UPSI's research on ASB leads to a fundamental shift in Home Office Policy

In 2010 UPSI were commissioned by HMIC to look at the policing of anti-social behaviour [link to HMIC report]. Based upon the research evidence UPSI advocated a shift in approach away from concentrating almost exclusively upon the perpetrators of ASB to  a more victim-centred approach focusing upon the harms caused to repeat and vulnerable victims. Last week, in her forward to a new report describing a series of pilots implementing this approach, the Home Secretary called for this harm-focused and victim-centred approach to be at the core of how police and CSPs tackle ASB problems in the future:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/asb-focus-on-the-victim

You can also read about UPSI's work on ASB in South Wales

Mohammed Merah - Lone Wolf or Al-Qa'ida Operative?

 After a siege lasting almost thirty-two hours in the French city of Toulouse, Mohammed Merah finally met his fate. Merah confessed to the cold-blooded killing, on three separate occasions, of seven people including three young children. Whilst the life of this complex young French male of Algerian descent has ended, the investigation into his radicalisation has merely begun. This case is considered in certain counter-terrorism circles to be part of a new phenomenon of 'lone 'wolf' attacks. However, on many occasions this is not as clear-cut. There needs to be, as with the case of Mohammed Merah, a consideration of the complexities that are already emerging.

Suraj Lakhani writes for RUSI.org.

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(Direct link: http://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C4F6C9350E3EE5/)

Suraj Lakhani interviewed by BBC RADIO WALES on Mohammed Merah Analysis

UPSI PhD Student Suraj Lakhani speaks on BBC Radio Wales on 22nd March 2012

Drawing on parallels with his own particular research, Suraj Lakhani provides an analysis on the radicalisation of Toulouse terrorist, Mohammed Merah.

Dr Charlotte Leigh presents at AAG Annual Meeting New York

Dr Charlotte Leigh presents groundbreaking new research at the Annual Assocation of American Geographers meeting in New York. Charlotte presented a methodology to redefine geographical neighbourhood boundaries using public participation and qualitative GIS data. The presentation has spurred trans-atlantic research collaboration related to public perception of neighbourhoods.

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'Total policing' requires doing less, not more

Article By: Prof Martin Innes

The Metropolitan police has a new mission – to deliver "total policing" to the people of London.

This week, Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new commissioner, set out his vision of what this involves: about how modern policing is multidimensional, encompassing a diversity of tasks beyond just preventing and detecting crime. He suggests total policing requires "a total war on criminals", "total victim care", and being totally professional. In so doing, he is seeking a more rounded depiction of the police function in society than those formulations that pivot around just one aspect (crime-fighting, zero-tolerance policing, intelligence-led policing, etc). But if it is to be a viable policing model, then three key problems cannot be overlooked.

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