Tag: UWE Bristol

‘X: free speech vs. extreme narratives – sexism and misogyny’​ 

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

Author: Claire Bowers UWE Bristol

In February 2024, six members of the UWE Bristol Team (Claire Bowers, Jack James, Katie Etherton, Dr Jennifer Holmes, Claudia McCready and Eve Smietanko) presented at the third annual colloquium of the European Society of Criminology Working Group on radicalisation, extremism, and terrorism at the University of Portsmouth. This week’s blog, authored by Claire and with input from all of the research team, takes a look at the important issues that this research seeks to explore.

Introduction

Issues of sexism and misogyny continue to be hugely topical within Policing. From acknowledged concerns of institutional misogyny in the Met, chronicled within the Casey report (2021), to the ongoing Angiolini Inquiry investigating how serving officers David Carrick and Wayne Couzens were able to commit such horrific crimes. This is reinforced by the recent College of Policing 2023 Action plan entitled ‘Tackling sexism and misogyny in policing’ whose review of published and unpublished evidence identified more than 200 ways in which sexism and misogyny are present in a policing context. Misogyny is a form of violence against women (Arsawati and Bunga, 2021) and gender-based violence is on the increase, partly due to the virtual space which did not previously exist (Singh and Singh, 2021; Yar and Steinmetz, 2024). As a group of six academics who teach on the policing programme, we are interested in the role that social media, particularly the platform ‘X’ formally known as Twitter, may play in fuelling this crisis.  

Our research proposal, presented at the 2024 Annual Terrorism and Extremism Colloquium, was triggered by recent events in the media, and particularly the influence of Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter/X in October 2022. At a cost of $44 billion on 28th October 2022, Musk announced to all “the bird is freed.” A self-declared ‘free speech absolutist’, Elon permitted the return of prominent public figures, such Donald Trump, Tommy Robinson, and Andrew Tate back to the site (Griffin, 2022).  

Background to our research

The online sphere (Papacharissi, 2022) can be a place of community and acceptance, but it has also become a place where extreme views can thrive and flourish. Since the dawn of social media there has been concern around its policing of hate speech. In 2018, 23% of women polled across eight countries stated that they had experienced harassment or abuse online (Amnesty International, 2018)​. Of those women, 47% stated the abuse or harassment was sexist or misogynistic. We expect that this statistic is likely to have increased, something we hope to explore in our research. 

Since social media has become mainstream, there has been increasing concern around online safety and what role companies such as Twitter should play. In the latter half of the 2010s, more safety advice and tools were added such as the ‘harmful reply’ nudge. Since the transition from Twitter to X there has been concern that the safety features are no longer as effective, with much of the team responsible for this facility being laid off when Musk took over (Brewster, 2024). 

Studies have been carried out into the effect that Musk has had on X since his takeover. For example, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue completed research for BBC Panorama in 2023. This found that in the days after Musk’s takeover there was an increase in new accounts created, that followed known misogynistic and abusive channels. Interestingly misogynistic views were not dominant but often included in more clear ideologies around anti-liberalism and pro-free speech. The research showed that there is a potential link between Musk’s own ‘free speech absolutist’ stance and a more permissive environment where hate speech can flourish. Other forms of hate speech have increased on the platform, for example antisemitism has doubled since Musk took over X (Miller et al, 2023). Research also suggests that people hold positive views of figures such as Andrew Tate, a self-proclaimed misogynist (Radford, 2023), especially from younger populations.  Polling data released by Skiner and Gottfried on behalf of IPSOS (2024) shows that young UK males are far more supportive of Tate than females and older males and surveys from 2022 illustrate that 56% of young male fathers also hold positive views of him (Internet Matters, 2023). 

About our research

64% of women see sexism as a major problem in the UK (Young Women’s Trust, 2019) and research from Stop Hate (2023) show extensive increases (as high as 322%) in incident reports relating to gender. This persistent trend of research and high-profile cases have led to a momentum for change (Chattier, 2020) telling us that women have had enough. 

There has been little research into misogynistic hate speech on the app since Musk’s takeover, and all of these appear to focus on the quantitative rise rather than the experience of its users. In our research we want to adopt a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the experiences of those using the platform.  

What do we want to find out? 

  • We want to explore whether there is a link between Musk’s ‘free speech absolutist’ stance and the perceived rise in hate speech.  
  • We want to explore firsthand experiences of users potentially exposed to this harmful narrative and the impact it has on them and society. 
  • We want to establish the current rates of misogynistic hate crime and incidences and how they are being recorded.  

 We look to achieve this through:  

  • Examining content from X after Musk’s acquisition in October 2022. 
  • Surveying X users on their experiences.  
  • Information requests from all Police forces in England and Wales about their recording of such crimes and incidences. 

Why is this research important? 

Violence against women and girls.  

Online misogynistic narratives drive gender-based Hate Crimes which disproportionately affect women and girls, used as a form of intimidation and suppression reflected in worldwide trends of prevalence of violence against women. Obtaining a true picture of experiences of users on platforms such as X helps us to better understand the problem to inform policy moving forward.  

Impact on mental health 

The research shows women’s mental health is being negatively impacted, with experiences of sexism correlating with reduced wellbeing and life satisfaction. Research from the Young Women’s Trust shows that young women are 5 times more likely to have clinical depression. Our research will consider whether these impacts are the same for users on X. 

Anti-feminist communities and radicalisation 

The online ‘manosphere’ (Van Valkenburgh, 2021) environment is associated with ‘cyber hate’ and online harassment.  It is a space where radicalisation can take place and misogynistic views can be validated and confirmed. It is a breeding ground for confirmation bias. Our research will consider whether there is evidence of this on X.  

Polemical gender discourse  

Unnecessarily, this topic can generate an ‘us and them’ paradigm which is divisive and compounds the problem. This perpetuates and justifies the need for some, further misogynistic challenge, particularly online. Taking the stance that challenging misogyny is ‘women taking on men’ is disproportionate and a narrative exploited by misogynists. Our research will examine X to see if there is evidence of this type of discourse. 

Limiting women’s voices and visibility online with additional ‘emotional labour’  

Incidences of misogyny experienced through online engagements consciously serve to limit women’s online voices and visibility (Aliche, 2023)​. To deal with this, women adopt a two-tier strategy: “moral persuasion” or “going hard” to deal with online abuse. With the emphasis being on women to change and regulate their behaviour, this approach constitutes serious ‘emotional labour’ and despite its utility, remains unsustainable in fighting online misogyny.  We will consider whether this is the experience of users on X. 

We do not fully understand the true extent of the issue.  

Pre-existing research shows that online sexually aggressive behaviours tend to be downplayed and are often not reported. Cyber-sexual violence is deemed as less serious (Vizcaíno-Cuenca, Romero-Sánchez, and Carretero-Dios, 2024). ​We hope that this research will shine a light on and help us to better understand the extent of incidences that go unreported as well as the impact of these experiences. 

Concluding Thoughts 

Elon Musk is known for saying “the point of freedom of speech is allowing those whose views you disagree with to express those views,” This is true, safeguarding freedom of speech is essential, but this must be balanced against enabling hatred against others or putting them in danger. It is simply not acceptable to claim freedom of speech protection when it is perpetrating, justifying, and breeding harm. The question is, where do we draw the line?  

Investigating sexist and misogynistic narratives on high profile platforms such as X and the impact on its users is an important area to investigate, so that we can improve our understanding of these issues and begin to think about how we, as a united society can take steps towards achieving a more egalitarian and safer society for both men and women. We look forward to sharing our findings at the conclusion of this research.  

References

Alichie, B. O.  (2023) “You don’t talk like a woman”: the influence of gender identity in the constructions of online misogyny, Feminist Media Studies, 23:4, 1409-1428 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14680777.2022.2032253?scroll=top&needAccess=true [Accessed 31 January 2024] 

Amnesty International, 2018 Toxic Twitter – women’s experiences of violence and abuse on Twitter, Toxic Twitter – Women’s Experiences of Violence and Abuse on Twitter – Amnesty International [Accessed 30 January 2024].​ 

Arsawati, N. and Bundga, D (2021) Misogyny as Violence in Gender Perspective. International Journal of Business, Economics and Social Development. [online].Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 19-27, 2021. [Accessed 27 February 2024]. 

Bewster, T. (2024) Musk’s X Fired 80% Of Engineers Working On Trust And Safety, Australian Government Says. Forbes. [online] 10 January. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/01/10/elon-musk-fired-80-per-cent-of-twitter-x-engineers-working-on-trust-and-safety/?sh=6c469b1c79b3 

Chattier, P. (2020) The Women’s movement: so much momentum, but still miles to go. ABT Associates [blog] 7 April. Available from:  https://abtgovernance.com/2020/04/07/the-womens-movement-so-much-momentum-but-still-miles-to-go/ [Accessed 01 February 2024]​ 

Griffin, A. (2022) Who has Elon Musk unbanned from Twitter? From Trump to Andrew Tate. The Independent. [online] 21 November. Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/elon-musk-twitter-ban-trump-tate-west-b2229716.html 

Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2023) BBC Panorama research: Misogyny and abuse on Twitter before and after Elon Musk’s takeover, BBC Panorama research: Misogyny and abuse on Twitter before and after Elon Musk’s takeover – ISD (isdglobal.org) [Accessed 30 January 2024].​ 

Internet Matters (2023) New research sees favourable views towards Andrew Tate from both teen boys and young dads. Internet Matters. [online] 28 September. Available from: https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/press-release/new-research-sees-favourable-views-towards-andrew-tate-from-both-teen-boys-and-young-dads/#:~:text=Over%20half%20of%20young%20dads,also%20positive%20about%20the%20influencer. 

Skinner, G and Gottfried, G. (2024) Masculinity and women’s equality: study finds emerging gender divide in young people’s attitudes. IPSOS. [online] 1 February. Available from: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/masculinity-and-womens-equality-study-finds-emerging-gender-divide-young-peoples-attitudes#:~:text=One%20in%20five%20(21%25),aged%2060%2B%20(2%25). 

Miller, C.,  Weir, D.,  Ring, S., Marsh, O., Inskip, C. and Prieto Chavana, N., 2023 Antisemitism on Twitter Before and After Elon Musk’s Acquisition. [online] Beam Available from: Antisemitism on Twitter – 15 March (beamdisinfo.org) [Accessed 30 January 2024].​ 

Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere. New Media & Society. [online] 4(1), 9-27. [Accessed 27 February 2024]. 

