Opinion

OPINION: With a growing drive in Australia for a co-responder rather than police-first response to those in mental health crisis, University of Melbourne Research Officer Dr Panos Karanikolas, and La Trobe University’s Dr Chris Maylea and Hamilton Kennedy, explore what works better and where, with research suggesting people with lived experience of mental health issues want more than ambulances replacing the police as crisis responders.

ANALYSIS: After nearly two decades of focus, discussion and research, mental health and wellbeing among British police officers and staff shows little improvement; Professor Emma Williams and Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Lennie of the Centre of Excellence for Equities in Uniformed Public Services argue that, juxtaposed with the persistent and challenging issues related to police recruitment, retention, presenteeism and long-term sickness, the evidence suggests a growing mental health crisis within British policing.

OPINION: With the UK Government recently announcing that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed by spring next year, Generation Rent Chief Executive Ben Twomey looks at the background to a 200-year-old piece of “outdated” legislation that is still used to criminalise some aspects of homelessness, and considers what may take its place.

OPINION: As part of US President Donald Trump’s framework for large deportations of undocumented immigrants, there has been a huge increase in 287(g) agreements allowing police to function as federal immigration officers, interviewing and detaining people before handing them over to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); St Edward’s University Professor W. Carsten Andresen argues that many police forces have found such actions significantly undermine trust and public safety.

INNOVATION: When public sentiment – including trust in police – can shift overnight following a viral clip or local incident, the need for policing to be able to engage with and have an up-to-date grasp of local sentiments has never been stronger; Michael Simon, Chief Strategy Officer at Zencity and a speaker at this weekend’s Cumberland Lodge Police Conference, argues that harnessing the latest technology – rather than door-knocking and telephone surveys – can provide policing with a real-time, in-depth understanding of the ‘voice of the customer’.

INNOVATION: With police leaders facing traditional challenges alongside often unrelenting change and the development of new technology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professors Dr Maria Haberfeld and Detective Corey Simpson outline the qualities and attributes that leaders of the future will need – including social intelligence, change intelligence, and artificial awareness intelligence.

OPINION: In the latest in a regular series of articles from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell, Chair of the APCC, looks ahead to this week’s much-anticipated UK comprehensive spending review that will determine the funding available for large-scale police reform heralded by the Home Secretary, and underlines the crucial role that PCCs and deputy mayors will need to play in providing effective oversight of that reform.

ANALYSIS: With knife crime increasing in many countries, piecing together the forensic puzzle around stabbings can be key to the pursuit of justice, and stabbing simulations can play a vital role; new research by Associate Professor Paola Magni, Associate Professor Alasdair Dempsey, Adjunct Professor Ian Dadour, and PhD Candidate Stevie Ziogos, all of Perth’s Murdoch University, suggests that combining manual simulations with robotic and mechanical systems can bridge crucial gaps in crime scene reconstruction.

OPINION: Having played a key role in delivering the New Met for London cultural reform programme for the UK’s largest police force, Public Safety Tech Consultant Michael Calderaro-Tracey shares some insights into the importance of psychological safety, the dangers of trying to make a broken system work, and the need for continuous commitment to transformation in an environment where change is essential rather than optional.

OPINION: A lawsuit heard in the Supreme Court this month regarding “degrading and humiliating” unlawful strip searches carried out by New South Wales Police has again highlighted the issue of police sexism in Australia; Deakin University Associate Criminology Lecturer Dr Michael Cain argues that forces across the country are failing to learn from previous inquiries into sexism, and suggests that an independent police ombudsman to investigate complaints could be the best solution.

OPINION: Blended or hybrid radical ideologies that comprise seemingly separate beliefs are increasingly impacting younger audiences, and providing motivation for violent extremism; with misogynistic and anti-feminist views often overlapping these ideologies, Astrid Young, research intern at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warns that Australia needs a targeted policy response to deter young people from extremism.

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.

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.

OPINION: With the use of predictive policing driven by artificial intelligence (AI) becoming increasingly prevalent, University of Virginia Postdoctoral Researcher Maria Lungu argues that to address fears of overreach, bias, and a range of ethical concerns, government generally and law enforcement in particular should ensure that all data-driven tools are grounded in democratic values of due process, transparency and accountability.

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.

OPINION: With the training schedule for the new Neighbourhood Policing Pathway (NPP) beginning next month, and first measures under the new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee due to be in place across England and Wales in July, former South Wales Police detective Steve Dodd, a subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation, looks at the opportunities and challenges for the NPP, and the role of community intelligence-led policing methodology within it.

OPINION: Recent research by Dr Azwihangwisi Judith Mphidi of Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria highlights concerns over the levels of corruption and moral degradation across the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department; in this article she sets out the main findings from that research, as well as the steps that need to be taken to reform the Department policing South Africa’s capital.

OPINION: Victoria’s Supreme Court recently decided to keep Abdul Nacer Benbrika – Australia’s most notorious terrorist – under an extended supervision order, after police surveillance highlighted his continuing radical intent; but the lack of coverage of the case has prompted warnings from Dr John Coyne, Henry Campbell and Justin Bassi of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), who argue that such successes should help to reassure the public that Australia’s counter-terrorism policy is working well.

OPINION: Having spent more than 20 years advising and supporting police forces and stakeholders in the UK on how to bring meaningful change to police-community relations, Montell Neufville, Chair of the Joint Protective Services (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Hertfordshire Police) Scrutiny Panel and a National Advisory Group member of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, shares his top tips on the steps police and crime commissioners and mayors can take to improve trust between forces and the communities they serve.

ANALYSIS: New research investigating healthcare provision inside police custody suites has highlighted long delays in people receiving vital treatments, with some denied their medication altogether – even when they have serious health conditions – as Newcastle University Senior Lecturer in Sociology Dr Gethin Rees explains.

INNOVATION: Following on from the Cityforum roundtable on transforming police public contact earlier this year, and with the Government’s policing priorities highlighting the issue as crucial to modern service delivery, Content Guru Co-Founder and Deputy CEO Martin Taylor looks at the strategic reform, innovation, and future of police public contact.

OPINION: By the end of 2026 all Police Scotland frontline officers will wear body-worn video (BWV) cameras while on duty – one of the last UK forces to deploy the technology nationally; but the University of Stirling’s Professor William Webster and Dr Diana Miranda argue that despite the widespread use of BWV, there is little robust evidence about its effectiveness, and warn that without consistent training, scrutiny and accountability, the technology could damage community relations and encroach on citizens’ rights.

INTERVIEW: With a string background in education and academia, Durham Regional Police Service Director of Strategy, Research and Organisational Performance Dr Vidal Chavannes one of Canada’s leading advocates of evidence-based policing; he spoke to Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend about the importance of data-driven criminal justice, the challenges around addressing disproportionality, and the need to ensure that the data published and used within policing is given adequate context.

OPINION: ‘Lone-actor’ attacks carried out by individuals without any direct affiliation to a terrorist group have become increasingly common in Europe; University of St Andrews Senior Lecturer Dr Diego Muro and PhD candidate Ovidiu Craciunas look at the difficulties in accurately defining and preventing such attacks, as well as how a better understanding of the behaviour and motivations of previous lone actors can help to address future threats.