Research

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Mark Nuttall, Director of Risk Solutions at Thomson Reuters, about his early investigations into crystal meth and GHB dealing, the geopolitical challenges of tackling organised crime, and how successful criminals increasingly act and operate like business CEOs.

FEATURE: The criminal justice system’s treatment of victims of rape and serious sexual offences has long been recognised as deeply flawed, with policing playing a significant part in this; a new study published by academics from three UK universities raises concerns about the phenomenon of ‘rape myth acceptance’ among those tasked with investigating these serious crimes, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

INTERVIEW: Police forces globally must embrace new technologies to remain at the cutting edge of gathering, processing and prioritising intelligence; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth spoke to Det Supt Brian Hanna of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and Graham Kissock, PSNI’s Head of International Programmes, about developing the force’s intelligence capabilities through participation in a new pan-European network of law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

LONG READ: Despite four decades of recognition of the challenges a policing career poses to officers’ mental health and wellbeing, police organisations still seem to struggle to deliver an effective response for their workforce; new research by Policing Insight’s Dr Alan Beckley and colleagues at the University of Technology Sydney highlights the nature and scale of those challenges, and will explore what interventions work best.

FEATURE: With terrorism increasingly evolving online, the need for effective partnerships between police and the tech industry has never been stronger; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth looks at new research which highlights the progressive, co-operative and collaborative partnerships between law enforcement and the private sector to tackle the online terror threat.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

ANALYSIS: Predictive hotspot policing has been heralded by some as the way to do more with less and secure better outcomes, but others have questioned its effectiveness and the dangers of reinforcing bias; Criminology Lecturer Dr Daniel Marciniak, a key speaker at the recent Policing in the Age of the Machine conference, looks at the learning from existing research into predictive policing, and where the approach goes from here.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

FEATURE: Policing cultures and issues over poor and unethical behaviour have been a concern for police forces around the world, with many pointing to the misconduct of individual ‘bad apples’; but research by organisational ethicist Dr Eva Tsahuridu of Victoria Police Registration and Services Board highlights the influence of organisational factors on poor behaviour and the need to address them, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

FEATURE: People exploited by the human trafficking and organ trafficking industries are often regarded as victims of organised crime, but the reality can be much more complex; Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at examples of poverty-driven trafficking and victims becoming victimisers, which were highlighted during the recent 24-hour Conference on Global Organised Crime.

FEATURE: The successful trial of a new Tactical Response Model by New Zealand Police – launched following the tragic murder of Constable Matthew Hunt – provides enhanced training for officers and better frontline access to specialist capability, while ensuring that officers remain approachable and connected to their communities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

OPINION: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s recently unveiled plan for reform of the force is underpinned throughout by the introduction of “precise community crime-fighting”; Police Foundation Research Director Andy Higgins takes a closer look at what the term will mean in practice, how similar ideas have fared elsewhere, and why unifying neighbourhood and evidenced-based policing approaches could deliver significant benefits.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

ANALYSIS: A key element of many of the 2020 policing protests was the call to defund police and reinvest more heavily in community spending and solutions, but two years on, policing budgets have continued to increase across Canada; Concordia University Associate Professor Ted Rutland looks at how and why spending has increased, and what progress has been made on investing in non-police responses.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

OPINION: Despite increased awareness of and action to tackle domestic violence, support and intervention services for male victims are still largely lacking; Criminology professor Dr Alexandra Lysova believes that, with the most common pattern of abuse, bidirectional violence, helping male victims could save lives and help to break the intergenerational cycle of violence.

ANALYSIS: The pandemic presented new challenges for policing across the world, along with valuable lessons around the response; latest research by Dr Manja Nikolovska and Professor Shane D Johnson of the Dawes Centre for Future Crime at UCL reveals what law enforcement stakeholders thought worked well in relation to Covid-19 (and what didn’t), and how these might shape the response to future threats such as climate change and the technological advances of crime.

ANALYSIS: New research by Dr Jens Binder of Nottingham Trent University and Dr Chris Baker-Beall of Bournemouth University has found that terrorism radicalisation now takes place predominantly online, and that those recruited without face-to-face interaction are less likely to carry out violent attacks – but there is still a thin line between online only activity and mixed radicalisation processes, so internet extremism must still be taken seriously.

OPINION: New research by Dr Kate Puddister, an associate professor at the University of Guelph, and Queen’s University doctoral candidate Danielle McNabb, suggest that not only is sexual violence by police officers in Canada more common than expected, but that allegations of sexual assault against officers are less likely to be fully investigated, or lead to charges or convictions, than other such assaults reported to police.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.

LATEST RESEARCH: This summary curates the key policing-related research that's been published online in the last week, with links to the original journal articles, and selected abstracts.