Radford, A. (2023) Who is Andrew Tate? The self-proclaimed misogynist influencer. The BBC [online] 4 August. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64125045 

Singh, D. & Singh, V. (2021) An Increase in Gender-based Violence during COVID-19. Journal of midwifery and reproductive health. [Online] 9 (2), 2762–2766.​ 

Stop Hate UK (2023) [online] Annual Statistical Review 2022-2023 https://www.stophateuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Annual-report-22-23.pdf [Accessed 31 January 2024]​ 

Van Valkenburgh, S. P. (2021). Digesting the Red Pill: Masculinity and Neoliberalism in the Manosphere. Men and Masculinities. 24(1), 84-103. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1097184X18816118 [Accessed 31 January 2024] 

Vizcaíno-Cuenca, R., Romero-Sánchez, M., & Carretero-Dios, H. (2024). Making Visible the Myths About Cyber-Sexual Violence Against Women: An Analysis of Social Reactions Toward Victims on Twitter. Journal of interpersonal violence. [online] Advance online publication. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38243759/ [Accessed 31 January 2024] 

Yar, M. and Steinmetz, K. F. (2024) Cybercrime and Society. 4th ed. London: Sage.​ 

Young Women’s Trust (2019) [online] Impact of sexism on young women’s mental  health https://www.youngwomenstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Impact-of-sexism-on-young-womens-mental-health.pdf . [Accessed 31 January 2024]​ 

You can access the survey here

Editorial team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact the team at Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Celebrating Inspirational Women in Policing and Criminal Justice: Authors Sarah Williams and Dr Anne Eason

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

To coincide with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2024, here at the UWE Policing Blog we want to recognise inspirational women, past and present, who have played a role in shaping the police as an organisation and in practice.  We then ask the question how we can build on the work of these amazing women as we face the future, trying to forge a police force that works to protect our complex society. 

Police pioneers

Women had been contributing to policing for many years before their roles were formally recognised in 1914, when the Women’s Police Volunteers Organisation was established. As early as 1883 women had been working as ‘police matrons’ in the custody environment, searching female and child offenders (British Association of Women in Policing, 2024). 

The UK’s first female police constable was Edith Smith, who joined Grantham Police (now Lincolnshire) in 1915. She joined one year before the Police Act 1916 made it possible for women to join the police as Police Constables and three years before women achieved the vote in 1918. Edith had full powers of arrest in her role and was described by peers as “of outstanding personality, fearless, motherly and adaptable” (Jackson, 2014). 

Edith Smith (Photo courtesy of Grantham Museum, in Jackson, (2014). 

Several more female pioneers joined the police in the following years, and in 1920 the Baird Committee review of policing finally recommended women become an integral part of the police force (BAWP, 2024). This promising start nearly floundered in 1922, however, when Sir Edward Shortt (then Home Secretary) proposed the complete abolition of women police officers in the Metropolitan Police. His defeat is owed in no small part to another inspirational woman, Nancy Astor, Britain’s first female Member of Parliament. A vocal supporter of women’s rights, she worked hard to encourage women to play a greater role in civic life, including taking employment in the civil service, police and politics (Newton, 2020). 

Locally, Bristol has a proud heritage in promoting women in policing. Originally set up as a voluntary organisation in 1915 under the National Union of Women Workers (Byrne, 2014), in 1921 this initiative became the Bristol Training School for Police Women and Patrols. It was led by another female police pioneer, Dorothy Peto, who became the Metropolitan Police’s first female Superintendent (BAWP, 2024).  

By 1949 the number of female police officers had risen to 1148 (BAWP, 2024). More firsts were to follow. In 1969, Sislin Fay Allen became the first black female officer in the Metropolitan Police. Her achievement is even more remarkable because this was six years before the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 which finally brought structural parity to women and men in policing and ended the separate rank structures (BAWP, 2024). Locally, Avon and Somerset’s first Black female officer is Adora Pomphrey, who joined in 1980 aged 19. Adora has spoken freely of the challenges she faced, both within and without, and how important it was that women like her created opportunities for others who followed (BBC, 2023).  

Sislin Fay Allen (photo from British Association of Women in Policing, 2024). 
Adora Pomphrey (photo from BBC News, 2023) 

These pioneering women opened up the police service in a way never seen before. Their contribution can be directly traced to developments such as the first ever female Chief Constable in 1995, Pauline Clare of Lancashire Police. Along the way, other remarkable women shone a light on structural inequalities facing women, such as Alison Halford, the Assistant Chief of Merseyside Police, whose book No Way Up the Greasy Pole (Halford, 1993) asked some searching questions about how the police service treated female officers in comparison to men. They have all contributed towards changes in the way women are recruited and valued within the police. Today, there are 51,210 female officers in the police forces of England and Wales, accounting for 34.7% of officers overall and around 30% of senior leadership positions (Home Office, 2023). Although there is still much to do, this s a phenomenal growth in a little over 100 years and has only been possible because of the bravery of those early pioneers. 

Halford was also a pioneer in the development of how police handled violence towards women. She was instrumental in developing training strategies for interviewing abused women and children (BAWP, 2024). If we look at the developments in how we tackle violence against women and children today, it is notable how many incredible women have devoted their lives to this cause. Women advocating for women less fortunate themselves is a powerful display of solidarity. 

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in the 21st Century 

At higher levels we have women like Dame Vera Baird (QC, DBE), former Victim’s Commissioner. She has a long history of supporting women, such as fighting against pregnancy discrimination in 1987 (Brown v Stockton on Tees Borough Council), and she was heavily involved in pushing the Equalities Act 2010 through Parliament. She recognised the link between female inequality and violence. She was awarded her DBE for services to women and equality and continues to fight for victims’ rights. 

Then we have women like Fiona Mackenzie MBE founder of We Can’t Consent to This, who established her campaign in response to more than 60 cases where women had been killed and the perpetrators had claimed the ‘rough sex defence’ – cases such as the death of Natalie Connelly, who sustained more than 40 injuries indicating an extreme level of violence. Campaigns such as We Can’t Consent to This have been hugely influential in the development and introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which has removed this defence. 

Sadly, many of these campaigns have their origins in personal experience of suffering and loss. These grass roots campaigns are truly humbling, and it is testimony to the bravery of these women that they have sought to turn their experiences into a force for change. Women such as Carol Quinn whose daughter and grandchildren were killed by her son-in-law and who is petitioning against the parole board decision for open prison. Women such as Rachel Williams, who survived being shot by her husband in 2011 and hosted the first survivor-led domestic abuse conference in South Wales in 2019 (STUDA, 2024). Women like Elaine Newborough, Julie Devey and Carole Gould, whose daughters were killed by partners or ex-partners in knife attacks, who are campaigning for increased sentencing powers (Killed Women, 2024). Or Fiona Drouet whose daughter Emily took her own life after being subjected to a campaign of abuse and violence from her boyfriend at university. Fiona has developed the Emily Test, a Gender-based Violence Charter (GBV) for colleges and universities, that provides a framework of minimum standards in the prevention and intervention of GBV.  

More locally, at UWE we are trying to work with women who have personal experience to try to change the face of police education. We have our amazing survivor stories contributors at UWE, such as Sabrina Eason, who speaks to student police officers about what it’s really like to live with domestic abuse and how they can recognise the signs and help the women they meet in the course of their jobs. Chief Inspector Sharon Baker, of Avon and Somerset Police, regularly talks to our student officers about her own experiences as a victim of controlling and coercive behaviour and who has been instrumental in setting up an internal survivors’ group within the force. These dedicated women make an undeniable difference to victims of male violence, but it takes a society to create real change. 

Sabrina Eason 

We are fortunate enough to have fantastic organisations run by passionate professionals and dedicated volunteers, who work  tirelessly to support survivors. Charities and commissioned services such as Next Link and  SARSAS make a life-changing – sometimes life-saving – contribution to women’s lives. We also have organisations such as Bristol Women’s Voice, who campaign to end the structural inequality for women that underlies so many of these crimes. 

Other valuable organisations include The Nelson Trust, founded in 1985 by Mary and Roy Brash, who promote trauma-informed recovery services specifically for women. Their supportive approach to women who have travelled through the criminal justice system as offenders recognises that factors involved in female offending are often related to trauma. Approximately 60% of female prisoners are victims of domestic abuse (Ministry of Justice, 2018), while one  case study showed 91% of female offenders have multiple needs such as mental ill health and substance abuse issues (Ministry of Justice, 2020). The evidence base shows that women who receive support are less likely to reoffend than women who are imprisoned. Even better would be to prevent the violence against women and girls that often underpins this trauma. 

Despite all this dedication and good work, however, violence against women and girls remains a huge problem. Last week, ahead of IWD, Labour MP Jess Phillips used her time in the House of Commons to read out the names of women killed by men in the UK in the last 12 months. She has performed this grim task since 2016, based on the work of the UK Femicide Census (Femicide Census, 2024). It took her more than five minutes to read the full list of 98 named women (BBC News, 2024). More as-yet-unnamed women will be added to this tragic list. 

So, as we head further into the future, it is incumbent on all of us working in criminal justice to ask ourselves how we can build on the hard work and progress of the amazing female pioneers who have gone before us. How can we make the criminal justice system a fairer system for all women in the future? A system that embraces their expertise, knowledge, skills that can and do contribute different approaches to policing. A system that protects women and girls, that is more informed about their vulnerability and works in a preventative and reductionist way. At UWE, we embrace the challenge and would like to shout out a huge thank you for all the amazing, inspirational women, at all levels, both past and present, who have made their own contribution to making the world a better place for women. 

(Our thanks to this blog’s authors, Sarah Williams and Dr Anne Eason of the UWE Bristol Policing Programme).

References 

Brown v Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council [1987] Civ J0320-10. 

BBC (2023) Black women share insight into changing face of policing. BBC News [online] -08 January 2023. Available from: Black women share insight into changing face of policing – BBC News [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

BBC (2024) MP Jess Phillips reads out list of women killed by men in past year. BBC News [online] 29 February 2024. Available from: MP Jess Phillips reads out list of women killed by men in past year – BBC News [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Bristol Women’s Voice (2024) Making Women’s Equality a Reality in Bristol [online] Available from: Bristol Women’s Voice (bristolwomensvoice.org.uk) [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

British Association for Women in Policing (2024) History [online] Available from: Women in Policing History | BAWP – British Association for Women in Policing [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Byrne, E. (2014) Bristol’s War: Britain’s first Police Woman. Bristol 24/7 [online] 4 Nov 2014. Available from: Bristol’s War: Britain’s first policewoman (bristol247.com) [Accessed 03 March 2024]. 

Femicide Census (2024) About. Available from: About – Femicide Census [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Halford, A. (1993) No Way Up the Greasy Pole. Edinburgh: Constable. 

Home Office (2023) Police Workforce England and Wales: 31 March 2023 [online] Available from: Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [Accessed 07 March 2024]. 

