Still plodding along? The police response to the changing profile of crime in England and Wales

Abstract

This paper will consider the new demands placed on police forces arising from the dramatic increase in cases of fraud and cybercrime. It will assess the ability-or current inability-of the police to respond to this development. The paper will therefore be directed towards the growing requirement for substantial internal police reform that goes well beyond anything contemplated heretofore. The paper will draw on the recent and important HMIC PEEL Review of police efficiency which has for the first time raised the question of identifying not just police capacity but also police force capability. It is evident that while police forces are able to quickly identify police capacity [ranks and police numbers] they experience great difficulty in relation to capabilities. This in fact links in with the police response to the 'new' forms of crime which is now replacing acquisitive crime. The paper will seek to identify current police responses to this development and also highlight its inadequacy.

Determinants of police officers' support for the public-private partnerships (PPPs) in policing cyberspace

“…Moreover, increasing demands placed on the police has added to the challenge of policing cyberspace. Beyond the traditional street crimes, police forces are called upon to respond to terrorist threats, human trafficking, identity theft and online fraud (Loveday, 2017; Wilson, 2012) which have increased with the Globalization and technological advancements. Additionally, responding to the cases involving mentally challenge individuals require the police to take rehabilitative measures and work with public health agencies (Loveday, 2017; van Dijk et al , 2019).…”

Detecting Radicalisation in Communities: The Role of Multi-Agency Partnership and the Power of Local Information

“…This approach is typical of both the CSPs and the LSPs and is a recognised form of "partnership paradigm" (Crawford in Delpeuch and Ross 2016, 3) for community and knowledge-based policing. Any changes to the process of corporatist governance in a given area will weaken the chain of local information, as with the removal of the Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in some areas (Greig-Midlane 2014;Loveday 2017a;Loveday 2017b) and the demise of local partnerships such as the LSPs and the distancing of the CSPs from the Police and Crime Commisioners (Loveday 2013). The loss of the PCSOs is a very troubling issue in the fragmentation of local information from communities and appears to represent a bid to preserve the establishment posts of full police officers (Greig-Midlane 2014, 7;UNISON 2016 This is supported by the research for this paper.…”

“…The route for such information is via trusted professional relationships of long standing, and these often exist in local multi-agency partnerships. If such partnerships are compromised or removed, and similarly, if such valuable local resources as PCSOs (Loveday 2017b) are reduced and CSPs side-lined, we diminish our capacity to protect people and society. The, perhaps, unintended consequences of swingeing cuts to local government (Comptroller and Auditor General 2014;Innes and Tetlow 2015;Local Government Association 2015), who participate, manage or lead such partnerships, and cuts to other public sector services in England are that we have less effective, less joined-up networks.…”

Financial crime investigation: an evaluation of an online training program for police

“…As will be discussed in more detail later in this paper, police agencies must be prepared to meet the growing need for policing financial crime within our communities. To date, the conclusion is that they are falling short (Home Affairs Committee, 2018) and police are finding it difficult to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape (Loveday, 2017). In particular, the Internet and its impact on all aspects of life has resulted in a significant shift in financial fraud.…”