Future-proof: Future-ready

Policing is evolving from its traditional form of responding to threats and enforcing law & order towards proactive, preventative policing. By forming sophisticated partnerships that problem solve to identify the root causes of crime, preventative policing aims at reducing victims, crime, and consequently, demand for traditional policing. Preventative policing starts at the top - with a commitment from leadership to collect and share information that allows for the identification of trends and patterns. Evidence-based standards, designing innovative structures and integrating new ones to manage and reward performance, and collaborating with a wide range of non-traditional partners are just a few of the key enablers to making the all important transition to modern policing. 

As is typical with any major change, this paradigm shift does not come without its challenges. The “police culture” is typically hierarchical and designed around uniformed officers who investigate crimes, reinstate order, and make arrests. Preventative policing requires the integration of (all types of) analysts into the very fabric of the police machinery. Rather, in the future, analysts will work side by side with uniformed officers, and a whole range of community stakeholders who have more access and are better qualified to deal with the root issues driving crime. In addition, cyber skills will increasingly become a foundational part of police recruit training - rather than just specialist unit capability. Another key challenge is the inbuilt bias of data pools. The information that police are sourcing in order to analyse crime is often developed to capture and record incidents that have already happened. As a result, its sources are often inherently in marginalised areas - creating a bias against minorities and other vulnerable groups. 

Several attempts have been made to address some of these issues and good progress has been made. The strategies of top police organisations emphasise the value of preventative policing, and have taken concrete steps to recruit and train analysts to work in equal rank to traditional police officers/ investigators. 

Governments are also taking action. In the United States, the US Algorithm Bill requires private companies that have developed algorithms to test them for bias. In the United States and the United Kingdom, live facial recognition has been mired in controversy and in some cities banned due to concerns around bias. Finally, more recently, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the United Nations and the Interpol are developing a governance framework to address bias in facial recognition technology.

There is no doubt that crime is evolving at accelerated speed. Criminals are using technology to maximise the scale and impact of their returns. As they reinvest their proceeds to build capability, they are able to better pinpoint and exploit gaps and weaknesses in police organisations and cross international borders. Despite the many opportunities that technologies have given policing, it has multiplied the risks. A single cyber crime can have tremendous impact and a significantly high number of victims, with some studies suggesting repeat victimisation being of up to 25%. 

All in all, policing is faced with a rising number of tactical threats and a fast shifting strategic landscape. Unfortunately, at the risk of broadly generalising, the scale and pace of investment in policing has not matched that of crime. 

Fundamentally, one of the key challenges to better equipping police to stay ahead of crime is financial. Getting funding right and aligned to the policing strategy is key. Police funding is on the decline in most countries - or at best stagnant. This is widening the gap between police and criminals, especially when it comes to skilling and digital capability. Underpinning the need for funding and digitising the police force is the need to attract qualified professionals who can research and innovate in policing; while importantly, upskilling and digitising existing security personnel and operating models to use technology to both inform live decisions and report on performance. Beyond the financials, digitisation and the turn to evidence-based policing requires in the first instance, a mind shift and a culture that is agile, and embraces communication, collaboration and change. 

Steps are already underway and one can say that our agile, digitised, evidence-based police force(s) of the future are already forming. As more millennials progress in their careers, it is likely that police organisations are becoming more and more open and collaborative. Recruitment protocols and requirements are changing and are more digitally focused. A number of national initiatives are already underway to professionalise the police service and more clearly articulate the profiles of the “police force of the future” - prominent amongst which is the United Kingdom College of Policing’s dissemination of best practise in policing and its push towards continuous improvement. Because the pandemic has assimilated specialists who are better equipped to deal with some of the “first responder” needs, police forces are already more diverse and inclusive bringing together mental health professionals alongside social workers and other community policing stakeholders. The Australian Cyber Collaboration Center takes this one step forward by providing an institutional framework for small businesses, academia, and industry to collaborate with the government and policing organisations on minimising cyber risk.

Public trust and confidence in policing is at a crossroads. On the one hand, top line figures on police response and management of the COVID-19 crisis are positive. However, these figures are countered by reactions to reports of police misconduct, discrimination and abuse. In addition, the overall trend is that confidence in policing is lowest among youth and minorities. COVID has disproportionately impacted society’s most vulnerable, and consequently created significant gaps in the levels of trust in government between the “haves and have nots”. Obviously, this differs from one context to another, depending (among other factors), on overall levels of trust in government, the demographics of the constituency/ area in question, as well as the level of interactions that take place outside the context of law enforcement and arrest¹. 

It is important to take stock of the great strides that technology has enabled in the day to day provision of police services. Citizen interactions with the police extend beyond law enforcement and include a variety of services from traffic control, victim and witness support, to the transportation and monitoring of public assets. When applied holistically, technology has the potential to offer a seamless, integrated “customer” experience that can potentially spillover to broadly impact overall safety and security. An example of this are the “Smart Police Stations” introduced by Dubai Police. These self-service stations offer 27 services and 33 sub-services in six different languages, in areas ranging from crime-related services, through to community services, traffic services, as well as the issue of permits and certificates. The stations are available in a variety of formats (walk-in, drive-through, and kiosks), and are open 24/7.

