Policy

FEATURE: Queensland Police Service has published its response to the review carried out by the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC), with the majority of the QHRC’s recommendations around addressing systemic discrimination being accepted and implemented by the Service, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: A new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan launched by the Peel Police Service Board, which includes measures around new recruitment approaches, cultural competency training, and strengthening community relationships, aims to make Peel Regional Police “the most progressive, innovative and inclusive police service in Canada”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Following some high-profile cases of police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA) in the UK, there are growing concerns over the reporting of such offences and appropriate policing responses; drawing on research into an advocacy support intervention for victim-survivors of PPDA, Dr Clare Rawdin, Dr Sarah Wallace and Professor Emma Williams show how ‘organisational silence’ over PPDA is often maintained but can also be challenged.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles and opinion pieces from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell, Chair of the APCC, explores the continuing efforts to improve trust and confidence in policing and the culture within forces by tightening vetting and misconduct procedures.

FEATURE: A review of the use of body-worn video by New South Wales Police, carried out by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, is calling for the activation of cameras to be mandatory rather than discretionary as is currently the case in some situations, with the force also urged to ensure standard operating instructions are clear and consistent to provide more clarity both for officers and complainants, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: New research commissioned by the UK Home Office into drug-related law enforcement activities suggests that far from reducing violence, many policing interventions can drive further violent crime, with more “passive” interventions such as greater police presence and building community trust likely to have more effective outcomes, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: With Canadian homicide rates increasing by 50% over the past 10 years, Carleton University PhD candidate Jeffrey Bradley and Professor Irvin Waller of the University of Ottawa argue that to reverse the trend, newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney will need to follow successful examples from the UK and US and invest significantly in crime prevention and youth outreach programmes.

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: A new report on county lines, policing and vulnerability, published by the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre, has highlighted the “postcode lottery” of UK policing approaches and outcomes in relation to viewing young people and vulnerable adults as victims of criminal exploitation, and called for more training, a new national policing strategy on exploitation, and a rethink over the use of the term ‘county lines’, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: A review of public order policing in Ireland published by the Garda Síochána Policing Authority (now the Policing and Community Safety Authority) has highlighted a shortage of officers and training, outdated policies, the need for more support for the frontline from managers, and inconsistency and lack of understanding among senior operational ranks about the role of public order policing, as key concerns that need to be addressed, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: With geopolitical changes potentially placing considerable financial pressures on the UN, its role in fighting international organised crime is also under threat; Policing Insight’s Chris Allen looks at the current challenges in countering organised crime globally, and what steps could be taken to address the issues.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The Institute of Criminology will host the annual Cambridge University Evidence-Based Policing Conference at the Cambridge Corn Exchange from July 21 to 22, 2025. This year’s conference promises to be the largest one yet, with at least 500 delegates in attendance and 20 top keynote speakers.

ANALYSIS: The number of sextortion cases reported to the US National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children skyrocketed from 139 in 2021 to 26,000 in 2023, and the crime is now ruining young lives in countries around the world; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to cybercrime analyst Paul Raffile and financial investigator Detective Brad Thorne about the scale of the problem, the importance of police investigating cases, and the need to overcome challenges around international co-operation.

ANALYSIS: With police officers in the UK and Ireland operating under immense pressures, University of the West of England Senior Lecturers Dr Cody Porter and Dr Paul Gavin share findings from their recent research projects into specific sources of stress and its profound impacts on officers’ mental health in both jurisdictions, and call for a shift in the way mental health is treated – “not as an afterthought, but as an operational priority”.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The World Police Summit 2025, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, is to take place in Dubai this May, bringing together thought leaders, law enforcement professionals, and global speakers from over 100 countries. Register your place today!

ANALYSIS: Recent arrests and seizures suggest drug traffickers are increasingly switching to chemically concealed cocaine (CCC) to move tonnes of shipments around the world, largely undetected; in the third in a series of articles on CCC and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at growth of extraction labs across Europe and into the UK, the wealth of evidence, information and intelligence that the discovery of such labs can provide, and the vital role of forensic investigations.

OPINION: Politicians and journalists on across the US political spectrum have argued that recent election results reflect a frustration with Democratic policies on crime in cities; but new research by Harvard University Professor Justin de Benedictis-Kessner and Professor Christopher Warshaw at George Washington University suggests that neither party is doing a better job at reducing crime, nor addressing the ballooning financial cost and long-term reputational costs of policing in the US.

OPINION: Professor Alison Sullivan’s recent Independent Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender includes a number of examples of the ongoing confusion around data on sex, as well as recommendations on how UK policing should approach these issues; Dr Kath Murray, co-director of MurrayBlackburnMackenzie policy analysis which provided research and analytical support to the review, highlights some of the key points it raises and how policing should move forward.

FEATURE: An independent review into regulating online pornography, undertaken by Conservative Peer Baroness Bertin, is calling for illegal online content to be given a renewed priority by police and the criminal justice system, to help reduce violence against women and girls as well as gain a better understanding of the links to domestic violence, toxic masculinity, and the mental health crisis among young people, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Three years after completing his 10-year term as HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales, Sir Tom Winsor spoke to Policing Insight about the new financial challenges facing policing, the improper political pressure put on officers, the “chilling effect” of PCC oversight on recruiting and retaining chief constables, and the need for a “network code” which would bind chiefs and PCCs to comply with majority decisions voted for by them and their colleagues.

OPINION: Given the volume of missing persons enquiries undertaken by UK police every year, and the importance of such investigations to communities, any approaches which can help to resolve enquiries or prevent people from going missing should prove hugely beneficial; former South Wales Police detective Steve Dodd, a subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation and advocate of the community intelligence-led policing methodology (CILPM), sets out why he believes more effective neighbourhood policing backed by CILPM could deliver significant improvements.

FEATURE: With retention of officers a major challenge for police services around the world, research by Sergeant Jessica Mullen of the London Police Service in Ontario highlights the scale of the problem, the reasons behind officer departures and the disparity between who is leaving, and the need for police agencies to conduct exit interviews and increase data collection to improve understanding of the issues, as Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood reports.

OPINION: New South Wales Supreme Court recently found a police officer guilty of the manslaughter of a 95-year-old care home resident, who died a week after being Tasered by the officer; Deakin University Criminology Lecturer Dr Emma Ryan believes the case represents a watershed moment in the debates around police use of force, what the public expects of police, and how courts choose to reinforce those expectations.

FEATURE: New research from the Youth Endowment Fund exploring how violence affects children and young people in England and Wales highlights “shocking disproportionality” across sectors such as youth justice and policing, and sets out five steps the Government should take – including around stop and search and diversion away from the criminal justice system – to address the problem, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.