Law and legislation

OPINION: Increases in knife-crime offences have prompted calls for the introduction of Jack’s Law in Victoria, an approach enabling police to carry out random ‘wanding’ searches for weapons that is already in place in several Australian states including Queensland and New South Wales; but Criminology Senior Lecturer Dr Joel McGregor of Swinburne University of Technology argues that research suggests the approach has little benefit, and that addressing prevention and support would be more effective.

INTERVIEW: The ‘Breaking The Monopoly’ movement is challenging the Police Act 1996 in England and Wales, with campaigners arguing that the current law grants the Police Federation of England & Wales a monopoly on police representation, hindering officers from establishing or joining other representative bodies; as the campaign seeks a declaration that the legislation violates the European Convention on Human Rights, Policing Insight’s Martin Buhagiar spoke to Greater Manchester Police PC Lee Broadbent, who is leading the charge.

OPINION: From protestors declaring their support for Palestine Action on placards, to comedians and campaigners being questioned and charged over online posts, and politicians scoring populist points both here and internationally, officers have found themselves in the centre of the free speech debate and accused of policing words – a situation which former officer and now Leeds Trinity University Policing Lecturer Adam Stokes believes requires meaningful government support through less talk and more actions.

ANALYSIS: In the third in this series of articles exploring the links between sport and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the opaque ownership arrangements, shady sponsorship deals and over-inflated transfer and services fees that have created an opportunity for criminals to launder illicit funds through professional football in England and across Europe.

OPINION: With recent advice to New Zealand Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello that the country is “losing the fight” against organised crime, efforts to control the trade in illegal guns will be crucial in limiting gang activity; University of Waikato Professor of Law Alexander Gillespie argues that another buy-back of all guns that should be on the country’s register by the end of August 2028, and adopting the UN protocol on the illicit manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and ammunition, are steps the country needs to take.

FEATURE: Given the ongoing debates around the application of powers under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 in relation to proscribed organisations, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the challenges around keeping non-specialist officers up to speed with ever-evolving terrorist legislation, and why a consolidation act for counter-terrorism laws could benefit both individual rights and the effectiveness of police officers.

ANALYSIS: Recent horrific events and the accompanying media headlines have led some to believe Australia is in the grip of a knife crime epidemic; in this third article in a series from The Conversation on weapons and violence in Australia, Griffith University Professor Janet Ransley warns that while police and politicians are focusing on tackling weapons in public, current approaches have little effect, with stronger efforts to target knife use in domestic violence likely to have greater impact.

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.

FEATURE: A report by the London Drugs Commission has called for the policing of cannabis to switch from the Misuse of Drugs Act to the newer Psychoactive Substances Act, enabling police to target production and supply of while not penalising its possession; but the report authors but the authors also argue that any immediate further liberalisation of the law would be “unjustifiable and irresponsible”, as it would carry too great a risk, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Bail reform was hotly debated topic during Canada’s recent federal election, and with several serious offences – including the murder of an Ontario police officer – committed by offenders who were on bail, it remains a talking point for many of those involved in the criminal justice system; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at the background to the debate, the views of various stakeholders, and the prospects of significant reform in the coming months.

FEATURE: A New South Wales (NSW) Police state-wide domestic violence (DV) operation, combining raids targeting high-risk DV offenders with education for youngsters and training for officers, has led to more than 10,000 charges against over 5,000 offenders; the operation looks set to maintain a continuing increase in charges and clear-up rates for DV in NSW – a success story that has also been repeated across a whole range of offences according to latest figures, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: The first survey to focus specifically on the use of section 136 detentions under the Mental Health Act by police forces in England and Wales has revealed significant disparities in the way the powers are used – including the number of people detained, the use of police vehicles to transfer detainees, handover times, and the use of custody – as Policing Insight’s Tina Orr Munro reports.

FEATURE: A new report from animal welfare charity the Naturewatch Foundation is calling for mandatory training for UK police officers to recognise how animals are used in domestic abuse cases involving coercive control, after highlighting a “postcode lottery” in the current approaches of forces across England and Wales, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: In 2023, PNLD launched a new feature named ‘In the Spotlight’… a quarterly update available to our customers within the criminal justice arena, bringing focus and clarity to legal topics, all within one learning package.

OPINION: The proposed Strong Borders Act, a bill currently before the Canadian Parliament, includes measures that will enable police to obtain information about an individual’s online activity by obtaining a warrant on a lower standard of reasonable suspicion of a crime, instead of probable cause; Thompson Rivers University Professor of Law Robert Diab argues that the new powers will turn tech companies such as Google, Apple, Shaw and Telus into agents of the state.

OPINION: US President Donald Trump has declared himself as “the most police president in the history of America”; but Liverpool John Moores University Policing Lecturer James Williams argues that the administration’s latest legislative measures and approaches to immigration look set to undermine efforts to build trust with many communities across the US, and ultimately make the job of a US police tougher than ever.

FEATURE: A new report into male victim-survivor views on the criminalisation of coercive control in Australia, published by an international team of researchers, has highlighted both the majority support for new legislation, but also concerns about the potential misuse or ineffectiveness of an offence of coercive control, unless there is “whole of system change” across the criminal justice sector, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: A recent court ruling on the routine use of in-custody strip searches of four teenage girls in youth detention found that the warrantless, standardless routine strip search of teenage prisoners is unreasonable, as is any law that authorizes it; Monika Lemke, PhD Candidate at Canada’s York University, believes the ruling importantly recognizes the goal of minimizing the use of strip searches in every context they are employed, and could have wider implications for Canadian policing generally.

OPINION: With the UK Government recently announcing that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed by spring next year, Generation Rent Chief Executive Ben Twomey looks at the background to a 200-year-old piece of “outdated” legislation that is still used to criminalise some aspects of homelessness, and considers what may take its place.

ANALYSIS: A recent case at the Supreme Court in New Zealand saw the conviction of a man for aggravated burglary overturned because the photo used to identify him – taken by a police officer during a routine traffic stop – was improperly obtained; University of Auckland Senior Law Lecturer Dr Alexandra Allen-Franks explains the reasoning behind the judgment, and what it may mean for policing in the future.

FEATURE: A report commissioned by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and published earlier this month highlights an increasing number of potential modern slavery victims who are refusing to consent to a referral by first responders to the National Referral Mechanism; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at why more people are choosing alternative avenues for support, and what the report’s authors say should be done to address the problem.

FEATURE: Following last month’s Royal Assent of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 – known as Martyn’s Law – Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the background to the new legislation and the key measures it will include, as well as highlighting the long delays in bringing the much-needed new powers into play.

FEATURE: A new report from the Vulnerability Knowledge Practice Programme analysing police-recorded child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) highlights the scale of the crime, gaps in reporting, and threats that could contribute to further increases in CSAE, as well as legislation and other measures that could improve the police response, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Last month the Spanish Council of Ministers adopted draft legislation that could introduce punitive fines for tech companies who fail to correctly label artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content, in a bid to tackle ‘deepfakes’; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the aims of the bill, as well as the impact more widely of the European Union’s AI Act, which could have significant implications both for tech companies and for the police use of AI.