Policy and practice

FEATURE: With law enforcement agencies around the world looking to make the best use of volunteers, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at a EU new report by a group of research projects which has identified a range of measures to leverage the maximum potential from community volunteers in responding to and recovering from major disasters.

OPINION: The pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses in the US and around the world have prompted fresh debates around policing, public order and people’s right to protest; Jess Reia, Assistant Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia, argues that decisions over what constitutes urban disorder often target the most disadvantaged communities, and that deploying big data under the guise of enforcing public order can backfire.

FEATURE: A review of the handling of sexual assault cases by Australian Capital Territory Policing (ACT) – undertaken in response to a previous 2021 report highlighting concerns – has called for the introduction of victim-survivor advocates to reduce attrition rates, improved communications, and updates to police training, policies and practices, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

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ANALYSIS: As political parties in the UK begin their election campaigning in earnest, a Conservative proposal for a new national service scheme – which would include options for young people to undertake their service in ‘civic duties’ including policing – has prompted much debate; Policing Insight’s Ian Wiggett looks at how the scheme might work, what happens elsewhere, and the possible challenges and benefits.

ANALYSIS: The concept of coercive control has been recognised for more than 15 years, and coercive and controlling behaviour was introduced as a criminal offence in 2015; but research by Julia Pitman, justice policy, campaigns and research professional, highlighted key barriers the police face in recognising female offenders as victims of coercive control, including lack of officer skill and experience, and inadequate policy and guidance.

FEATURE: In this penultimate article in the current series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores control theories, which concentrate not on why an individual is motivated to offend, but what persuades them not to, and what society – and officers – can do to support people to stop offending.

ANALYSIS: In the first in a series of four articles, Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood explores the core characteristics, shaping mechanisms, and perspectives on police culture; by examining both the positive aspects and challenges of police culture, the series aims to provide deeper insights into its impact on everyday policing, and explore pathways for meaningful reform.

FEATURE: Interpol Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh has warned that a new international “poly-criminal age” is posing harm to millions around the world, and that while Interpol remains uniquely placed to lead the response, it will require a “global mindset” from law enforcement, government, communities and the private sector to tackle the threat, reports Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

OPINION: In a response to an earlier article exploring the strategic direction of Police Scotland, former President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents Prof Niven Rennie argues that financial constraint – both in policing and across the public sector – is a key factor in determining the priorities for the force, and calls for support for Chief Constable Jo Farrell’s efforts to navigate these challenges, as well as a more unified public sector approach.

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 implications of synthetic identities, how they can be adopted and exploited for criminal use, and the strategies law enforcement needs to put in place to combat them.

INNOVATION: Alongside legitimate and beneficial uses of the internet, the spread of digital hate speech and employing online platforms to harass, threaten, and in some instances encourage real-world violence presents a significant challenge; Police Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at the latest attempts to use artificial intelligence to tackle a large and growing problem.

INTERVIEW: A new report from the UK’s National Rural Crime Network has highlighted the role of organised crime in many of the machinery thefts devastating farming communities; Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to Northumbria Police Superintendent Andy Huddlestone, head of the National Rural Crime Unit, about the need for better data sharing, more resources, and greater prioritisation by forces to tackle a growing crime trend.

OPINION: Police in Scotland were among the frontrunners on officer safety training and de-escalation techniques, prompted in part by the tragic on-duty murder of PC Lewis Fulton almost 30 years ago; but Michael Greville, a former long-serving officer who played a key role in developing the officer training programme, believes Police Scotland needs to address a significant gap between training and operational application that leaves officers and the public at risk.

OPINION: Alongside the estimated $60 billion costs to Australia and Australians of transnational serious and organised crime (TSOC), there are significant impacts on individuals and communities, political stability, and the environment; Dr John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes the time is right for a TSOC white paper to address this multidisciplinary, complex challenge.

FEATURE: Following recent conferences in the Cayman Islands for the British Overseas Territories (BOTs) Women in Policing Network and the International Association of Women in Police Caribbean region, Victoria Wray of the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit looks at the key topics discussed and the challenges to be addressed.

INNOVATION: The surge of digital data and evidence has meant that policing is under growing pressure to maximise the opportunities offered by technology, particularly around data sharing; Naomi Bolton, Account Manager for Blue Light Services at Cloud Gateway, examines how police forces can effectively navigate the transition to cloud to enhance their operational capabilities and collaboration.

OPINION: In this opinion article former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher gives his views on some of the challenges facing his former force, and why Chief Constable Jo Farrell is right to call for reform of three key areas – the courts process, policing mental health, and the response to minor crime – but argues that proposals put forward are unlikely to succeed.

OPINION: Police Foundation Director Rick Muir believes that the potential for citizen volunteering in police and public safety has been neglected for too long, and points to the success of volunteering approaches in a number of other countries including the US and Japan as an indication that placing citizen participation as central to policy discussions could help to solve some of the big challenges UK policing faces.

INNOVATION: Following confirmation in December of the UK’s associate status in relation to the Horizon Europe research programme, Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at one of the latest rounds of funding opening up next month, which could see UK police forces working with their EU counterparts on projects to improve forensics and lawful evidence collection in the fight against online child sexual abuse.

ANALYSIS: New research by community safety professional Abu Ullah into the incidence of violence against women and girls in the London Borough of Sutton has highlighted the need for an evidence-based approach targeting hotspots to gain the most effective outcomes from overstretched police resources and reduce the threat to females, as he explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: As a counter-corruption reporting service is expanded across the UK, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass examines whether it will be effective and asks what else is needed to win back public trust.

ANALYSIS: The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) is a key entry route into the UK police service; but Donna Eastham, Programme Lead for Professional Policing at Leeds Trinity University, warns that issues such as a lack of informed understanding or commitment to academic learning among employers, the impact of ‘war stories’, and the ‘inbetweenness’ degree apprenticeships create for policing students could all have damaging consequences for the success of the PCDA. 

OPINION: With communities across Canada considering whether the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should be responsible for municipal policing, the city of Surrey in British Columbia has become one of the first to look to replace it with a newly-formed Surrey Police Service; but Royal Roads University Lecturer Dr Bryce Casavant believes the controversy and conflict between the RCMP and Surrey Police highlights the challenges around the transition.