Jackson, L.A. (2014) The First World War and the First Female Police Officer. Gov.UK [online] 17 June 2014. Available from: https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/06/17/the-first-world-war-and-the-first-female-police-officer/ [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Killed Women (2024) Killed Women [online] available from: Killed Women [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Ministry of Justice (2018) A Whole System Approach for Female Offenders: Emerging Evidence [online] Available from: A Whole System Approach for Female Offenders – Emerging evidence (publishing.service.gov.uk) [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Ministry of Justice (2020) the Concordat on Women in or at risk of contact with the Criminal Justice System [online] Available from: The Concordat on Women in or at risk of contact with the Criminal Justice System (publishing.service.gov.uk) [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

The Nelson Trust (2024) What We Do [online] Available from: What We Do | The Nelson Trust [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Newton, N. (2020) Nancy Astor: 100 years of women in Parliament. The National Archives [online] Available from: Nancy Astor: 100 years of women in Parliament – The National Archives blog [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Next Link (2024) Home [online] Available from: Home – Next Link (nextlinkhousing.co.uk) [Accessed 04 March 2024] 

SARSAS (2024) Our work online] Available from: Our work | SARSAS [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

Stand Up to Domestic Abuse (2024) SUTDA: Still We Rise [online] Available from: SUTDA | Stand up to Domestic Abuse [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

We Can’t Consent to This (2024) We Can’t Consent To This [online] Available from: We Can’t Consent To This (wecantconsenttothis.uk) [Accessed 04 March 2024]. 

You can access the survey here

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact the team at Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Policing by Camera? The development and use of Live Facial Recognition within the police service.

Author claudiamccready | Posted on

Policing itself has moved on from the comforting ‘bobby on the beat’ portrayal of PC Dixon in Dixon on Dock Green, where your first two years of probation were spent walking the beat and meeting your community. The invention of patrol and area cars have moved us away from this community visible approach, with officers now able to reach wider and respond quicker.

We moved from handwritten statements to typed scripts that can actually be amended without a further statement and read by all, even if your own handwriting is poor. Although basic, these are two examples of where technology has advanced frontline policing, and there are many more examples within equipment, software, control rooms, intelligence too.

Before joining UWE in 2018, I was a serving police officer with roles involving community policing, problem-solving and proactive investigations. Within that time, I was lucky enough to spend time on an external secondment with a local ThinkTank researching this very topic. I got to witness some of these technological advancements, and I definitely got to experience their benefits.

It is clear that technology has infiltrated many aspects of policing, can we expect the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to behave any differently?

AI is being called ‘one of the most transformative technologies of the last decade’ (Brown, 2019). In fact, back in October 2023, the policing minister Chris Philip MP wrote an open letter to the 43 Chief Officers and Police Crime Commissioners of England and Wales, his message was simple – continue to use AI within policing.

Let’s explore the debate surrounding its current use…

The recent and continued development of AI begs the question – how are public services planning on utilising the explosive and growing capabilities of such technology?

With free and accessible AI software available to all with a digital device, I remain particularly interested in how police services around the country will utilise a specific element of AI software called Facial Recognition technology. This blog is a short exploration of some factors surrounding the topic.  

The development of Facial Recognition can be traced back to the 1960s, where its creation is largely credited to American mathematician and computer scientist Woody Bledsoe, who taught his computer to recognise and compare facial features (Raviv, 2020). The concept has since been developed by others, as increased processing powers of computers has allowed for more complex software and technologies over time.  

Fast forward to August 2016 at the Notting Hill Carnival, where the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) were the first British police service to trial Live Facial Recognition (LFR). They were joined by South Wales Police (SWP) in 2017 (ICO, 2019).

Some Definitions:

Before looking into the considerations for LFR’s use, I first want to clear up some definitions.

Law enforcement have categorised the use of Facial Recognition technology in three ways:

  • Retrospective Facial Recognition (RFR) – images or videos (from CCTV or provided by the public) are compared against a database.
  • Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) – images taken on an officer’s phone during a live incident are compared to a database to identify the person in real time.
  • Live Facial Recognition (LFR) – cameras scan the faces of those present within a public area. These live feeds are compared to a pre-set ‘watchlist’, it is the decision of a ‘human operator’ – a police officer to you and I – whether to speak to the person identified as a potential match.

– A ‘watchlist’ is a pre-determined collection of images that the police create for persons of interest. This includes those wanted by the police or courts, linked to suspected offences or for intelligence purposes (Bridges (2020), p.77).

Whilst all three of these categories of this technology are expanding, this blog will focus on the debate around the police’s use of Live Facial Recognition software only.

Technological Advancements

Some of you will recognise the increased access to AI within private sectors already. You have been able to unlock your phone using biometric data for years. In fact, it is already a security requirement for some apps. FRT is being used by private companies to track shoppers and their habits in store (TechHQ, 2020). It is starting to effectively diagnose diseases within the health sector, with some positive cases already reported in practice (Qiang et al., 2022).

Whilst some private sectors have removed LFR software from their products following backlash (Meta, 2021) – its use is likely to continue to grow. Should those within the Criminal Justice System (CJS) have access to these advancements too?

Modernisation and Efficiency

Anyone that has been exposed to the CJS will understand the need for it to modernise and become more efficient. The NPCC’s National Policing Strategy 2020-2030 (2020), as well as their Policing Vision 2025 (2016) and 2030 (2023), detail the necessity for services to become increasingly digital to keep up with the current modern world.

Commissioner of the MPS, Mark Rowley, has highlighted the need for police services to become more efficient now that the MPS is effectively working with 28% less funding in real terms than 10 years ago (Rowley QPM, 2023). Professor Sherman, founder of evidence-based policing and current Chief Scientific Officer for the MPS, has also recently discussed the need for police services to work more effectively with what they have (Sweetland, 2023).

LFR could be an attractive option for police services in the wake of reduced resources, given it is contactless and biometric data is difficult to alter, it may successfully identify individuals using less officer time and administration. 

Detection Rates

The Information Commissioner (2019) notes that the main criteria for success should be centred on public benefits, rather than arrest numbers and the ratio of positive and false matches. It is difficult to know what police, and more importantly the public they serve, consider ‘public benefits’ to be.

In terms of actual data, which is usually what these systems are judged upon, the figures around their use remain vague and difficult to find. Those figures shared from 2023 indicate that “at least” 9 arrests were made using LFR (Home Office, 2023). SWP deployment the software over 50 times which resulted in “arrests or disposals in over 50 cases” (Home Office, 2019).

The language used around these figures, and the lack of transparency in their publishing, makes it difficult to judge such systems in a meaningful way.

Ethical Considerations

Whilst biometric data is difficult to alter, it is also “intrinsically private” to the owner and the accessing of it raises the question of balancing crime prevention concerns against Article 8 rights of privacy (Bridges, (2020), p.57; HRA, 1998). SWP have already been found to breach privacy and equality law due to their deployment of LFR (ibid).

 I see the similarities between the development of LFR to that of DNA and forensic capabilities, however DNA is either collected with consent or because someone is suspected of a criminal offence.

The difference here is that the overwhelming majority of those subjected to LFR will be entirely innocent of any wrongdoing and the collection relies on the ‘informed consent’ gained by them entering a public area.  Given the lack of legislation, confusing algorithms and secrecy surrounding LFR, do police explain this well enough to gain consent?

Police use of LFR is still in its infancy and yet there is already growing concerns around the ‘slippery slope’ of its use. There are already discussions about increasing the database pool to include all images held by the DVLA and Passport Office, rather than just comparing them to police custody images. 

Furthermore, there are discussions around loading the software into installed and pre-existing CCTV and also within police body-worn video (BWV) cameras. Given London is the 9th most surveilled city in the world outside of China (Bischoff, 2023) and BWV cameras are being assigned to most frontline officers, the scope of use would shift cataclysmically.  

Whilst there are potentially vast crime solving opportunities available through a quick database search, innovative technologies do not occur in vacuum, and they demand the consideration of ethical issues. Such ethical issues should be reconsidered as the scope of LFR’s use increases.

Bias

Whilst it is tempting to believe that, because it is formed on data, the software is unbiased but that would be a form of tech washing, an over confidence in technology. LFR technology relies on machine-learning, they are shown sets of labelled images in a process called training, and therefore can only ‘recognise’ faces to the extent on which they have been trained (Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group Facial Recognition Group, 2019).

There are already concerns around the effectiveness of these systems, and the Police’s openness around this. For example, the MPS claimed a 70% success rate for their systems when independent researchers employed to complete this analysis state it was only 19% (Fusey and Murray, 2020).

There’s also concerns about the racial and gender bias within LFR systems (Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018), with an error rate of up to 35% when identifying Black Women (University of Calgary, 2023). The courts recognised that SWP did not consider these potential biases before deploying the software (Bridges, (2020)) and such concerns continue as LFR advances.

If not developed properly, LFR has the potential to create a feedback loop which perpetuates rooted harmful outcomes, further impacting public confidence. Research suggests that people find it easier to recognise faces from the same race as their own (known as the other-race effort) (Zhou, Burton and Jenkins, 2021). Even with the safeguard of a police officer making the final decision on a ‘match’, years of failing to attract a diverse range of recruits creates the potential for a ‘Blue Watchlist’ where this harm is extended (Sampson, 2022).

Transparency and Oversight

The use of LFR is a complex topic, sometimes shrouded in secrecy and complicated algorithms. That secrecy is even maintained within court proceedings where the software and algorithms are protected on the grounds of ‘commercial sensitivity’ (Bridges (2020)). It begs the question – how much do we know about these systems and their ability to improve on the issues raised?       

There is no standalone piece of legislation governing the use of LFR. Police services continue to implement LFR under legislation created before LFR was developed, and with little outside consultation (ibid). There have already been calls to legislate so that police services can better use this software, and to make it easier for members of the public to find and understand the scope and limitations of its use.

It is clear that LFR will be used for ‘low level’ offences and, although the courts recognise the broad discretion afforded to police in creating ‘watchlists’,  the technology will potentially even be used to identify witnesses rather than suspects (Sampson, 2022).

The Future?

I don’t have all the answers when it comes to this subject but it’s clear that LFR is here to stay. The Home Secretary has voiced their support for its further use, while Nottinghamshire Police have joined those using it and there are already reports to expand its use (Sampson, 2023). 

Whilst there is a need for police services to digitalise and modernise their efforts at fighting crime and to become more efficient with their resources, can this be achieved effectively without proper governance, legislation, and transparency?

In a time where critics argue that policing by consent has been ‘shattered’ (University of East London, 2023), where public negativity towards the police is high (IOPC, 2023) and where there are calls for less over-policing of minority groups (Hope Not Hate, 2020), an introduction of such technology without further efforts of consultation and transparency is contentious.

I’ll end with this quote from Steve Jobs (2011):

“Technology alone is not enough.”

National Student Survey (NSS)

A big thank you to all final year UWE Bristol PCDA apprentices who have completed the NSS to date but we still need your help if you have not already done so.

Both UWE Bristol and Avon & Somerset Police (ASP) place a high level of emphasis on the survey as anyone thinking about applying to the force and UWE Bristol can see what you thought about your course.

