Topic description and stories

UK police fail to meet 'legal and ethical standards' in use of facial recognition

27 Oct 2022

Researchers devise an audit tool to test whether police use of facial recognition poses a threat to fundamental human rights, and analyse three...

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Police workforce: almost one in five suffer with a form of PTSD

09 May 2019

Rates of PTSD in the police service revealed as close to five times higher than in the UK population. Cambridge researchers and a policing charity...

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Helping police make custody decisions using artificial intelligence

26 Feb 2018

Police at the “front line” of difficult risk-based judgements are trialling an AI system trained by University of Cambridge criminologists to give...

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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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Screenshot of footage from a police body-worn camera

Body-worn cameras associated with increased assaults against police, and increase in use-of-force if officers choose when to activate cameras

17 May 2016

Preliminary results from eight UK and US police forces reveal rates of assault against officers are 15% higher when they use body-worn cameras. The...

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police

Crime: measuring by ‘damage to victims’ will improve policing and public safety

04 Apr 2016

New Cambridge ‘crime harm index’ published today quantifies true cost of crime: damage caused to victims and society. Experts call on UK government...

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Image from #BlackLivesMatter protest in Berkeley

Police use of force: White House told US must learn from UK

24 Feb 2015

Cambridge criminologist tells White House task force that translating UK models of policing to US is the best hope in a generation for tackling...

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Screen capture from a Rialto PD officer's body-worn-camera

First scientific report shows police body-worn-cameras can prevent unacceptable use-of-force

23 Dec 2014

As Obama pledges investment in body-worn-camera technology for police officers, researchers say cameras induce ‘self-awareness’ that can prevent...

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Crime data research throws new light on British Muslim communities

01 Dec 2014

Muslim communities may not be as victimised by violent crime, or as dissatisfied with the police as is widely suggested and believed, according to...

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Global violence rates could be halved in just 30 years, say leading experts

18 Sep 2014

Research shows that homicide rates in many countries are falling; leading experts from around the world believe that global rates of homicide and...

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