Innovation

FEATURE: In the wake of the trial and conviction of a Nazi ‘virtual’ terrorist cell in Sheffield for planning attacks on mosques and synagogues in England, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the lessons learned from the European PROTECTOR initiative, which highlighted the importance of collaboration and co-operation between law enforcement, faith communities, local authorities and other partners in improving the security of religious sites and places of worship.

INNOVATION: The use of an evidence storage and sharing app rolled out across Hertfordshire Constabulary has seen positive outcomes more than double compared to the force average, with investigation times reduced and demand on digital forensic unit and data storage also cut; now more forces across England and Wales are looking at adopting the technology, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: In the wake of the cyberattack on Marks & Spencer – one of several targeting British retailers in recent months – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the lesson that can be learned, and how organisations in both the private and public sector will need to move towards new forms of mitigating risk and ensuring resilience to protect against similar threats in the future.

FEATURE: By combining a suite of national innovations with its own local solutions, Suffolk Constabulary has transformed its contact management and response functions; Assistant Chief Constable Eamonn Bridger tells Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass how the force moved out of an HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services ‘inadequate’ public contact rating to no longer being assessed as a ‘cause for concern’ - all within 10 months.

INNOVATION: Police forces across England and Wales have been urged by Chief Constable Rob Carden, Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Digital, Data and Technology Co-ordination Committee, to “embrace technology in a way we’ve never done before”, to ensure they can play their part in delivering the Government’s “very ambitious” Safer Streets Mission, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

OPINION: With the use of predictive policing driven by artificial intelligence (AI) becoming increasingly prevalent, University of Virginia Postdoctoral Researcher Maria Lungu argues that to address fears of overreach, bias, and a range of ethical concerns, government generally and law enforcement in particular should ensure that all data-driven tools are grounded in democratic values of due process, transparency and accountability.

FEATURE: This year’s Cityforum Transforming Police Public Contact event, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, saw experts from across the sector discuss key issues around contact management; in this article – a shortened version of the full report from the event – Dr Rick Muir, Policing Advisor to the Home Secretary, looks at some of the debates from the day, including the strategic challenges, potential quick wins, and how the discussion has broadened to consider ways police-public interaction can improve trust and confidence.

FEATURE: At a time when scrutiny of policing has never been greater, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the European PRECRISIS initiative to tackle insider threats, and how this impacts and influences the vetting and ongoing insider risk safeguarding of police officers and staff.

INTERVIEW: Merseyside Police’s two-pronged approach of piloting serious violence reduction orders and increasing high-profile uniformed foot patrols as part of a hotspot project has led to a drop in overall crime, and a 50% cut in violent crime in some areas; the force’s Supt Phil Mullally spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about how the two initiatives work together, the opportunities to improve community relations, and why “excellence in the basics” is better than “reinventing the wheel”.

FEATURE: New research exploring the impact of a police-sent, low-cost text message ‘nudge’ reminding Class A drugs offenders to attend a mandatory drug assessment has highlighted the increased chances of helping offenders to “make it through the door” towards treatment, improving compliance and potentially reducing recidivism and offending, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

INNOVATION: Following on from the Cityforum roundtable on transforming police public contact earlier this year, and with the Government’s policing priorities highlighting the issue as crucial to modern service delivery, Content Guru Co-Founder and Deputy CEO Martin Taylor looks at the strategic reform, innovation, and future of police public contact.

FEATURE: A new survey of more than 2,100 digital forensic examiners, investigators, analysts and agency managers from 97 countries highlights both the overwhelming levels of data involved in criminal investigations, and the “outdated methods” still in place across law enforcement which are creating “bottlenecks and barriers” to the greater use of artificial intelligence in tackling those investigations, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Adopting and implementing a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to those likely to be drawn into organised crime groups (OCGs) – by coupling increased surveillance and police action with the opportunity for rehabilitation and pathways out of crime – can prevent young people from entering OCGs, reduce recidivism, disrupt gang activity, and increase arrests of established members, according to the results of a pilot scheme by West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: With a wide range of potential applications for artificial intelligence (AI) in the law enforcement arena, Fernando Escudero, Tech Analyst at Spanish AI specialists ISID, takes a look at some of the most effective and beneficial current and potential police uses of the new technology.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, Chief Philip Lukens looks at the potential of agentic software engineering which, by empowering software with autonomous decision-making capabilities, can offers huge possibilities in analzying data and predicting crime patterns, but also raises concerns around accountability, bias, privacy, and the possible lack of human oversight.

INNOVATION: With the European Union’s draft Civil Security for Society Work Programme 2025 – which attracts significant funding from the Horizon Europe programme – already available online, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the opportunities for police forces in the UK, New Zealand and Canada to form consortia and submit innovative proposals tackling issues ranging from AI-driven cybersecurity to crime prevention and crisis response.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring the opportunities and challenges presented to police by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), Chief Philip Lukens explores the potential offered by intelligent holographic surveying, which combines AI, augmented reality and holographic imaging to create 3D images that can help police recreate crime and accident scenes, assist in search and rescue operations, and simulate scenarios for tactical planning and emergency response.

INNOVATION: Pilots of a new approach to domestic abuse response in Avon and Somerset, with police officers working with independent domestic violence advisors to visit victims more quickly after offences, have achieved more engagement and support referrals for victims and greater support for police action; Detective Inspector Matt Cable spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the success of the pilots to date, and hopes that the initiative can be rolled out more widely.

INNOVATION: A new Winston Churchill Trust report exploring the international policing responses to cybercrime, written by Queensland Police Service Detective Chief Inspector Michael Newman, has highlighted a range of learning opportunities and practical takeaways around prevention, detection, investigation, and capability to improve Australia’s law enforcement efforts to target cybercriminals, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: The continuing development of multi-channel public contact is a key issue for policing across England and Wales; in the last in the recent series of Policing Tech Forum webinars produced by PolicingTV, Content Guru Business Development Director Shub Naha, Humberside Police Chief Digital and Innovation Officer Scot Dunn, and David Jackson from the NPCC’s Digital Public Contact Programme, explored the opportunities for AI to improve service delivery as well as staff and officer wellbeing, but not to replace humans in the process.

INNOVATION: A Thames Valley Police trial of a mobile phone app-based tasking mechanism for hotspot policing has led to increased patrols, reduced costs and cuts in violent crime – and a scalable solution which researchers believe could be used for other policing activities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Tecnalia, the largest centre of applied research and technological development in Spain and a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance, is a partner in the NOTIONES project, a European network bringing police agencies together to improve the capacity and capability of intelligence functions; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to Tecnalia Project Manager Olatz Ibáñez about the organisation’s work with the NOTIONES network, and the benefits and challenges of participating in European security research and innovation projects.

INNOVATION: As forces increase contact channels to include digital and online routes, the likelihood of comms staff being exposed to harmful images has increased, says Rebecca Malpass, Digital Communications Development Senior for Derbyshire Constabulary; now a new AI-based image filter together with additional guidance for staff can help to protect individuals from being exposed to indecent images, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: A ‘solution-focused approach’ to interactions both with the public and within the force is currently being explored by New Zealand Police, as a way to improve outcomes for the community as well as officer wellbeing; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to psychologist Emma Burns of the Royal NZ Police College about the thinking behind the new approach, and how transforming conversations could eventually become the NZ Police go-to strategy.