The NSS is also hugely important as it provides your chance to look back on your experience and highlight what you have found good as well as offering ideas where you believe improvements can be made.

You can access the survey here

References

Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group Facial Recognition Group (2019) Ethical issues arising from the police use of live facial recognition technology [online]. London: Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group Facial Recognition Group. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c755ffc40f0b603d660be32/Facial_Recognition_Briefing_BFEG_February_2019.pdf [Accessed 23 February 2024].

Bischoff, P. (2023) Surveillance camera statistics: which cities have the most CCTV cameras? Comparitech [blog]. 23 May. Available from: https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds-most-surveilled-cities/ [Accessed 23 February 2024].

Buolamwini, J. and Gebru, T. (2018) ‘Gender shades: intersectional accuracy disparities in commercial gender classification’, Proceedings of Machine Learning Research [Online]. 81 (1) , pp 1–15. [Accessed 22 January 2024].

College of Policing (2023) Live Facial Recognition. Available from: https://www.college.police.uk/app/live-facial-recognition/live-facial-recognition [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Fussey, P. and Murray, D. (2019) Independent Report on the London Metropolitan Police Service’s Trial of Live Facial Recognition Technology. Project Report. University of Essex Human Rights Centre. Available from: https://repository.essex.ac.uk/24946/ [Accessed 23 February 2024].

Home Office. (2019) Fact Sheet on live facial recognition used by police. Home Office Blog [blog]. 4 September. Available from: https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/09/04/fact-sheet-on-live-facial-recognition-used-by-police/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Home Office (2023) Police use of Facial Recognition: Factsheet. Home Office in the media [blog]. 29 October. Available from: https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/29/police-use-of-facial-recognition-factsheet/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Hope Not Hate (2020) Minority communities in the time of Covid and protest: A study of BAME opinion [online]. London: Hope Not Hate. Available from: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/study/study-support/study-skills/referencing/uwe-bristol-harvard#reports [Accessed 2 February 2024].

Human Rights Act 1998 [online]. Chapter 42. (1998) Government Legislation. Available from: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/I/chapter/7 [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Independent Office for Police Conduct (2023) Public perceptions tracker summary report – 2022/23 [online]. London: Independent Office for Police Conduct. Available from: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/public-perceptions-tracker-summary-report-202223 [Accessed 22 February 2024].

Information Commissioner’s Office (2019) ICO investigation into how the police use facial recognition technology in public place. London: Information Commissioner’s Office. Available from: https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/documents/2616185/live-frt-law-enforcement-report-20191031.pdf [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Meta (2021) An Update on our Use of Facial Recognition. Available from: https://about.fb.com/news/2021/11/update-on-use-of-face-recognition/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Metropolitan Police Service (2023) Facial Recognition Technology. Available from: https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fr/facial-recognition-technology/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

National Police Chiefs’ Council (2016) Policing Vision 2025. London: National Police Chiefs’ Council. Available from: https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-chiefs-and-pccs-set-out-a-vision-for-policing-in-2025 [Accessed 22 January 2024].

National Police Chiefs’ Council (2019). National Policing Digital Strategy: digital, data and technology strategy 2020-2030.  London: National Police Chiefs’ Council. Available from: National Police Chiefs’ Council (2016) Policing Vision 2025. London: National Police Chiefs’ Council. Available from: https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/our-work/digital-policing/national-policing-digital-strategy-2020-2030.pdf [Accessed 23 February 2024].

National Police Chiefs’ Council (2023) Policing Vision 2030. London: National Police Chiefs’ Council. Available from: https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/publications/policing-vision/policing-vision-2030.pdf    [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Qiang, J., Wu, D., Du, H., Zhu, H., Chen, S. & Pan, H. (2022) Review on Facial-Recognition-Based applications in Disease Diagnosis. Bioengineering (Basel) [online]. 9 (7), pp. 273 – 289. [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Raviv, S. (2020) The Secret History of Facial Recognition. Wired [online] 21 January. Available from: https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-facial-recognition/ [Accessed 29 February 2024].

R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police and Others (2020) [EWCA] Civ 1058. Available from: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-bridges-v-cc-south-wales/ [Accessed 23 February 2024].

Rowley QPM, M. (2023) Fighting Crime: Turning Round the Met [conference of Policy Exchange], London. 11 September. Available from: https://policyexchange.org.uk/events/fighting-crime-turning-round-the-met/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Sampson, F. (2022) The Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s response to the College of Policing APP on Live Facial Recognition. Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Blog [blog]. 6 April. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-biometrics-and-surveillance-camera-commissioners-response-to-the-college-of-policing-app-on-live-facial-recognition [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Sampson, F. (2023) The Commissioner discusses the new era for live facial recognition after the Coronation. Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s Office Blog [blog]. 17 May. Available from: https://videosurveillance.blog.gov.uk/2023/05/17/the-commissioner-discusses-the-new-era-for-live-facial-recognition-after-the-coronation/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

South Wales Police (2023) Facial Recognition Technology. Available from: https://www.south-wales.police.uk/police-forces/south-wales-police/areas/about-us/about-us/facial-recognition-technology/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Sweetland, J. (2023) Prof Sherman: ‘In policing we cant have it all; there’s no free lunch – we have to make choices’. Policing Insight [blog]. 25 September. Available from: https://policinginsight.com/feature/interview/prof-sherman-in-policing-we-cant-have-it-all-theres-no-free-lunch-we-have-to-make-choices/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

TechHQ (2020) – Nothing personal? How private companies are using facial recognition tech. T_HQ [blog]. 8 June. Available from: https://techhq.com/2020/06/nothing-personal-how-private-companies-are-using-facial-recognition-tech/ [Accessed 22 January 2024].

University of Calgary (2023) Law professor explores racial bias implications in facial recognition technology. University of Calgary [blog]. 23 August. Available from: https://ucalgary.ca/news/law-professor-explores-racial-bias-implications-facial-recognition-technology#:~:text=In%20some%20facial%20recognition%20technology,is%20about%2035%20per%20cent.%E2%80%9D [Accessed 23 February 2024].

University of East London (2023) Policing by Consent Shattered, Conference Told. University of East London [blog]. 21 April. Available from: https://uel.ac.uk/about-uel/news/2023/april/policing-consent-shattered-conference-told  [Accessed 22 February 2024].

Zhou, X., and Burton, A. M. and Jenkins, R. (2021) Two Factors in Face Recognition: Whether you know the person’s face and whether you share the person’s race. Perception [online]. 50 (6), pp. 524 – 539. [Accessed 23 February 2024].

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) 2024

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

The NAW2024 highlights the positive impact that our Police Apprentices have working within Avon & Somerset Police, the communities within the force area and individual victims and suspects. Today is ‘Celebration’ Day of the NAW2024 and this provides a great platform to showcase the impact of the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) jointly delivered by UWE Bristol and our local Avon & Somerset Police Force.

Stay tuned as we will hear directly from an apprentice sharing their story. This story is not only a celebration of individual achievement, but also a tribute to the countless apprentices who are shaping their futures through dedication, hard work, and unwavering determination.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)

The College of Policing introduced the PCDA as one of the routes to join the service which was adopted by Avon & Somerset Police and UWE Bristol in 2019. The PCDA seeks to standardise training on how to ‘Police’ in the modern world where an officer needs to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to fulfil such a demanding and professionally rewarding career.

Jo Parsons is UWE Bristol’s Apprenticeship Coordinator (Policing) and comments that ‘Uwe Bristol’s Apprenticeships are a great way for public and private sectors to collaborate on the design of courses. This provides students with an alternative pathway to more traditional routes of learning which can increase accessibility to more applicants.

Jo goes on to outline the benefits of the PCDA, including:

  • Earn and Learn at the same time!
  • Gain a Level 6 Degree Qualification in Professional Policing Practice.
  • Fully funded course.
  • From the start you will be part of frontline Policing.
  • You will be supported throughout the 3-year programme by the Teaching Team, Avon & Somerset Police Tutors, Assessors and the Tri-Partite Policing Team who are all there to assist you along the journey to becoming a qualified Police Constable.  
  • Blended Learning between the classroom and the workplace equips apprentices to be the best Police Officer you can be.

Over the last year, UWE Bristol has received fantastic external validation regarding the quality of delivery and performance of apprentices. In 2023 the PCDA was subject of an Ofsted Inspection and an End Point Assessment Quality Inspection, both achieving ‘Good’ status. Our key partner Avon and Somerset Police (ASP) was ranked 75th in the Department for Education’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Providers and UWE Bristol was listed in the Top 20 ‘Rate my Apprenticeship’ providers. With the PCDA representing over 25% of all UWE apprentices, these accolades reflect our growing reputation.

UWE Bristol Apprenticeships Community of Practice

In the lead up to NAW2024, UWE hosted an ‘Apprenticeships Community of Practice’ event. UWE Bristol Vice Chancellor (VC) Steve West provided an inspiring speech about how UWE’s apprenticeship provision should seek to be brave in facing the challenges of the future and why apprenticeships are forecast to grow. This is in response to being highly sought by industry and apprentices alike. Let us now turn to explore the apprentice experience.

🌟 Spotlight on Apprenticeships: Meet Gary Berry! 🌟

In celebration of National Apprenticeships Week, we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on one of our outstanding apprentices. Over to Gary…

‘Hi, I’m Gary and I graduated from the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) in March 2023. I can’t believe how quickly the past 3 years have gone!

I joined Avon and Somerset Constabulary (ASC) in March 2020 without any prior policing experience. I was the first in my family to become a police officer and like many of you, I joined as I had a desire to help people and make a real difference. Opting for the PCDA was an obvious choice for me because it provided an opportunity to learn whilst still receiving a salary and offered a stable career. Through this pathway, I obtained a valuable degree at no cost to me, which was particularly important as I already had a degree and was therefore still paying towards that one.

The PCDA course started with a series of lectures on topics such as law and human vulnerabilities, and this marked a steep learning curve for myself and my colleagues. To compound matters, within a week of starting the course, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that we had to leave the classroom and start remote learning. However, after some trial and error, a collaborative effort between ASC and UWE produced a stable learning environment. This learning enabled me to take my initial steps into the real world of policing with some confidence.

The PCDA has given me the opportunity to study a range of interesting topics related to policing, such as stop and search, terrorism, and criminological theories. These subjects have been grounded in evidence-based practices, an approach which I believe is the future of policing as it will help officers and staff to formulate, use and review the best available evidence to inform and challenge current policies, practices, and procedures. 

There are opportunities to tailor your learning to your interests as part of the PCDA; for example, a topic that truly caught my professional curiosity is stop and search. This is because I possessed limited knowledge of this policing power, although I was aware of its contentious nature. To develop my own understanding in this area, I joined the internal stop and search scrutiny panel. This involves individuals from within the policing community coming together to scrutinise searches that have been conducted by police officers in ASC. Feedback can then be provided. 

