Innovation

FEATURE: With a Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry now underway into the channels, technologies and actors responsible for disinformation and misinformation in the UK, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at research efforts and funding to tackle disinformation across Europe, and how focusing on inclusivity can help to counter attempts to create discord and division.

OPINION: With online cross-border financial scams driving fraud to new levels – it now accounts for 40% of all crime against individuals in England and Wales – most police and government efforts remain focused on preventative and defensive measures; but new research from Professor Mark Button and Associate Professor Branislav Hock at the University of Portsmouth highlights several ways to take more offensive actions against fraudsters, including embracing the work of the private anti-scam community.

INNOVATION: A new report from Europol which offers practical guidance on tackling artificial intelligence (AI) bias in law enforcement is calling for more regular training for personnel “to deepen their understanding of AI technologies”, routine and regular multi-stakeholder reviews of AI models, and more consistent frameworks around their use, to combat the dangers of AI bias – particularly in areas such as predictive policing – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: The results of a pilot study of wearable wellbeing technology used by new police recruits has highlighted significant positive lifestyle changes among those who used the new tech, along with better sleep patterns, more resilience, and a reduction in the number of young-in-service officers considering leaving the job, as Professor Carol Cox of Liverpool John Moores University explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: New research by Paris Graduate School PhD researcher David Graves, a former UK fraud squad detective, suggests that the creation of a National Crime Co-ordination Centre could enhance collaboration between police and private investigators, co-ordinate the multi-agency response to major and emerging threats including organised crime, and improve public confidence in policing, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen.

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 unintended exposure of potentially sensitive information through a short-lived OpenAI experiment that left ChatGPT conversations not meant for public consumption accessible via Google Search, and the lessons that policing can learn from this.

INNOVATION: Operation Yellow Card, an innovative scheme launched by Cambridgeshire Police and local football clubs to tackle youth offending at matches, has already significantly reduced reoffending among youngsters and could soon be rolled out across other forces, as scheme founder and Cambridgeshire PC Mike Price – the Dedicated Football Officer (DFO) for Peterborough United – explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: The story of the Special Air Service (SAS), entertainingly told (with some creative licence) in the BBC SAS Rogue Heroes drama series, highlights the impact of embracing the unorthodox and encouraging innovative and analytical ideals when traditional approaches are not succeeding; Jonathan Jackson, Associate Professor of Policing and Investigation at Leeds Trinity University, believes policing in the UK would do well to learn from those approaches in tackling some of the current complex challenges.

INNOVATION: With the ‘Internet of Things’ – that vast network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies to connect and exchange data – continuously expanding, the cyber threat landscape and the level of opportunities for criminals and bad actors grows with it; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the recently introduced Cyber Resilience Act, one of the first pieces of legislation aiming to improve the cybersecurity of products or software with a digital component.

INNOVATION: With the response to those in mental health crisis a challenge for policing in many jurisdictions, a new programme launched by New Zealand Police has seen handover times to emergency departments for those detained under the country’s Mental Health Act reduced to one hour, with a long-term aim of completing successful handovers within 15 minutes, as programme lead Inspector Matthew Morris explained to Policing Insight’s Tina Orr Munro.

INTERVIEW: Following the recent launch of a new Mental Health Crisis Line offering around the clock support to police officers and staff in England and Wales who are experiencing a mental health crisis or suicidal thoughts, Andy Rhodes – Service Director for Oscar Kilo, which has commissioned the service – spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the reasons behind the launch, how the line will operate, and why he was “worried but proud” to do something positive about saving lives.

OPINION: Given the abundance of digital data now circulating in society, open-source intelligence (OSINT) offers unparalleled value to investigators, but the volume of material available can be daunting for those new to OSINT, and even leave experienced investigators overwhelmed; Brett Redman, Head of Intelligence at Blackdot Solutions, provides a practical introduction for investigators on applying OSINT with clarity and purpose.