Over the past years, social media has increasingly become a strategic platform to access police services and provide police with important data for crime prevention and response. Digital/ social media and mobile applications now allow real-time communication and interaction between the police and the public, and for the police amongst themselves. That said, social media is a double edged sword that also subjects police to greater exposure and public scrutiny - driving efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery, and at the same time functioning as a moral compass to keep police in check when and where it is needed. 

One of the key challenges to capturing the full potential of technology in improving the customer experience is ensuring the coherence of the digital policy. Rather than simply acquiring and adopting flagship technology, automation should be integrated and streamlined into all aspects of operations - be it people, infrastructure, or culture, and streamlined and coordinated with other agencies and organisations.

_{1) In the United Kingdom, friendly home visits by the police increased the general public’s confidence in the police by 6% and 11% amongst minorities} 

With the increased uptake of technology, and the exchange of information and data, cyber-security and the need to mitigate the risk associated with data breaches increases. In addition, the move within policing to evidence-based policing and cloud storage has created an imperative to protect the privacy and security of data that is shared digitally/ through AI enabled collaboration. This is true whether to ensure the integrity of the crime investigation, or to protect the personal freedoms and liberties of those involved. Police organisations all over the world realise that they are under obligation to regulate and enforce cyber-security while protecting digital evidence in their possession in the same manner they have historically been obliged to protect physical evidence. 

The key challenge for leaders of policing organisations is staying ahead of criminals and preempting new, unknown crimes. More recently, governments have approved laws and regulations that enable covert police operations on the dark web - long regarded as beyond the reach of law enforcement. As a result, by combining traditional investigative police work with technology, police organisations have been able to identify, arrest and convict all kinds of criminals be they drug/ arms dealers, child pornographers, or terrorists and other criminals. Moving forward, as criminals become even more sophisticated and innovative, legislators and police will continue to identify gaps and entry points for human error and create entry points for law enforcement through innovative legislation and governance models. 

Across the board, governments are taking concrete steps to safeguard data and prioritise ethical policing. No doubt spurred by international and national human rights organisations and public outcry against police brutality, governments are taking concerted steps to regulate police activity. In this regard, one of the most notable and recent examples is the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The Act is designed as “a bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, empower .. communities, and build trust between law enforcement and .. communities by addressing systemic racism and bias to help save lives”². As societies and consequently governments evolve, legislation tailored to the local context will continue to develop to address relevant challenges and bias.

_{2) “Justice in Policing Act”, The House Committee on the Judiciary". https://judiciary.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=14924}

The underlying theme to this report is that the traditional view of policing being the responsibility of policing organisations alone, no longer holds. Partnerships between police and other actors is a key requisite to future success. In the future, at the organisational level, police forces will include a variety of skills sets and profiles that are supported with an array of partnerships with state and non-state actors. In Canada, there are many ground up initiatives that partner with different agencies at the municipal, national and provincial levels. This can and should be supported by government initiatives by legislation such as the Ontario “Community Safety & Wellbeing Legislation” which effectively institutionalises partnerships between police and other actors towards common goals. 

Information exchange is a focal point for inter-agency collaboration, and allows safety and security personnel to access data in areas outside their mandate or reach. For example, collaboration platforms are increasingly being set up between government and private sector security vendor platforms to counter and address cyber threats. This kind of collaboration allows advance warning on cyber crimes being perpetuated. As different agencies share and report on cyber crimes, they will advance from being users to becoming repositories of information and centers for analysis to identify trends and patterns. In this regard, a standout global innovation that is still underway is the Mark 43 which provides public safety software to over 120 Australian agencies and supports the overall safety and security ecosystem. Mark 43’s innovation is that it consolidates the different operational technologies/ platforms and makes them singularly searchable. 

Considering the rise in espionage and international crime, there is a strong trend to formulate agreements and partnerships that advance information exchange between governments. Where the political will for cooperation exists, the main challenges to cooperation between governments can be in the definition of common threats as well as the availability of the physical, human and financial resources to provide information and execute on the ground. This provides an important intersection between multilateral diplomacy and policing. International agreements and specialised agencies such as the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), national associations, and organisations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police will play an increasingly important role in driving cooperation, encouraging radical innovation and pushing operational efficiencies for implementation at the national and local levels. 

Finally and most important, time has proven that community collaboration with the police (and vice versa) is key to ensuring the safety and security of our societies. The onus is on governments to secure and retain public confidence and trust by creating appropriate platforms and channels of communication with the public. In the Netherlands, Strategic Reflection Tables, which bring police leadership with court prosecutors, academics, mayors of cities and others have been established to explore the ethical questions and standards associated with artificial intelligence. The Tables are just one example of the power and potential of police-community partnerships. 

… in a future full of unknowns, the trends underway in policing show promise of safer, more secure communities.