A requirement of the PCDA involves writing a dissertation centred around a self-selected policing topic and I chose to focus my research on stop and search. My title was ‘An Investigation into the Barriers Involved in Preventing Police Officers from Utilising Stop and Search Powers’. Navigating the process of writing a dissertation proved to be stressful, however unwavering support from my UWE supervisor helped me to identify a substantial gap in the existing literature. 

This research has given me the opportunity to collaborate with the force lead in ASC for stop and search and propose several recommendations. For example, my findings identified that scrutiny impacted officers’ willingness to engage in stop searches. Therefore, I am in the process of introducing internal resources explaining what scrutiny is, how it is applied in ASC and its importance in enhancing our accountability, transparency, and fairness when using this power.

I also had the opportunity to attend and present my research at the annual UWE Social Science Conference in May 2023. The event involved over 20 undergraduate and postgraduate students from other degrees such as Psychology, Sociology, Politics, Criminology and Philosophy, each sharing their own research. To my utmost surprise, my research was awarded first prize. This experience is something that I would not have considered three years ago, and it has allowed me to develop skills in public speaking and presenting. 

Since graduating, I have been able to apply the skills I acquired throughout the PCDA course. I contribute to the stop and search and violence against women and girls’ portfolios under the guidance of the leads, specifically in relation to body-worn video (BWV). For example, I have revised the guidance on BWV for both portfolios explaining its importance and benefits, back by evidence-based research. In addition, I analyse the BWV data uploaded by officers to ASC systems to ensure they comply with force policy. Failure to adhere can significantly affect public confidence if complaints arise’.

In January 2024, Gary transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service to take up a response officer role in Wimbledon. He goes on to explain that:

‘The diversity of work in the capital is something I am eager to embrace, along with the plethora of opportunities available. In addition, I would like to pursue a postgraduate degree to further enhance my knowledge and academic skills, providing a solid foundation for my continued career development.

Overall, I believe the various experiences I have gained from the PCDA have equipped me with the necessary knowledge and skills to confidently tackle any future challenges, both in my professional and personal life. I strongly believe that the effort you invest directly correlates with the rewards you reap, especially in this rewarding career’.

Looking forward

Thank you for joining us in celebrating National Apprenticeships Week and the remarkable stories of apprentices like Gary, whom we wish every continued success. The PCDA continues to build on UWE Bristol’s long history of working with regional employers and our bespoke policing facilities at UWE Bristol are the envy of other providers.

As we look ahead, the UWE Bristol Policing programme remains steadfast in our support for apprentices and apprenticeship programs, ensuring that every individual can thrive and succeed. Here’s to the continued success of apprenticeships and the countless PCDA officers whose career journeys in Policing inspire us all.

Useful links

https://www.uwe.ac.uk/courses/degree-apprenticeships

https://courses.uwe.ac.uk/ST0304/police-constable

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Check out the ‘World’s most Dangerous Prisoners’ on 5Action tonight

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

Last year, I was invited to contribute to the series ‘World’s Most Dangerous Prisoners’ which looks at offenders whose shocking crimes earned them a whole-life tariff behind bars. Tonight’s episode focuses on Joanna Dennehy who fits the generally accepted definition of a serial killer having committed three calculated and brutal murders with a ‘cooling off’ period between the killings (Farrell, Keppel and Titterington, 2011). Having developed a taste for killing, Dennehy then attempted to murder two random strangers.

Women who commit serial killings are rare and research into victim relationships and motivations lags male offenders (Farrell, Keppel and Titterington, 2011). My aim in this blog is to reflect on my involvement in this infamous case and briefly highlight some of the keys to success as well as exploring why Dennehy will never be released from a life behind bars.

The Investigation

This major Investigation began on Saturday 30 March 2013 after Cambridgeshire Police discovered the body of a man who had been reported missing. The body had been staged in what could be considered an act of humiliation. A murder investigation was commenced, led by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) Martin Brunning of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Major Crime Collaboration Unit. Unknown to Martin at that time, Dennehy had already killed two other men.

By this time, Dennehy and her accomplice Gary Stretch were already on the run. On 2 April both made their way to Hereford in the West Mercia Force area where Dennehy told Stretch that she wanted to kill again: “I want my fun… I need you to get my fun” (Cawley, 2014). Dennehy specifically requested that Stretch find male victims, not women or children. Stretch then drove around Hereford where Dennehy stabbed two men out walking their dogs in random separate attacks within 20-minutes of each other. Both men were callously attacked from behind and the injuries inflicted were horrific. In the second attack alone, the victim suffered 30 stab wounds. Miraculously both survived despite suffering near fatal injuries and I was appointed as the SIO for this investigation.  

Success factors and the crucial role of First Responders

We teach our UWE Police apprentices that the key to success for investigations largely lies in ‘making the right decisions, taking the right action and securing evidence’ (Cook and Tattersall, 2014, p. 64) by following the ‘golden hours’ principle. You often only get one chance to get things right.

For many of the response officers involved, this will have been one of the most important incidents they will have dealt with in their careers. Through their rapid and professional response, Dennehy was captured near to the scene of the second attack in Hereford in what was a dramatic moment for the investigation. Stretch was also quickly arrested some miles away following an extensive manhunt. I firmly believe that the actions of the responding officers prevented further attacks. What they did was get the building block principles, including:

  • The priority and fast response to protect life.
  • Preservation of the two attack scenes north and south of the river Wye which dissects the city.
  • Securing evidence and initial accounts from victims and key witnesses.
  • Identification of the victims.
  • The first victim was able to describe their attacker as a woman with a distinctive star tattoo on her face and Dennehy was identified as the prime suspect. An area search quickly resulted in her arrest and recovery of Archie the dog stolen from the second Hereford attack victim. The significant statement made by Dennehy admitting to killing ‘him’ was recorded.
  • The arresting officers also recovered other key evidence including a blood-stained knife and clothing. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of a camera bizarrely containing photos taken by Dennehy and Stretch in the days leading up to the attacks.

It was only on the day following her arrest that the true extent of her killing spree became apparent with the discovery of two further murder victims in Cambridgeshire. In common with research on female serial killers, all the Cambridgeshire victims were known to Dennehy (Hickey, 2015) and were stabbed to death and callously dumped in ditches in what came to be known as the ‘Peterborough Ditch’ murders. By contrast, a distinguishing feature of the Hereford attacks were that they were committed on strangers with no apparent motive. Dennehy had clearly developed a ‘moreish’ taste to kill (Judiciary of England and Wales, 2014, p.18).

Teamwork

It was agreed that I would take primacy for the joint investigation due to having the greatest chance of successfully resolving the case. In the glare of significant public, media, and organisational attention, the pace of investigation was intense and effective cross border working between forces was essential. Both Martin and I worked hard in these initial stages to find practical solutions to the problems and challenges that arose. The joint working between our teams and effective sharing of information enabled us to maximise evidence gathering. As the pace slowed and primacy for the joint investigation passed over to Martin and his team, we formalised this joint working in a Memorandum of Understanding which was crucial in maintaining focus on the main lines of enquiry and building a successful prosecution case.  The professionalism in handling of the case later drew significant organisational and media praise (Knight, 2014) which the whole team was proud of.  

Sentencing a serial killer

Dennehy was convicted of the three murders and two attempted murders in February 2014. She was the first woman sentenced by a Judge to serve a whole-life term (Judiciary of England and Wales, 2014). In 2023, Lucy Letby became the second female serial killer sentenced by a Judge to a whole life term (Thomas, 2023). The only two other women in English criminal history to be assessed as so dangerous never to be released were Myra Hindley and Rosemary West who instead were ordered not to be released by the then Home Secretary.

Dennehy was not a sophisticated criminal who was used to concealing evidence and actions from the police. Dennehy’s actions were however, shocking not only for their brutality, but also because female serial killers are relatively rare, only accounting for 15% (Farrell, Keppell and Titterington, 2011). This rarity, combined with the extreme violence of Dennehy’s crimes, has contributed to her notoriety and the international media attention surrounding her case.

As well as having a professional interest in crime investigation, I also have an academic interest in the theories and principles central to criminology and criminal psychology having competed a MSc in this subject. Before the Dennehy case I remember one of my assignments being titled ‘Do real psychopaths exist’. We do not have the time to go in-depth on this, but it is interesting to compare the Dennehy case with some psychopathy traits:

  • The interpersonal traits of a psychopath include ‘superficial charm…and the manipulation of others’ (FBI, 2005). Dennehy clearly exercised control and manipulation over men in her life.  Dennehy also sought to regain control at trial by pleading guilty to the surprise of her Defence team (Cawley, 2014). The Judge in sentencing Dennehy commented that she was a ‘…manipulative serial killer’ (Judiciary of England and Wales, 2014, p.1).  
  • Sentencing comments also showed how the murders involved ‘sexual and sadistic conduct’ and that Dennehy saw the killings as a kind of fetish. Research indicates that ‘violence and sexual gratification are inexplicably intertwined’ in serial killers’ motivations (FBI, 2005).
  • Another psychopathy trait is lack of remorse or guilt. Mr Justice Spencer made it clear that Dennehy had ‘shown no genuine remorse’ (Judiciary of England and Wales, 2014, p.18).
  • Research also shows that psychopaths ‘are extremely callous in their interactions with their victims’ (FBI, 2015). The surviving victims of the Hereford attacks both recounted how Dennehy was so cold, cruel, and calculated, showing no emotion other than wanting to stab them some more (Cawley, 2014).
  • Another common trait is sensation seeking (FBI, 2005). Dennehy was said to have revelled in the notoriety of being Britain’s most wanted person and whilst on the run, compared herself and Stretch to the US robbers Bonnie and Clyde (Cawley, 2014).

These traits along with the heinous nature of her crimes explain why Joanna Dennehy will never be set free. You can find out more about the Dennehy case by watching the ‘World’s most Dangerous Prisoners’ on 5Action at 9pm tonight. It is available to watch on SKY (current channel 150) Virgin (current channel 130) and Freeview (current channel 33), and Channel 5 on demand service My5.

References

Cawley, L. (2014) Joanne Dennehy: The woman who murdered men ‘for fun’. BBC [online] 12 February 2014. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25669206 [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Cook and Tattersall (2014). Blackstone’s Senior Investigating Officers’ Handbook (3rd Ed.) Oxford University Press. 

Farrell, A. L., Keppel, R. D., & Titterington, V. B. (2011). Lethal Ladies: Revisiting What We Know About Female Serial Murderers. Homicide Studies, 15(3), pp. 228–252. [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (2005) Serial Murder: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators. Behavioural Analysis Unit National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Available from: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Hickey. (2015). Serial Murderers and Their Victims (7th edition.). Cengage Learning.