FEATURE: With the policing landscape changing “faster than ever”, Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) Learning and Development lead David Bamber, and Dr Sean Bell, Lecturer in Policing Organisation and Practice at the Open University, explain why the two organisations are working together to introduce a “fully accredited, recognised and validated programme in professional practice” for PFEW reps to ensure they have the skills required to take on a role that is “becoming more challenging”.

INNOVATION: New Zealand’s Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities (ROCC) initiative – a community-based, multi-agency initiative in which NZ Police are taking a lead role – is combining enforcement against drugs and gangs while also working to provide pathways for youths to avoid being drawn into gang culture, building trust with the public, and supporting communities to make their own decisions, as NZ Police ROCC Manager John O’Keeffe explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

OPINION: AI-enhanced surveillance tools are already transforming policing, says Milestone Systems Fellow Dr Barry Norton, and police forces that leverage intelligent video will be harder for criminals to outsmart, better informed, and faster to the scene – while those that fail to modernise risk falling behind not just in technology, but in public trust and effectiveness.

FEATURE: Cybercriminals are increasingly using stolen credentials and exploiting legitimate tools and native access to “log in, instead of breaking in”, blend into their target’s environment and carry out ‘living off the land’ (LOTL) attacks; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the nature of LOTL attacks, and why all organisations – including police and law enforcement agencies – should remove all unnecessary files, applications and systems to reduce their attack surface to such threats.

INNOVATION: The College of Policing’s Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels is calling on police forces across England and Wales to put forward investigations highlighting best practice and innovation as part of a College initiative to create a “national investigation bank” that will improve learning and outcomes while also recognising the stand-out work of officers, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INNOVATION: To address key areas of crime and vulnerability, UK constabularies can use visual analysis software to pull together data from myriad sources for the prevention of harm, the detection of crime, and the identification of risk; Seth Cooke, a former Avon and Somerset Police intelligence analyst and now i2 Group technical and tradecraft specialist, explains how this technology powerfully supports approaches to knife crime, antisocial behaviour, and violence against women and girls.

INNOVATION: An updated National Policing Digital Strategy for forces across the UK has called for greater government investment in new policing technology, a commitment from forces to modernise “local ways of working” and follow the blueprints set out nationally, and a push for “capturing, cleaning, managing, using, and sharing data at all levels” if the service is to grasp the “once-in-a generation opportunity to deliver significant, tangible change” offered by technology advances, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The work of the European PACTESUR2 project to improve the protection of public spaces has led to the creation of a new EU-POLNET, a European network of more than 20 local police forces that aims to develop local forces’ expertise and promising practices through peer-to-peer exchanges, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has set out a range of steps Police Scotland should take to gain the maximum benefit from new technology that will “transform society and policing” – including backing greater investment in live facial recognition, particularly in the fight to prevent violence against women and girls – as Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher reports.

INNOVATION: University of Sheffield Senior Law Lecturer Dr Joe Purshouse, and University of Southampton Law Lecturer Dr Joe Atkinson, set out the findings from a series of workshops and events hosted by the UK’s Predictive Policing Network, including the current implantation of predictive policing technology, the regulation governing its use, and the potential opportunities and challenges of future adoption of predictive policing tools – particularly in relation to the use of artificial intelligence.

INNOVATION: With the recent Counter-Terrorism Preparedness Network report focusing on the security benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI), Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at some of the key issues raised by the report, as well as the work of the EU’s PRECRISIS initiative in establishing compliance frameworks around the use of AI in security contexts, which ensure that ethical standards, data privacy and personal rights can be maintained.

INNOVATION: With jurisdictions across the world looking at ways to tackle the threat of deepfakes – particularly those of a sexually explicit nature – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the work of the AVALANCHE project in developing new tools and techniques to address the issue, as well as the wider impact of the Strengthened Security Research and Innovation area of the Horizon Europe programme for security.