Investigation

ANALYSIS: Research from Operation Soteria has found that police officers believe that victims of rape and serious sexual offences may be subject to secondary victimisation by their experiences with the police, with such revictimisation occurring at the initial reporting phase, during evidence gathering, and if investigations are victim rather than suspect focused; in this article, Dr Anna Gekoski, Professor Miranda Horvath and Dr Kari Davies, who conducted the research, explore these issues further.

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FEATURE: Two recent reports into group based child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) in the UK – one by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, the other by the Hydrant Programme – have highlighted a lack of data around CSAE, the need for more consistency around understanding and identification of crimes, and the importance of a “robust national solution” to tackling CSAE, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Policing stands at a pivotal moment in tackling domestic abuse, demanding better alignment, data, culture and technology to protect victims, prevent harm, and drive a smarter, evidence-led systemwide response. Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) Director, introduce the Policing Insight thematic report, ‘Evolving police responses to domestic abuse’.

INTERVIEW: Police forces across England and Wales need central support to embed “a more consistent, nationally-led approach” to investigator wellbeing rather than the current ad-hoc activities and initiatives at a local level, as Sarah-Jayne Bray, Programme Manager for the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Recruitment, Retention and Wellbeing of Investigators portfolio, explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: New research reveals that wellbeing support for secondary investigators and analysts (SIAs) such as crime and intelligence analysts and digital forensic officers is often below the levels offered to front-line colleagues, despite their often lengthy immersion in highly distressing material; report author Dr Fazeelat Duran of the University of Birmingham is urging police leaders to recognise the risks and exposure, and has also suggested simple strategies to help SIAs, as she explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: In the face of rapidly evolving criminal and technological landscapes, modern policing demands innovative strategies and specialised expertise to tackle complex challenges like fraud, cybercrime, and organised crime. Ann Stevens of the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS), explores how academic research and education can empower police professionals to stay ahead of emerging threats. With insights into intelligence-led approaches, crime pattern analysis, and the integration of operational practice with academia, it highlights the critical role of education in strengthening leadership and rebuilding public trust.

ANALYSIS: Fraud is now the most common form of crime across the world, and the impact on victims can be devasting, but in many countries it remains a low policing priority; recent research by Dr Rasha Kassem, who leads Aston University’s Fraud Research Group, and Professor Umut Turksen of the University of Exeter, highlights that structural reforms and extra funding alone are unlikely to shift the balance to improve the response to fraud, unless policing can redefine value, harm and legitimacy in its daily practice.

REPORT LAUNCH: A new thematic report exploring how the issue of domestic abuse and family violence is being tackled across the world, how this has changed, and how it continues to evolve, has been launched by Policing Insight; the report examines the innovations, legal reforms and persistent challenges around the responses to domestic abuse and family violence, as agencies strive to protect victims, reduce demand and prevent further tragedy.

INNOVATION: A new film produced to help police and other professionals recognise cuckooing and understand the perspectives of ‘alpha victims’ – young victims who go on to become offenders themselves – is due to be trialled by police forces shortly, as the latest addition to a wider toolkit to help practitioners identify and act on the risks and vulnerabilities around the issue, as Dr Laura Bainbridge, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds, explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Facial recognition has become an essential technology for law enforcement and government agencies. Retrospective facial recognition system is an ideal tool for this fast-paced world, because it helps officers to identify suspects in a fraction of the time.

INNOVATION: Earlier this year Police Now launched a new specialist economic crime programme, recruiting 12 graduates to join City of London Police and become detectives within two years; Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke with City of London Deputy Commissioner Nik Adams, Police Now CEO Kurtis Christoforides, and three graduates on the programme to learn more.

ANALYSIS: Attrition rates in UK rape cases have prompted considerable concerns, but data analysis led by Dr Fiona Vera-Gray and Jo Lovett of London Metropolitan University (as part of the Operation Soteria Data Pillar) has highlighted that significant numbers of police-recorded rapes originated through victim/survivors discussions with officers or the DASH assessment process, with victims having no intention to report the crime – a process described as ‘telling not reporting’ – and subsequently do not support the investigation.

OPINION: Despite an estimated 4.8 million people being forced into the sex trade each year, surveys indicate just 4% of law enforcement personnel believe human trafficking is a problem in their community; research by Dr Dara Mojtahedi, University of Huddersfield Associate Professor in Forensic and Investigative Psychology, found that myths around the scale of the issue and perceptions of victims are damaging those victims and creating barriers to tackling the problem, and suggests steps to dispel those myths.

OPINION: Research from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) is spearheading survivor-informed change throughout operational policing and the criminal courts; NAPAC Chief Executive Gabrielle Shaw outlines how the research offers an alternative approach to justice which looks beyond criminal conviction, prioritising support for survivors and building a system that provides accessible routes to both formal and personal justice outcomes.

FEATURE: Recent US research in five communities in Chicago has highlighted the “vicious circle” of poor homicide clearance rates and negative community perceptions of police effectiveness which has shaped community co-operation, suggesting that “improving both real and perceived police efficacy could enhance homicide clearance outcomes”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Today’s law enforcement leaders are pressured to do more with less – all while managing new waves of crime, volumes of complex data and growing demands for public transparency. That’s why departments across the globe are turning to evidence-based policing powered by data and AI, to improve decision making, build trust and work more efficiently.

ANALYSIS: New research into how perpetrators of repeat abuse “weaponise attachment” use grooming, trauma-sharing, and emotional manipulation to coerce victims – a relationship wrongly described by many professionals as ‘codependency’ – has highlighted the language and actions that police, social workers and others need to understand to be able to recognise coercive control, as research author and University of Cambridge Doctoral Researcher Mags Lesiak explains.

ANALYSIS: Findings of a study that focused on policing students’ decision-making suggest that while participants generally apply the National Decision Model impartially, subtle biases are evident in their reasoning processes; analysis also reveals that despite training efforts to reduce bias, socio-economic biases persist, influencing perceptions of suspects and victims – although not always resulting in overtly biased decisions – as study author and Professional Policing graduate Olivia Fowler explains.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Fraud is rising fast in the UK, fuelled by scams and schemes that thrive on social media. In this article, Fivecast’s David Janson examines why investigators need AI-powered open-source intelligence to uncover hidden networks and stay ahead of increasingly organised criminals.

INTERVIEW: With law enforcement increasingly looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency and enhance outcomes, forensic psychologist Dr Brandon May, Assistant Professor at the Florida Institute of Technology, fears that policing is becoming over-reliant on AI – particularly generative AI in areas such as investigative interviewing, which he argues require skills such as intuition, emotional intelligence or judgement that AI doesn’t have, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: A new report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the progress made by forces in England and Wales into responding to and investigating stalking has found that many forces have made significant improvements since launching new actions plans last year, but warns that financial constraints, inexperienced staff and the growing use of technology in stalking are all presenting major challenges for policing, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: A judgment delivered this week by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which found that a strip search carried out by New South Wales Police of festival goer Raya Meredith (the lead plaintiff in a class action) was unlawful, could have significant implications for the way police across Australia carry out strip searches, says UNSW Associate Professor and Senior Law Lecturer, Dr Vicki Sentas.

FEATURE: A report from the Centre for Women’s justice is warning that UK victims and survivors of coercive control are being failed by a criminal justice system that “compounds the damage already caused” and “effectively extends the perpetrator’s abuse”; the report also calls for a statutory defence similar to that provided for human trafficking victims under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.