A collection of news articles, reports, and publications available in the public domain, which are relevant to UK policing.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has created a data protection and coronavirus information hub to help individuals and organisations during the coronavirus pandemic. The hub contains advise on a range of topics such as the use of mobile phone tracking data and the use of personal data by Government and other organisations.
Source: ico.org.uk
The Coronavirus Bill received Royal Assent on 25 March 2020 and is now known as the Coronavirus Act 2020. It is an Act to make provision in connection with coronavirus and fr connected purposes.
A large proportion of the Act relates to the NHS and social care, however, there are parts of the Act affecting police powers. For instance, the length of time that DNA profiles and fingerprints can be retained has been extended by six months and it is now an offence to fail to comply with new measures brought in by the Act such as travel restrictions. Additionally, the Act delays the Police and Crime Commissioner elections by one year.
The Act can be read in full here. The Explanatory Notes can be found here.
Source: legislation.gov.uk
The Home Secretary appointed Professor Dame Carol Black to undertake an independent review of drugs. This was to inform the government on what more can be done to tackle drug crime and its associated effects.
The report offers a holistic summary of bodies involved in drug issues such as prisons, The National Crime Agency, Law Enforcement, community as well as the accountability of the different sectors.
The independent report stated that over the past decade, priority of tackling drugs has fallen down for the police forces in England and Wales, partially due to the funding cuts and the emergence of other priorities. However, county lines issues have recently led to an increased focus by police.
Source: Gov.uk
A report has been published which presents the findings of a review of public standards around the use of Artificial Intelligence. The review was undertaken by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
The report contains a number of recommendations for government, national bodies and regulators.
The report can be read in full here.
Source: Gov.uk
The EDR produced by EMCDDA and Europol provides an analysis of drug situation and responses to it across the European Union, Norway and Turkey. The most recent findings include that the European drug market once dominated by imported plant-based substance has evolved, where now synthetics drugs have grown in importance and production takes place inside its borders. Overall, the drug market is resilient and reflective of developments taking place at global level. Established and newer illicit drugs continue to create a challenge for effective policy responses. New technologies and encryption are increasingly prevalent in drug dealing networks. The purity of drugs remains high and prices relatively low, proving high availability across the continent. According to the report, the drugs market is a recognised contributor to chronic and acute global health problems. EMCDDA and Europol address a holistic approach to drug control and prevention.
Source: EMCDDA
Following its investigation into how the police use live facial recognition (LFR) technology in public places, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) called for government to introduce a statutory and binding code of practice on the deployment of LFR. The ICO stated that this is necessary in order to give the police and the public enough knowledge as to when and how the police can use LFR systems in public spaces. The ICO has also recommended that the police and other government bodies and organisations do more work to eliminate bias in the algorithms particularly those associated with ethnicity.
Meanwhile the ICO has released the first Commissioner’s Opinion which informs on data protection rules which police forces need to follow before and during deployment of LFR. The Opinion should be followed when LFR is used.
Source: ico.org.uk
An article by the BBC has discussed the idea put forward by Dr Mohammed Qasim, a researcher at Leeds Beckett University, that county drug lines gang members are enrolling at university in order to gain alibis for moving to different cities.
Dr Qasim conducted his research in Swansea, where he infiltrated a county lines gang. He noted that living as a student gave gang members from ethnic minority backgrounds a way to blend in to predominantly white areas to minimise the chance of being arrested.
Source: BBC News
A paper written by Dr Chris Allen focusing on the far-right group National Action has stated that the key to understanding National Action was an its ideology and its commitment to enacting it.
The paper discusses how the early demonstrations undertaken by the group appeared similar to those conducted by the EDL and Britain First. Moreover, the paper notes how National Action tried to appeal to a younger audience.
The paper notes the difficulty of studying groups such as National Action due to the members’ distrust of academics, deeming them to be hostile.
The paper can be read in full here.
Source: GOV.UK
A Statutory Instrument to bring into force The Data Protection Act 2018 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2019 was made on 5th August 2019. The Instrument will bring into force the remaining provisions in Part 4 of the Data Protection Act 2018 that were not already in force, they are:
These provisions will come into force on 16th September 2019.
Source: Legislation.gov.uk
The Home Office has published a circular regarding amendments under the Firearms Acts. The amendments, which come into force on 10th June 2019 will require applicants for registration with the police as a firearms dealer to complete a medical declaration. They will also be required to provide details of their ‘servants’ at each place of business so that relevant background checks can be completed by the police.
Police Horizon Scanning 