Judiciary of England and Wales (2014). The Queen ‐v‐ Joanne Christine Dennehy   Gary John Stretch   Leslie Paul Layton  Robert James Moore In the Crown Court at Cambridge sitting at the Central Criminal Court 28 February 2014 Sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Spencer. Available from: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Judgments/the-queen-v-dennehy-sentencing-remarks-28022014.pdf [Accessed 22 January 2024].

Knight, A. (2014) Top Cops praised for serial killer snare. Hereford Times [online] 29 October 2014. Available from: https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/11566002.top-cops-praised-for-serial-killer-snare/ [Accessed 22 January 2024.

Thomas, T. (2023) Lucy Letby sentenced to whole-life jail term after murdering seven babies. The Guardian [online] 21 August 2023. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2023/aug/21/lucy-letby-sentencing-hearing-life-sentence-updates [Accessed 22 January 2023].

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Tackling Domestic Abuse through 16 Days of Activism

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

Today’s blog is written by Associate Director (Policing) Sarah Williams and reflects on the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (UN Women, 2023). This ends on December 10th (International Human Rights Day).

This annual campaign was first launched in 1991. Today, more than 30 years later, the World Health Organisation estimates that some 30% of women worldwide continue to experience violence of some sort (WHO, 2023). It can be tempting to underestimate the scale of the problem in the UK, but this would be a mistake.  A lot of violence against women and girls takes the form of domestic abuse and sexual offences and sadly both are prevalent here.

2.1 million people in the UK experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023 (ONS, 2023a). That’s 2.1 million people who have been hurt in some way by those who they have (or had) close relationships with, be that a partner or a family member. And that’s before we think about those harmed in other ways – the children terrified by domestic abuse between their parents, the friends who see someone they care about slowly fade away, the parent who sees their adult child blame themselves for the abuse they suffer. Domestic abuse is a disease. It blights the lives of those it touches and ultimately it costs lives. There were 134 domestic homicides in the UK in 2022 (ONS, 2023b) and it can be a risk factor for suicide among victims (Devries et al, 2011; Keynejad, 2023).

Women are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse (ONS, 2023c), being twice as likely as men to experience it. Rape and sexual assault are also horrifyingly common. Based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS, 2023d), Rape Crisis believes that 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted (Rape Crisis, 2023). Many of these rapes and assaults will take place in the context of a relationship.

So, what can we do about this persistent violence against women in the UK that continues to traumatise so many? The scale of the problem can feel overwhelming, but small steps can lead to big changes and there is something that we can all do. Voicing our support for those tackling violence against women and girls is a small step towards showing we will not tolerate it any longer. This year’s 16 Days of Activism asked people to do just that and to share the actions they are taking to tackle violence against women and girls. By spreading the word, we can share good practice, inspire others to do the same, and send a clear message to society that VAWG will not be tolerated. Let’s not stop after 16 days. Let’s keep up this vital work and continue the fight well into 2024.

UWE Bristol Policing tackling VAWG

UWE Bristol has played its own part in supporting the 16 Days of Activism initiative by being a signatory to an open letter sent by the Bristol Women’s Commission to local media (BWC, 2023). Along with many other local organisations, including UWE’s policing partner Avon & Somerset Police, the signatories have pledged to support local activism against VAWG and encourage other businesses, organisations and individuals to do the same. As part of its wider equality, diversity and inclusion approach, UWE Bristol also has its Speak Up campaign, aimed at creating an inclusive campus where everyone feels safe and where harassment, assault and discrimination will not be tolerated (UWE, 2023a and 2023b). This will continue long after the 16 days have ended.

Here on the policing programmes at UWE Bristol, we are tackling violence against women and girls through police education, making sure we include the latest developments in research, and policing and educational policy and practice. Among our recent changes we have:

  • Increased awareness of controlling and coercive behaviour and the barriers victims face when trying to leave an abusive relationship.
  • Included sessions on how trauma-informed practice can improve the experiences of victims and increase successful prosecutions.
  • Helped students explore how evidence-based research influences police practice and how this can help protect women and girls.
  • Incorporated greater awareness of the specific needs of those with protected characteristics or specific vulnerabilities.
  • Enhanced our sessions on understanding the dangers faced by victims of VAWG, exploring police techniques to identify and manage risk.
  • Placed a greater emphasis on digital evidence and investigative quality, and how maximising these can support evidence-led prosecutions that reduce the stress placed on victims.
  • Included more scenario-based teaching where policing students learn to apply what they have learned in our realistic simulation suite (UWE, 2023c).

We aren’t going to stop there. Policing at UWE Bristol takes a continuous improvement approach to its policing provision. We aim to help produce a new generation of police officers driven to tackle VAWG – officers who know how to manage offenders effectively, who understand the needs of victims, and who can use evidence-based approaches to intervene early. In doing so we hope to improve the lives of victims and survivors and contribute to the wider fight to prevent VAWG.

Unite to tackle VAWG

If you want to help us in the fight against VAWG, please circulate your own good work or show your personal support for the 16 Days of Activism and beyond by using the following hash tags on your social media: #NoExcuse, #16Days, #EndVAWG.

References

Avon & Somerset Police (2023) Avon and Somerset Police continuing to make the region a hostile environment for perpetrators of sexual harassment [online]. Available from: Avon and Somerset Police continuing to make the region a hostile environment for perpetrators of sexual harassment | Avon and Somerset Police [Accessed 5 December 2023].

Bristol Women’s Commission (2023) Open Letter for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2023 [online]. Available from: Open Letter for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2023 – Bristol Women’s Commission (bristolwomenscommission.org) [accessed 27 November 2023].

Devries, K., Watts, C., Yoshimama, M., Kiss, L., Schraiber, L.B., Deyessa, N., Heise, L., Durand, J., Mbwambo, J., Jansen, H., Berhane, Y., Ellsberg, M. & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2011) Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: Evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women. Social Science and Medicine [online] Vol 73(1), pp.79-86. [Accessed 5 December 2023].

Keynejad, R.C., Paphitis, S., Davidge, S., Jacob, S., & Howard, L.M. Domestic abuse is important risk factor for suicide. British Medical Journal [online] Vol 379, pp.2890-2890. [Accessed 5 December 2023].

Office for National Statistics (2023a) Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2023 [online]. Available from: Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) [Accessed 25 November 2023].

Office for National Statistics (2023b) Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2022 [online]. Available from: Homicide in England and Wales – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) [Accessed 5th December 2023].

Office for National Statistics (2023c) Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales: year ending March 2023 [online]. Available from: Domestic abuse victim characteristics, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) [Accessed 25 November 2023].

Office for National Statistics (2023d) Sexual offences in England and Wales overview:  year ending March 2022 [online]. Available from: Sexual offences in England and Wales overview – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) [Accessed 25 November 2023].

Rape Crisis (2023) Get Informed [online]. Available from: Get informed | Rape Crisis England & Wales [Accessed 5 December 2023].

UN Women (2023) 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence [online]. Available from: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence | UN Women – Headquarters [Accessed 25 November 2023].

University of the West of England (2023a) Equality, diversity and inclusivity [online]. Available from: Equality, diversity and inclusivity – Our values, vision and strategy | UWE Bristol [Accessed 5 December 2023].

University of the West of England (2023b) Speak Up [online]. Available from: Speak Up – Stay safe on and off campus | UWE Bristol [Accessed 5 December 2023].

University of the West of England (2023c) Crime Scene Policing and Policing Space [online]. Available from: Crime Scene Science and Policing Space – Campus and facilities | UWE Bristol [Accessed 5 December 2023].

World Health Organisation (2023) Violence Against Women [online]. Available from: Violence against women (who.int) [Accessed 25 November 2023].

Editorial Team

UWE Policing blog team: Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer). If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.blog@uwe.ac.uk

What’s your excuse?

Author claudiamccready | Posted on

This week’s blog is written by Senior Lecturer Micah Hassell, part of the UWE Bristol Policing Team. Micah has written a snapshot of his impressive career within Policing, so I won’t waste words repeating it. Part of that varied career includes time specialising on the Roads Policing Unit (RPU), where he dealt with serious and fatal road traffic collisions. Most of us have either been in an accident ourselves, or know of those that have been unfortunate enough to experience them.

2021 saw a 23% increase in deaths or serious injuries from accidents involving alcohol from the year before (ONS, 2023). In the same year, Avon and Somerset stated that alcohol was a factor in 1/3 of all their road traffic collisions (ASC, 2023). Each year local police forces run anti-drink and drug drive operations, educating and stopping drivers within their areas.

This festive period offers a poignant moment to consider the risks associated with driving under the influence, the impacts is has on loved ones and the services that attend to help. Over to Micah…

Image of Senior Lecturer, Micah Hassell wearing graduation robe and colours.

After starting a new role in May 2023 as a senior lecturer within the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship programme, I have been given a fantastic opportunity to deliver a programme of learning to newly appointed police officers to ensure their operational competence meets the highest standards expected within Policing (College of Policing, 2014). My core interests in policing extend to Police ethics and the causes of corruption after serving the latter part of my career within the Professional Standard Department, but some of the most interesting and demanding responsibilities I have experienced were related to road death and its causation whilst performing the role of senior investigating officer with the Roads Policing department.  As an ex Chief Inspector with 27 years operational Policing experience, I have investigated more than 120 collisions where a death has occurred and in 80% of those incidents’ intoxication has featured as a contributing factor to the cause of death.  Although this is somewhat of a grim topic of discussion, I wanted to bring into focus the impact drink driving has, to prompt a discussion about your thoughts and behaviours when it comes to making that decision about drinking and driving.

Lived experience

One of my last fatal road traffic investigations occurred during the summer months just after midnight where a single vehicle carrying four occupants collided head on with a lamppost. On my arrival I was confronted with an horrific scene. The driver had been ejected out of the vehicle and came to rest some distance in front of the vehicle and had tragically died from her injures. The front seat passenger was deceased, and two rear passengers were seriously injured. One rear passenger died at the scene and the final passenger made it to the hospital before sadly passing away hours later.  Almost immediately a strong smell of alcohol emanated from within the vehicle and those involved at the scene. I vividly remember that the speedometer on the vehicle had frozen at the point of impact and rested at exactly 31 miles per hour.  During my investigation it transpired from witnesses that the four friends had decided to take a risk because they wanted to travel to another local pub approximately 2 miles away. Unfortunately, they never made it, and their lives were taken forever leaving families, police officers and communities with questions to this day about the decisions they all made on that tragic night.

Why?

Did you know that in the past year one of your friends, relatives or work colleagues will drink and drive and could even be over the legal limit today? You might have even drank last night feeling worse for wear this morning, but drove into work unsure of whether you were actually over the prescribed legal limit, or you could have car shared knowing the person driving was feeling pretty poorly from the night before.  The reasons why people decide to drink and drive are complex, but more often than not the decision to use your car after drinking alcohol is done so with very little thought about the potential consequences that could occur. Government Statistics provide a comprehensive picture about the numbers killed or seriously injured on our roads within the UK…  

In 2021 alone, over 27,000 people were killed or seriously injured on our roads. 

