, former Director of New York’s Center for Court Innovation, and Elizabeth Glazer, former Director of the Mayor of New York’s Office of Criminal Justice, believe there are lessons for London in the efforts of New York to tackle its own problem of criminal violence.

INTERVIEW: Advances in technology and the growing demand for digital communication have led to significant changes to police contact management, but the arrival of COVID-19 presented a whole new challenge; Superintendent Aimee Ramm, the National Product Owner for policing’s digital platform Single Online Home, explains how the development team met that challenge, and the continuing evolution of online reporting and contact prompted by the pandemic.

ANALYSIS: Following on from a call in 2016 by UN Special Rapporteur Juan E. Mendez for a ‘universal protocol’ on standards for non-coercive interviewing methods, new Principles for Effective Interviewing have now been published; investigative interviewing specialist Professor Ray Bull, a member of the committee which drew up the new principles, explains the reasoning behind them, the standards they set, and the likely impact on good practice in policing.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Police forces in England and Wales face a huge challenge to recruit an extra 20,000 officers by 2023, but there are helpful lessons to be learned from elsewhere. PwC has been working with the Swedish Police, who have a similarly ambitious recruitment target. Here, Muz Janoowalla, Director of Data and Analytics at PwC UK, and Fredrik Birkeland, Public Sector Consultant at PwC Sweden, look at the Swedish experience of using survey data and the importance of knowing your target group.

FEATURE: Wales has been a pioneering country in its public-health approach to policing, but now a multi-agency initiative is aiming to create a truly trauma-informed nation that understands and recognises the impact of adverse childhood experiences, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: A six-month secondment to Police Scotland enabled two Vietnamese officers to support the force’s work targeting organised crime groups involved in trafficking people into the country from Vietnam; Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons spoke to Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi, Police Scotland’s lead for modern slavery and human trafficking, about the ‘lawfully audacious and exploratory approach’.

FEATURE: A unique collaboration between the UK’s Joint International Policing Hub (JIPH) and the People’s Police Academy in Vietnam has led to a lasting legacy for Vietnamese police training in tackling human trafficking; DI Mark O’Donoghue of the JIPH spoke to Policing Insight Deputy Editor Sarah Gibbons about the project.

OPINION: At a time when relationships between police and some communities are under growing strain, and in an era when law enforcement is encouraged to engage more positively through social media, there is always a danger that police forces themselves become the ‘fake news’; when that happens it’s important to address the problem quickly and effectively, explains Yael Bar tur, digital communications expert and former NYPD Director of Social Media.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and gun violence remains worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, DeVone Boggan, CEO of Advance Peace, explains why investing in ‘Violence Interrupters’ – reformed gun offenders operating as mediators, de-escalation experts and violence interventionists – has the real potential to drive change in gun-impacted communities.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Nick Selby, former Director of Cyber Intelligence and Investigations for NYPD, sets out why funding mental health teams staffed by clinicians and cops would be a smarter way to reduce violence and deaths.

ANALYSIS: Many people – including police officers – base their ability to detect liars on faulty logic, false promises and unreliable cues; Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Paine, and University of Portsmouth Teaching Fellow Cody Porter, expose some of the myths around lie detection, and highlight the latest evidence-based approaches to identifying the truth.

Insight: A new multi-partner approach to sharing data has been adopted in Thames Valley to help tackle the scourge of violence; Governed by a principle of no 'misuse' of data, whilst ensuring there is no 'missed use' of data, the project aims to direct early intervention and prevention strategies, explains its head, DCI Lewis Prescott-Mayling.