This week we are privileged to feature a guest blog from Paul Heywood, Director of National Security at Microsoft UK. Paul has been in the role nearly 3 years and prior to this he built a start-up technology company focusing on intelligence and law enforcement organisations both in the UK and overseas. His early career was spent at GCHQ in a variety of mission and programme roles, including 3 years spent in the US (Washington) working on technology & Cyber capability development across the 5-Eyes Network (the 5-Eyes brings the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand into the world’s most comprehensive intelligence alliance).
Policing has produced thoughts and guidance on digital challenges through the ‘National Policing Digital Strategy 2020-2030: Digital, Data and Technology Strategy’ as well as the College of Policing’s ‘Future Operating Environment 2040’. We are fortunate in this blog to get an external view on these issues from an expert in their field for which we are most grateful. Over to Paul…
Policing the Digital Age
Like it or not, Policing is undergoing a profound transformation. The pace at which technology is developing and democratising, is fundamentally changing the way in which policing & law enforcement will need to operate and interact with their communities.
The Digital challenges facing UK Policing and why
Policing has always been a human endeavour, keeping communities and individuals safe, while removing those who wish to do harm from our streets and neighbourhoods. The digital age presents an extant threat to the effectiveness of our police forces. One of the most prominent issues is cybercrime. Criminals are exploiting anonymity (through the dark web) and reach of the internet to engage in identity theft, financial fraud, and even cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. The activity is becoming more complex to detect, yet increasingly easier in which to execute – Digital technology has and continues to reduce the barriers to entry for criminality. Many digital capabilities that were the preserve of state nations are now in the hands of cyber criminals globally. Policing of these virtual and at times, invisible crimes demand a new set of skills and resources.
Increasing Complexity
To compound, the proliferation of social media platforms has added complexities to maintaining public safety and confidence. False or Disinformation and rumours spread like wildfire – never did we imagine that many globally respected media outlets would need to regularly verify their sources or content. This new wave of information fundamentally impacts the demands and effectiveness of our police, we now need new ways to sift through what is true, but also what the source of that ‘truth’ is.
Opportunities on the journey ahead
That said, In these challenges lie numerous opportunities for policing & law enforcement to enhance their impact and build stronger community relationships. A data-driven policing approach will enable better collaboration, more effective knowledge sharing which would then in turn enable better prioritisation of resources and identification of patterns (criminality/behaviour). Digital is the centre piece of this approach but requires investment, committed join up between forces and agencies and a collective will to make it work for the benefit of citizens.
AI in Policing and Security
Building patterns is a key step to the vision of Predictive policing, powered by artificial intelligence, allows policing to forecast when and where crimes are likely to occur. While this technology has sparked debates about its potential to perpetuate bias and infringe on civil liberties, when used responsibly, it can aid in resource allocation and crime prevention. Striking the right balance between technology and human judgment is crucial- This embrace is a critical moment in the future of policing in the digital age.
Further resources
When asked what other sources readers of the blog could explore if interested in this subject, Paul highlighted ‘Tools and Weapons – The Promise and Perils of the Digital Age’ (2021) by Microsoft President Brad Smith and Carol Ann Browne. Paul explained that this provides “a good geo-political view on how technology and democracy meet head on”. Tools and Weapons is also available on Apple Podcasts.
We would encourage readers to share your thoughts on the UWE blog series and if you are interested in writing a blog, please contact the Policing Editorial Team.
Editorial Team
Paul Williamson (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Middleton (Tripartite Assessor – Policing); Eve Smietanko (Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).
If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact paul.williamson@uwe.ac.uk