ICT

FEATURE: A new paper from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, which draws on themes highlighted during a series of recent roundtables on police use of new and emerging technologies, warns that law enforcement needs to recognise digital transformation as a “necessity” that will also require a culture shift away from risk aversion, the safeguarding of human rights, and a focus on improving data if forces are to maximise the technology potential, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

FEATURE: With online platforms, smart devices and digital tools offering unprecedented opportunities for the criminal networks involved in human trafficking, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at collaborative efforts by European countries to improve the intelligence picture and strengthen the fight against people trafficking through more effective use of technology, better understanding, awareness raising, and improved training.

INTERVIEW: Warwickshire Police topped the overall satisfaction benchmarking process in the recent Policing Insight UK Digital Experience Survey; in the first half of a two-part interview, Stephen Russell, who spent eight years leading the force’s progress in technology, digital and data, spoke to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter about the drivers for technological change within the force, the importance of the end-user experience, and the need to prioritise investment in IT as the main “force multiplier”.

EVENT INSIGHT: Policing Insight’s Police Digital Experience Survey offers “qualitative, independent data and evidence” that poor digital, data and technology (DDaT) provision are driving officers and staff out of policing, according to one stakeholder at last month’s panel discussion event, while another confirmed senior officers will view the survey findings as a “call to action” to ensure improvements are made to DDaT that will enable officers and staff to better protect the public, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INNOVATION: In the first of three articles exploring data-driven policing and artificial intelligence (AI), Wilfrid Laurier University Assistant Professor Dr Oliver R. Stoetzer highlights the importance of investing in both technological capability and personnel, the need for greater digital literacy across the workforce, and why the real challenge of technological development for law enforcement may be less about whether it will influence policing and more about how deliberately and effectively services prepare for that reality.

OPINION: The fictional assignments and adventures of James Bond sparked a lifelong interest in the workings of the real-life security and intelligence services for strategy and reform consultant Kavitha Vipulananda; but a closer look at what it would mean to be ‘007’ today highlights that a changing threat landscape, the advances of technology, and the importance of accountability make for a very different role and world than has ever been occupied by Ian Fleming’s hero.

OPINION: As the review of the Government’s reform proposals to reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales gets underway, there may be significant learning that can benefit policing from the Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) programme that has taken place over the last few decades, says Craig Taylor, CTO of Phoenix Software, who sets out some of the key lessons from the LGR process.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Bringing together governments, regulators, manufacturers, operators and end-users, Critical Communications World (CCW) is the premier free-to-attend international gathering where every stakeholder in the sector can connect, collaborate and shape the future of mission-critical technologies.

INTERVIEW: Following on from the recent Police Interview Summit organised by interview tools and software specialists Davidhorn, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to company CEO Børge Hansen about the value of closer collaboration and understanding between police and suppliers, the importance of developing investigative interviewing skills through an officer’s career, and why forces should look beyond upfront technology costs to recognise the long-term operational benefits of technology investment.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Criminal networks operate across cases, locations and time, but intelligence often remains tied to individual incidents. That gap makes it harder to understand how activity is organised. This article explores how connecting information across investigations helps reveal the wider network and supports more targeted, effective responses to organised crime.

FEATURE: The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has been given six months to work with the Home Office to produce a long-term, costed IT strategy after the first agency-wide HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspection found that existing systems were “not fit for purpose”; the NCA has also been urged to address staff shortages that impact on analysis capabilities and act on workforce concerns over bullying, harassment and discrimination, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: The Government has set out clear ambitions to save police officers in England and Wales six million hours through technology, and invest in AI to cut the Crown Court backlog that’s predicted to hit 100,000 cases by November 2027; Alex Lowe of public safety technology experts Axon argues that those aims are two ends of the same solution – a digital thread running from the first 999 call to the final verdict – which needs to be treated as a whole-system approach to justice technology.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The debate around mission-critical communications often focuses on championing one technology over another, but that shouldn't be the case. Leveraging a combined approach can create the level of resilience emergency situations require, while unlocking enhanced capabilities as they develop.

INNOVATION: The cybersecurity governance now in place in the NHS has been prompted by a series of painful catalysts, but the end result is a mandatory assessment framework open to public inspection; independent researcher and governance adviser Vsevolod Shabad argues that policing in the UK has plenty to learn from the NHS experience, as well as the opportunity through partnership with government to build something better.

INNOVATION: The fully automated Trauma Tracker system launched by Avon and Somerset Police will enable line managers and wellbeing professionals to proactively manage workforce exposure to trauma, as well as giving officers and staff regular updates on the possible impact that traumatic incidents may have on their wellbeing, as Inspector Stuart King explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: Last year’s National Police Chiefs’ Council Innovation and Digital Summit and the subsequent proposals in the Government’s police reform white paper have put the development of technology firmly in focus for UK policing; Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar spoke to Humberside Chief Constable Chris Todd, Chair of the National Police Data and Analytics Board, about the tech opportunities offered by the planned reforms, the growing enthusiasm for better exploitation of data, and the need for intuitive solutions.

ANALYSIS: A new survey of European law enforcement officers by investigative analytics software specialist Cognyte has highlighted gaps in police analytics and skillsets which are limiting agencies’ ability to take effective action, alongside a “widespread” convergence of organised crime and terrorism that is adding to the scale and complexity of threats facing law enforcement, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Warwickshire Police’s digital transformation over the past eight years has seen them acknowledged as a leader in many areas of police technology, and particularly the use of AI; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to the force’s Director of Data, Strategy & Technology, Stephen Russell, about the potential for AI in policing, the importance of measured development rather than a rush to “go fast and first”, and how the lessons of managing people translate to managing AI apps and agents.

NEW REPORT: A new Police Digital Experience Survey, carried out by Policing Insight with the backing of stakeholders including the NPCC, Police Federation and Home Office, is highlighting calls from officers and staff for increased integration of police IT, improved training, and greater user input into the design of systems, amid concerns that current technology provisions are harming performance as well as damaging both the service delivered to the public and the wellbeing of users.

FEATURE: A recent report into how organisations can maximise value from their technology investments highlights the paradox that many pour investment into new and shiny technology without addressing the impact of the legacy systems that are the biggest barrier to effective digital transformation; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth says the report has clear messages for policing, particularly in the UK where major reform is on the horizon.

OPINION: In the final part of the series of articles exploring UK policing’s software landscape, organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson looks at the challenges and opportunities offered by policing’s largest technology supplier – Microsoft – and questions whether policing’s relationship with the US tech giant needs to be significantly restructured as part of modernisation and reform process.

OPINION: In the second in his series on UK policing’s software and IT archipelago, organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson explores what modernising actually looks like when the islands of the archipelago cannot simply be rebuilt from scratch, including the constraints to modernisation, how they can be navigated, the police reform process as leverage, and what an effective and realistic modernisation sequence should look like.

OPINION: In the first of three articles exploring UK policing’s ‘software archipelago’ – the interlocking landscape of platforms, systems, tools and infrastructure – organisational psychologist Michael Stephenson looks at the growing focus on organisations developing their own software using AI prompts, and why issues such as the regulatory complexity of policing systems means that in most (but not) all cases, buying rather than building is still the best option.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: To understand how criminal networks operate, intelligence needs to connect across cases, sources and time. Fragmented data, isolated tools and repeated manual effort make that difficult in practice. This article explores five structural blockers and how addressing them helps build a clearer, more complete and continuously evolving intelligence picture.