Violent crime

FEATURE: The recent Safety of Our Cities conference in Ontario, Canada, highlighted the continuing debate between closer collaboration with other agencies or tougher enforcement of existing legislation as the way forward to cutting crime and ensuring the safety of urban communities; Policing Insight’s Matthew Wood looks at some of the key points put forward by chiefs and politicians from various jurisdictions.

OPINION: Following the recent acquittal of a Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, former Scottish police officer Graham Goulden, now an active bystander trainer, believes it’s now the time for policing to work closely with other agencies to focus more effectively on violence prevention, in an effort to reduce crime in communities and ensure fewer offers have to make such life-or-death decisions.

ANALYSIS: With two court cases now underway in relation to fatal attacks at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, and the Metropolitan Police’s public order lead highlighting that officers at the event are increasingly being drawn into stewarding rather than policing roles, Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone looks at continuing concerns around the location and increased crowd numbers attending the event, and warns of the growing risk of a public safety disaster unless changes are made.

INTERVIEW: Former Met Assistant Commissioner and NPCC Lead for CT Policing Neil Basu QPM is one of the country’s most outspoken former senior cops; in the second part of an extended interview series with Policing Insight’s James Sweetland, he gave his reflections on the Met today – how early access to the excoriating Casey Review left him “in tears”, a personal insight into Mark Rowley the “blue sky” thinker and “reformer”, and his perception of “poor leadership in policing, from top to bottom.”

ANALYSIS: Animal cruelty is recognised in the US as both a potential predictor of intimate partner violence, and as a way to perpetrate that violence; research by Professor Lynn Addington of the American University found that intimate partner violence incidents involving animal cruelty are more likely to end with an arrest, reiterating the importance of expanding intimate partner violence protection laws to include pets, and the need for strong partnerships between police and humane law enforcement departments.

OPINION: The August Bank Holiday weekend saw huge crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival, and while many were there to celebrate, others were intent on violence, with eight stabbings, two fatalities, more than 50 police officers injured, and 334 arrests; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now Managing Director of the Public Safety Foundation, believe it’s time to take a new approach to making the event safer.

INTERVIEW: A new campaign by the Naturewatch Foundation is highlighting the link between those who abuse animals and their use of violence against people; former detective inspector Mark Randell the charity’s Campaign Manager, spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the need for training for officers and prosecutors around that link, and the organisation’s efforts to encourage data sharing and raise awareness of the need to consider animal cruelty when investigating other cases.

ANALYSIS: While the annual cost of policing in Canada approaches $20 billion, violent crime and homicide rates have increased significantly; University of Ottawa Professor Emeritus Irvin Waller, and Carleton University PhD candidate Jeffrey Bradley, argue that programs tackling risk factors give a better return on investment, pointing to the success of such schemes in the UK and US as indicators of what can be achieved.

OPINION: With the proliferation of mobile phone and CCTV footage capturing physical and sometimes violent confrontations between officers and suspects, former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher fears that, unless the service and the wider criminal justice system can underline the importance of public co-operation with the police – and explain that in certain circumstances such confrontations are necessary and inevitable – the British model of policing by consent could soon disappear.

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.

INNOVATION: As part of a wider initiative to tackle violence in the night-time economy, West Yorkshire Police has used targeted social media campaigns appearing on mobile devices, with impressive results; as other forces look to learn from West Yorkshire’s success, Ch Insp James Kitchen spoke to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons about the thinking behind the project, and how similar approaches could offer potential in tackling other challenges.

OPINION: The influx of county lines drug gangs from English cities into Scotland has led to increased violence and the exploitation of local youngsters; but SNP Policing spokesman Allan Dorans argues that a desire among the mainstream media not to raise racial tension or anti-English sentiment has led to a lack of coverage of the issues which has had consequences for policing.

FEATURE: A custody navigator programme which works with young people in Cleveland to break the cycle of offending has been expanded to the region’s main hospital in an effort to work with victims of violence related to alcohol or substance abuse, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: An evaluation report into the UK Government-funded Grip programme and hot spot policing initiative designed to tackle serious violence has highlighted significant reductions in crime and potential savings, but has also warned that the approach is not a “quick fix” and requires commitment and buy-in from forces and leaders, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: With violence reduction units set to be expanded across all of England and Wales, Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass spoke to several of those involved in the work to date, asking how we will know when they’ve really been successful and what practitioners in the new areas will need to know.

OPINION: Former Scottish police officer Graham Goulden, now a police trainer, believes that recent examples of street violence highlight the need for action rather than words, and points to the success of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit’s long-term violence prevention approach – using a combination of enforcement, collaboration and community involvement – as an effective strategy moving forwards.

FEATURE: This month will see 34 forces across England and Wales joint community and business partners to take part in a series of Safer Business Action days to tackle the significant increase in retail theft and violence against shop workers – an initiative which is also set to be expanded to include the night-time economy, as National Business Crime Centre Lead Supt Patrick Holdaway explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

ANALYSIS: Last month the Global Law Enforcement & Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the fourth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on violence prevention programmes and police partnership from England, Iraq, Mexico and Fiji.

FEATURE: Recent surveys of NHS staff have highlighted increased levels of violence and abuse towards those working in healthcare, prompting concerns over staff wellbeing as well as recruitment and retention issues; former Ottawa Police Service Chief Vernon White looks at the scale of the problem, it’s wider impact for emergency services, and what steps organisations should take to address the issue.

FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

FEATURE: The significant increase in public protests and marches, particularly since the start of the current conflict in the Middle East, has brought with it accusations of a ‘two-tier’ approach to policing supporters; but as Policing Insight’s Graham Wettone – whose 30-year policing career included many large public order events – explains, while those different tiers, tactics and approaches exist, they are based on threat, risk, information and intelligence, rather than race, religion or political persuasion.

OPINION: South Africa is facing continued growth in violent crime, and reconfigured policing strategies designed to tackle the problem seem to have had little success; Stellenbosch University’s Dr Guy Lamb argues that a more collaborative approach from police working with local communities, and the proper funding and implementation of the country’s Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy, would be the most effective way forward.

INTERVIEW: Sectarianism in Scotland remains a largely hidden problem, only usually hitting the headlines when tied to football violence or tensions at religious parades, but it’s an issue that policing has to confront on a regular basis; Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher spoke to subject specialists Dr Michael Rosie of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Mark Boyle of Ireland’s Maynooth University about the background to Scottish sectarianism, what more could be done to tackle the issue, and what challenges it holds for policing in Scotland in the future.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: The 5th International Police Education Conference on 10th November 2023, hosted by the London Policing College and supported by Policing Insight, explores the critical themes of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), digitalization, and public protest. We delve into key insights from five workshops that gathered experts, academics, and professionals from around the world to address the challenges and opportunities in modern policing.