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A cannabis setup inside a residential premises in the West Midlands. Image: West Midlands Police.

Cannabis farms are a modern slavery 'blind spot' for UK police, study suggests

15 Sep 2020

Migrants arrested for tending plants in the flats, houses and attics where cannabis is grown in bulk are often victims of trafficking and 'debt...

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Passengers at a London Underground station

Police platform patrols create ‘phantom effect’ that cuts crime in Tube stations

16 Jan 2020

A major experiment introducing proactive policing to Underground platforms finds that short bursts of patrolling create a 'phantom effect': 97% of...

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Group image of the apprentices

Police officers learn new methods on University course

17 Apr 2019

Some of the officers in the room are involved in counter-terrorism initiatives. Others tackle organised crime, or prevention of street violence, or...

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Knife crime: assault data can help forecast fatal stabbings

12 Apr 2019

Knife crime data from a 12-month period could be used to help forecast the London neighbourhoods most likely to suffer a fatal stabbing the following...

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Migrants arriving on the island of Lampedusa.

Human smugglers operate as ‘independent traders’, study finds

22 Jan 2018

First study to model the organisation behind trade in illegal border crossings shows no “Mafia-like” monopoly of routes from Africa into Europe via...

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Head in hands

Domestic abuse ‘workshops’ reduce repeat offending and harm to public – study

16 Aug 2017

First UK experiment on policing domestic abuse finds fewer men reoffending against partners – and reoffenders causing less harm to victims – when...

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Refugees on a boat crossing the Mediterranean sea, heading from Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, 29 January 2016

Trading on human tides – the 'free market' of people smuggling

31 Jul 2017

Cambridge criminologists are using emerging sources of information – from court records to Facebook groups – to analyse the networks behind one of...

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Releasing a better version of me: the power of education in prison to change lives

16 Jan 2017

A pioneering project to teach university students alongside prisoners, so that they learn from each other, has proved remarkably successful. The...

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Custody officer assistant

System is failing to prevent deaths following police custody and prison, study suggests

13 Dec 2016

Poor access to health care and confusion over post-detention care may have contributed to more than 400 deaths following police custody and prison...

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Image from a body-worn camera

Use of body-worn cameras sees complaints against police ‘virtually vanish’, study finds

29 Sep 2016

Year-long study of almost 2,000 officers across UK and US forces shows introduction of wearable cameras led to a 93% drop in complaints made against...

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PCSOs from West Midlands Police on patrol

Policing: two officers ‘on the beat’ prevent 86 assaults and save thousands in prison costs

14 Jun 2016

The results of a major criminology experiment in Peterborough suggest that investing in proactive PCSO foot patrols targeting crime ‘hot spots’ could...

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Prisoner and guard.

Inside information: Students and prisoners study together in course that reveals the power of collaborative education

26 Apr 2016

A highly innovative project in which Cambridge students and prisoners studied together at a Category B prison in Buckinghamshire has broken down...

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