In 2020, Police conducted over 46,000 roadside breath tests. Over 2,500 people failed these .

Department for Transport, 2022.

Alcohol as a factor

Qualitative research undertaken by Keatley et al, (2020) examined the reasons why people decide to drink and drive. After interviewing 83 participants between 18 and 64 years of age they identified five key themes that influenced their decision to drive after consuming alcohol. Unexpected reasons to leave the pub, peer pressure, only a short drive to the next destination, having an appointment they needed to be at and finally the effects of alcohol affected their judgement where they knew they should not drive, but carried on regardless. Most, if not all of us know about the effects of alcohol, but there are concerning gaps in a person’s ability to understand how much alcohol can be consumed or what strength of alcohol is contained within their drink.  In each case recognising what their chosen drink contains remains a mystery and, in many cases, presents a misunderstanding about what people can tolerate. In a study conducted by Walker et al, (2016), 209 University students were asked to rank in order of alcohol strength 10 alcoholic drinks. Their research highlighted that people could not judge the strength of alcohol within an alcoholic drink, but instead chose their selected drink preferring to use taste instead. The more appealing the taste the more likely a person would choose to drink it rather than consider the strength of alcohol.  This disparity highlighted the need to ensure more people should take a greater interest in the alcohol content of their preferred drink. There are also other studies undertaken by Stephens et al, (2017) that indicate people who worked full time or worked from home between 26 and 39 years old with  “High Risk consumption patterns”  are more likely to drink and drive, but also have a reduced perception about the risk of having a collision after consuming drink.

There are other causation factors that will always feature within any collision, but my lived experience has shown that alcohol contributes to the death of a high proportion of people who are involved in collisions. The example I provided at the beginning detailed the death of four friends travelling at the legal speed limit within 10 minutes of leaving a local pub, attempting to travel to another local pub a short distance away. You can see from this article that high risk drinking behaviours, having limited awareness of how strong your alcoholic drink is and only driving a short distance away all feature as contributing factors to causing road death. So before you decide to drink and drive think about the consequences of your actions and what excuse you are going to make before you get into the car!

Final reflections & the PCDA

Light bulb graphic with cog inside - reflection

The work of the PCDA team is extremely important. Within the operational competencies modules drink driving is taught throughout all three years. Legislation and exploring key prevention and detection strategies are all included.  Working alongside Avon and Somerset Police UWE’s 2030 Strategy provides an inclusive programme designed to solve the future challenges policing faces. It focusses on student development using some of the most experienced police officers and staff to support them; using some of the best facilities throughout the region and beyond. The reason I chose to apply for a job within UWE was because it not only boasted one of the best programmes in the country, it also centred their interests around my own teaching practice and development. It’s been a fantastic transition from policing into higher education. There are always opportunities for staff and students to be part of the PCDA journey where most modules run practical sessions to develop students offices as they progress through their degree if you want to get involved you can contact me or any of the PCDA team here.

Helpful Resources

Keatley, D. A. et al. (2020) Perceptions of drink driving legal limits in England: a qualitative investigation. Psychology, crime & law. [Online] 26 (8), 733–744. [Accessed 6 July 2023]

Stephens, A. N. et al. (2017) Alcohol consumption patterns and attitudes toward drink-drive behaviours and road safety enforcement strategies. Accident analysis and prevention. [Online] 98241–251. [Accessed July 2023]

Walker, S. et al. (2016) Estimates of the Absolute and Relative Strengths of Diverse Alcoholic Drinks by Young People. Substance use & misuse. [Online] 51 (13), 1781–1789. [Accessed 10 July 2020]

Editorial Team

Image of a paper plane to mean 'email' or 'send'

Paul Williamson (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Middleton (Tripartite Assessor – Policing); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Becoming An Evidence-based Police Practitioner

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

This week’s blog is written by UWE Bristol Policing programme Senior Lecturer Gary Stephens. Gary served in Avon & Somerset Police as a Detective Chief Inspector prior to joining UWE Bristol where he is the module leader for ‘Becoming an Evidence-based Police Practitioner’ on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA).

There is general consensus that Evidence-based Policing (EBP) is the development of knowledge, which is shared to inform operational practice. Working together with Avon & Somerset Police we seek to blend the best of policing craft with the science of ‘what works’. This is important because traditional models of policing no longer appear to provide the answers to a lot of current and future policing problems. Having recently attended the Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP) annual conference, Gary reflects on the key learning from this event.

Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP) annual conference

Over the 9 – 10 November, the SEBP held their annual conference at the College of Policing in Ryton. The SEBP are insiders, they are predominantly police officers with day jobs who are committed to nurturing change from within their organisation by developing knowledge, practice and performance utilising Evidence Based Policing.

Attending the conference were UWE policing staff Associate Director Dr Anne Eason along with Senior Lecturer Gary Stephens. Amongst the over 130 other candidates were representatives from forces and organisations from around the country, and internationally, including Inspector Alecto Shyne and PS Sue Coates from the Avon and Somerset Inspection and Evidence Based Policing Team.

The title of the conference was:

The importance of focus: How can evidence based policing drive precision policing?

The conference was opened by the SEBP Chair T/Chief Constable Alex Murray of West Mercia Police who introduced the variety of speakers delivering presentations over the two days. A consistent theme was the importance of modern policing being data led and optimising the principle of ‘what works’.

The College of Policing are at the forefront in using evidence led policing and Director of Knowledge and Innovation Rachel Tuffin outlined recent developments, most notably the practice bank, which complements the longer standing Crime Reduction Toolkit. The practice bank shares crime prevention and community safety best practice initiatives developed across the country to assist officers in their own local problem solving.

Speakers spoke of subjects ranging from crime satisfaction, focused deterrence to using vetting data to understand the more prevalent characteristics of those who go onto be subject of gross misconduct proceedings. Whilst there was a wide range of speakers there was one consistent theme, the importance of using data to produce a deeper understanding of what works and to utilise this as evidence to inform practice.

So what did we take specifically from the two days?

The material from all speakers was valuable but what we found most interesting is how EBP is constantly developing and how we can all contribute to it. For example, we now know that, under certain conditions, hot spots policing works. One of these conditions is optimising the time officers (or PCSOs) are present in a given hot spot (The Koper curve theory). However, a study in Leicester based on hot spot patrolling areas of potential disorder has developed this principle further. In partnership with the Youth Endowment Fund youth outreach workers were employed to be in hot spot areas and engage with youths to prevent disorder. During this time they sought to engage those youths in diversionary interventions, something EBP tells us works. But to follow Koper’s 12-16 minute rule would not enable them to engage, so the patrols were extended, often in excess of 50 minutes, which allowed them to nurture conversations and engage with potential offenders.

The conference was closed by Professor Lawrence Sherman, the leading architect and proponent of EBP who outlined the need to move from the 3R’s (random patrol, rapid response, reactive investigation) toward the 3Ts (targeting, testing and tracking). As well as reflecting on where EBP was and where it is now he outlined his vision of the next steps for it. As Chief Scientific Officer for the Metropolitan Police he took an active role in an initiative that was recently launched to target the serious amount of violent harm against women and girls in London. With limited resources the police must focus their resources on those who present the most harm. A top 100 list, ‘the power few concentration’ was produced. Having identified the top 100, a key tactic used was application for Sexual Risk Orders. If the application is successful, this order places stringent conditions on subjects. In the short time since this initiative has been running an impressive 85% reduction in offending has been identified.

Professor Sherman suggested that future steps for EBP could be in adopting these principles of ranking and stacking relative risk, and further utilising the principle of the 3T’s, in categories such as repeat burglary, ASB 999 calls, police misconduct and others. If adopted this could lead to what he described as not doing more with less, somewhere policing has found itself in recent years, but doing less with more.

What can you do?  

  • Join the SEBP, it’s easy, just go online and join. You will receive regular e mails of evidence-led studies and initiatives and you will have access to all resources.
  • Look out for the posters around campus with QR codes you can click on to provide direct access to the practice bank amongst other resources.
  • Be that evidence led practitioner – it works! As a practitioner guided by evidence, integrate its effectiveness seamlessly into your daily operations for your specific purposes. Embrace the principles, customise them to your context, and employ them to focus on your objectives. Shift from perceiving it as an abstract concept; it’s increasingly becoming standard practice, and we need to fully harness the principles of EBP in contemporary law enforcement.

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Middleton (Tripartite Assessor – Policing); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Taking Youth Work Week 2023 as a moment to pause & reflect on our work with children.

Author claudiamccready | Posted on

Welcome to the latest UWE Policing blog, where we’re excited to celebrate Youth Justice Week. At UWE Bristol, we take immense pride in our commitment to cultivating a diverse and expert Policing Programme. As we delve into the important discussions surrounding youth justice, it’s crucial to acknowledge the ever-growing diversity within our teaching team.

This week’s additional blog is written by Claire Bowers in light of Youth Work Week 2023. Claire recently joined us as a Senior Lecturer and brings a wealth of experience and expertise of working in various fields reflecting the real-world complexity of policing in today’s society. With experiences ranging from community policing, probation and risk management to tackling international organised crime, our programme teaching team is uniquely positioned to equip our students with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in modern law enforcement.

As we celebrate Youth Justice Week, we invite you to explore the perspectives, insights, and initiatives shared by Claire.

Shining the spotlight on our staff…

Senior Lecturer, Claire Bowers joined UWE in 2023 having spent an impressive and varied career within the Criminal Justice System. Claire brings extensive experience in crime reduction initiatives, prisoner rehabilitation, and youth justice diversion and preventative work – including specialisms in safeguarding, harmful sexual behaviour and trauma informed working, as a Manager of North Somerset Youth Offending and Prevention Service. Claire is also a passionate advocate for young victims of crime and domestic abuse having managed Avon and Somerset’s Young Victims Service for four years. Claire holds two masters with distinction in Psychology and Criminology & Criminal Justice, and has a varied and expansive teaching career.

This week is Youth Work Week.

This week is Youth Work Week, and so it seems the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the important work carried out with children by the youth work sector, as well as taking a moment to contemplate the current challenges facing children and their families and our approach to working with them.

Blue icon of laptop and internet.

We are living in uncertain times, with the cost-of-living crisis, living through a pandemic and the rise of technology and social media to mention just a few. In their 2022 report, Barnados highlighted the top issues facing young people from a practitioners’ perspective. This included increasing mental health issues and insufficient support, poverty and financial instability, potential exposure to sexual exploitation and online abuse and lack of safety and cohesion in the home.

Blue icon of male. female and girl.

This is a very real threat for children as one in seven will have lived with domestic abuse at some point in their life (Radford, 2011) and domestic abuse related crimes increased 7.7% in 2022 (ONS, 2022). Every generation has its struggles, however, the children of today are facing a unique set of challenges. However, despite these concerns youth services such as youth clubs and youth workers have been cut by 69% since 2010 (Local Government Association, 2023) and children’s services have never been under more pressure. 

Representations

Blue icon of downwards statistics.

Negative representations of young people is commonplace (Guardian, 2004). However, the statistics show that youth crime rates have consistently been in decline for many years (ONS, 2022; ONS, 2023) . Most children are not involved in crime, and those who are, still spend much of their time leading law-abiding lives. Working with children can be challenging at the best of times, however it is a child’s job to push boundaries! Ask any parent coming towards the end of the summer holidays, let alone the police officer who is having to deal with repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour and disrespect. That being said, I am sure we can all reflect back and think of examples of behaviour from our younger selves that we would rather forget.

Working with children requires a specific attitude and skill set. Youth workers often adopt a PACE approach (Hughes, 2006). Standing for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy, the focus is on building rapport and high-quality relationships. Maturation of the brain is not accomplished until 25 years old (Arain et. al, 2013).

The law is clear. The term ‘child’ is preferred practice for any young person below the age of 18 (CPS, 2023). A young person may well look and act as if they are an adult, but they are not and we must not treat them as such. Children that do come to the attention of the youth justice system should be seen as children ‘first’ and ‘offenders’ second” (CPS, 2023). This recognises that children may make mistakes, but this should be viewed through a rehabilitative lens, rather than a punitive one. Research outlined in the The Punishing Abuse report (Chard, 2021) argue that 9 in 10 children in the youth justice system are known or suspected to have been abused, with 7 in 10 having lived with domestic abuse (MOJ, 2013). Over 60% of people in youth justice estate have difficulties with speech, language or communication (Gateshead Council, date unknown).

Icon of 5 hands touching

Youth work emphasises education, mentorship and support to help guide children away from criminal behaviour and contribute to their positive development. The primary focus is on prevention, diversion and early intervention to avoid criminalisation of children.

What can we do to support young people?

So what can we do to support young people? In their book “the power of showing up” Dr Daniel Siegel and Dr Tina Bryson outline 4 fundamental needs for children. First children need to feel ‘safe’.  When children feel unsafe, they are not able to access their upper ‘thinking’ brain. They go into survival mode. Children who have experienced trauma may already be hypervigilant and struggling to self-regulate, having learned to always be on the lookout for danger. Once they know that they are safe, the young person has access to more resources to enable them to cope and manage their behaviour. Tone of voice and body language is key. Anxiety will be reduced by slow movements and a gentle voice.

The second factor is being ‘seen’. In children, behaviour is communication and language matters. Being curious about what is happening for a young person and viewing them through a trauma-informed lens helps us to help them. Are they ‘not engaging’ or do they simply not feel safe enough to engage?

‘Soothed’ is the third need and this is based on the adult- child interaction. Children need to learn how to self-soothe through modelling by adults. Letting children know that we are there for them and we want to connect with them is fundamental. This can be achieved through being calm, actively listening to them, showing empathy and offering strategies for ‘brain breaks.’ The final ‘S’ is ‘secure’. This means showing up for the child and being a ‘safe base’. It can take time for a young person to trust, especially if they have learnt that people let them down. Youth workers show reliability by agreeing a time and place to meet and ensuring that they are there every week, even if the young person is not. Over time, trust can be established and meaningful interactions can take place.

Blue icon of footprints.

It sounds like a cliché (or the lyrics from a famous song) but children literally are our future. Whilst youth work week specifically recognises and celebrates the achievements of youth workers in particular, these are not the only people that have an impact on a young person’s life. Police, teachers, social workers, and doctors to name but a few, all leave footprints on a young person’s journey. We all therefore have a responsibility to consider what type of imprint we want to make.

I will leave you with the words of trauma specialist, Dr Karen Treisman (2020):

“Every moment and interaction can be an intervention…can be change agents…Every moment has the potential to open a door or to close a door.”

Dr Karen Treisman, 2020.

Helpful Resources

Arain, M., Haque, M., Johal, L., Mathur, P., Nel, W., Rais, A., Sandhu, R., & Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 9, 449–461. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S39776

Hughes, D. (2006). Building the bonds of attachment: Awakening love in deeply troubled children. Oxford: Jason Aaronson

National Youth Agency – Youth Work Week 2023

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Middleton (Tripartite Assessor – Policing); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

Other Blogs

Guest blog by Tom Andrews: Reflections on the Degree Entry Route into Policing

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of police education, it is crucial for policing professionals, academics, and aspiring officers to gain a deeper understanding of the current and emergent trends.

This year, I had the privilege of meeting Tom at the Policing Education Conference at Liverpool John Moores University and he graciously agreed to contribute a blog post for UWE Bristol. Tom is a lecturer in Policing at Derby University and in this blog shares a personal perspective on his own educational and professional journey which offers a valuable reflection on the past, present, and future of police education.

As we navigate the shifting landscape of the Police Constable Entry Routes and new ‘optimisation curriculum’ it is imperative to consider the significance of continuous learning and how education can empower police officers to make a meaningful difference in their communities.

Tom’s blog provides a thought-provoking insight and valuable lessons for both those entering the profession and experienced officers seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge through the ‘Top Up’ degree at UWE Bristol (featured in a recent blog). It is a testament to the importance of building bridges between academia and the real world of policing, creating a network of professionals dedicated to advancing the field through education and innovation.

Over to Tom…

Tom’s reflections

I’m honoured to have been asked to complete this guest contribution to the UWE Policing Blog, after chatting with several of the excellent lecturers there. I’ve written quite a bit on both PoliceProfessional and PolicingInsight around my thoughts of the Police Entry Qualifications Framework (PEQF) aka the degree entry routes into policing. I wanted on here to do something different, and to share my own journey with those entering or undertaking the current entry routes, with my reflections. Like any good reflection, I will be framing this around a recognised model, and my personal favourite is Rolfe et al.’s (2001) model, both for its simplicity and requirement to look forward.

Tom Andrews – Lecturer in Policing at the University of Derby.

What?

I joined the police in 2008 (with a pre-existing degree in History) under an IPLDP+ scheme, during which I undertook the majority of my training at my force headquarters, but attended a local further education (FE) college once or twice a week in uniform but with no PPE or radio etc. There we would learn the more theoretical side of policing such a criminology, while we learned the legislation and policy aspects at force training school. Looking back, the learning delivered by the professional educators was by-and-large far more engaging than that delivered by training school; where the legislation was simply learnt by wrote. I even vividly remember (in the very early days of social media!) making comment about the boring training school aspect on Facebook, and receiving suitable words of advice from the training school sergeant…

After the initial six months classroom-based (force and college) learning, we would regularly return every three months or so for a week’s additional input from the college. During these weeks we were set essay and presentation assignments to write in our own time (no protected study leave at all). We also had a SOLAP to complete (FOC’s in today’s terms), where we had to write all the reports ourselves. No doubt this method of learning sounds very familiar to those of you reading this! That is a key reason why I am particularly vocal about maintaining the current routes, as they don’t represent a radical departure from some of the old ones!

I ‘graduated’ training with a Foundation Degree in Policing (at level 5, equivalent to finishing two years of university); with an option to pay for a further year’s study at our own expense, to complete a full degree in Criminology and Policing. (I didn’t take this up as I had a degree already and didn’t have the money to pay.)

So What?

At the time of my initial learning (I specifically don’t use the term training, as the FE college input took it beyond that into education / learning) and for long after, I simply couldn’t see the value or purpose of the FE input at all. I spent five years on response, where indeed the need for that wider knowledge around criminology and crime prevention was very limited. This was even more true at that time at the height of target-driven policing based around arrests and detections – at most it may have helped me classify some D&D’s as Section 5’s to gain a bonus detection.

It was when I applied for a job on neighbourhoods that some of my previous learning came from the dark recesses at the back of my head. Vague rumblings about a triangle for problem analysis, stemming from a problem-solving model with a girls name – yes, you guessed it, SARA and PAT! I dug out my old lecture notes (yes, I’d kept them in my loft, I know…) and brushed up on various aspects of criminology and crime prevention that might be useful for neighbourhood policing. I beat a field of several candidates at interview to land the job, and it was here, using my regained knowledge of criminology and specifically problem-solving, that I can honestly reflect on and state confidently, was where I had the most impact on society during my career. I didn’t just rush to jobs and put sticking plasters on situations as I had on response. I actually not only identified, but solved problems that were causing real issues to my local community.

My two most notable examples are using brand new powers (for 2014) under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to issue Community Protection Notices to a local Urban Street Gang who were continually loitering on one street creating misery for the residents, and thereafter never seeing them again. Secondly, using the same pioneering powers, combined with obscure sections of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and crucially partnership working powers with Trading Standards, to execute warrants and seize and ultimately destroy tens of thousands of pounds worth of so-called ‘legal highs’ or new psychoactive substances; several years before they were made illegal. This latter operation saw me gain attention from police forces nationwide, and had the College of Policing’s ‘What Works’ centre or Going Equipped journal existed at this time, would have been written up on there. Neither of these I believe would have been possible without use of SARA and PAT, and the associated learning around multi-agency working I had undertaken at college.

Now What?

For various reasons I left the police in October 2020 as a sergeant on response. I loved the role, having responsibility for supervising other officers and making decisions. The part I loved the most however was developing those on my team – arranging training, attachments, and supporting applications for other departments for where they could make best use of their talents. I would also regularly take the various team members out with me on patrol, hosting informal one-to-one’s and also sharing some of my policing knowledge and experience. I even supervised three of the country’s first PCDA officers so learnt well the demands that operational and educational expectations place on them.

I ultimately realised that I preferred this part of the job to the actual policing part, whilst simultaneously recognising – through personal, local and national reasons – that policing was not in a healthy place. I wanted to be a part of that change. I therefore took a job up as a lecturer delivering the PEQF to new recruits. It was only a few weeks into the role that I realised that had I been taught half as much as new PEQF recruits were getting, I could have been an infinitely more effective officer. Ideas such as ‘vulnerability’ were only just being introduced into operational policing and I’d certainly never had any training on it. I had never heard of Adverse Childhood Experiences; I wasn’t aware of things such as cognitive biases and heuristics; I knew how to do a stop and search but not the impact the tactic has on various communities; and so on and so forth. What other departments did was largely a mystery to me and I certainly didn’t have opportunity to go on attachments to them.

I was initially sceptical of the PEQF, especially as an operational supervisor, but the more I have come to know about it and be involved in it, the more I passionately believe in it and advocate it from the mountain-tops. Are the current routes absolutely right? Of course not. Is going back to a pre-degree requirement a good move? Absolutely not. I’ve recently done two research studies with PCDA students and the general public that demonstrate that. And, as outlined, what does that even mean anyway – I’d rather have had a recognisable degree than a Foundation Degree, that even I don’t really understand what it means.

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Eve Middleton (Tripartite Assessor – Policing); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & 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