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CRIME PREVENTION

CRIME PREVENTION-POLICING-CRIME REDUCTION-POLITICS

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Hacking Minds and Machines: Foreign Interference in the Digital Era

KOVALCIKOVA, NAD'A; FILIPOVA, RUMENA VALENTINOVA, 1989-; HOGEVEEN, BART; KARÁSKOVÁ, IVANA; PAWLAK, PATRYK; SALVI, ANDREA

From the document: "This 'Chaillot Paper' delves into the phenomenon of foreign interference and the risk it poses to democratic societies. It explores the interplay between information manipulation and disruptive cyber operations, revealing their role as complementary components within a broader strategy. Dedicated chapters examine how interference manifests across various sectors, including social, political, economic, digital and security domains, describing existing tools and evolving policy responses. Each case study follows a clear structure, presenting an incident, its effects and the implemented responses. The volume concludes by identifying convergences and divergences across the cases studied, and highlights foreign interference as a critical and growing threat to global security. It offers targeted recommendations on how the EU can significantly bolster its defences and resilience against this threat."

INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES (PARIS, FRANCE). AUG, 2024. 67p.

AI and the Evolution of Biological National Security Risks: Capabilities, Thresholds, and Interventions

DREXEL, BILL; WITHERS, CALEB

From the document: "In 2020, COVID-19 brought the world to its knees, with nearly 29 million estimated deaths, acute social and political disruptions, and vast economic fallout. However, the event's impact could have been far worse if the virus had been more lethal, more transmissible, or both. For decades, experts have warned that humanity is entering an era of potential catastrophic pandemics that would make COVID-19 appear mild in comparison. History is well acquainted with such instances, not least the 1918 Spanish Flu, the Black Death, and the Plague of Justinian--each of which would have dwarfed COVID-19's deaths if scaled to today's populations. Equally concerning, many experts have sounded alarms of possible deliberate bioattacks in the years ahead. [...] This report aims to clearly assess AI's impact on the risks of biocatastrophe. It first considers the history and existing risk landscape in American biosecurity independent of AI disruptions. Drawing on a sister report, 'Catalyzing Crisis: A Primer on Artificial Intelligence, Catastrophes, and National Security,' this study then considers how AI is impacting biorisks across four dimensions of AI safety: new capabilities, technical challenges, integration into complex systems, and conditions of AI development. Building on this analysis, the report identifies areas of future capability development that may substantially alter the risks of large-scale biological catastrophes worthy of monitoring as the technology continues to evolve. Finally, the report recommends actionable steps for policymakers to address current and near-term risks of biocatastrophes."

CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY. 2024.

Securing the Critical Technology Supply Chain as a Function of National Intelligence

A GOSWAMI, ARCHISHMAN

From the document: "This paper examines the role that national intelligence agencies may play in helping to secure critical technology supply chains. As the race for scientific advantage becomes increasingly characteristic of national security concerns amid growing multipolarity and interstate competition, national intelligence agencies are paying greater attention to the security of critical and emerging technologies. This paper analyses how intelligence agencies may work and adapt in relation to the specific challenges posed by this issue. The analysis is divided into sections on intelligence (examining the broadening of intelligence-gathering horizons and the likelihood of ally-on-ally espionage); counterintelligence (focused on insider threats from within the private sector); and covert action (assessing the potential for paramilitary action and offensive cyber to achieve kinetic effect vis-à-vis a competitor's supply chains)."

OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION., 2024. 23p.

Identifying the Adoption of Policing Styles: A Methodology for Determining the Commitment to Problem-Oriented Policing Amongst Police Forces in England and Wales

By Ferhat Tura, James Hunter, Rebecca Thompson and Andromachi Tseloni

This article presents a comprehensive methodology aimed at assessing the commitment of police forces in England and Wales to problem-oriented policing (POP). By evaluating various policing styles and their adoption, the study seeks to provide a clearer understanding of how these approaches impact community relations and crime reduction. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the authors identify key indicators of POP implementation and offer insights into the factors influencing its effectiveness. This exploration not only contributes to academic discourse on policing strategies but also serves as a practical guide for law enforcement agencies striving to enhance their community engagement and operational efficiency.

Oxford University Press, 2022, 14 pages

2024 U.S. Federal Elections: The Insider Threat

United States. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency; United States. Federal Bureau Of Investigation; United States. Election Assistance Commission; United States. Department Of Homeland Security

From the document: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) prepared this overview to help partners defend against insider threat concerns that could materialize during the 2024 election cycle. For years, federal, state, local, and private sector partners nationwide have worked closely together to support state and local officials in safeguarding election infrastructure from cyber, physical, and insider threats. Because of these efforts, there is no evidence that malicious actors changed, altered, or deleted votes or had any impact on the outcome of elections. Over the past several years, the election infrastructure community has experienced multiple instances of election system access control compromises conducted by insider threats. While there is no evidence that malicious actors impacted election outcomes, it is important that election stakeholders at all levels are aware of the risks posed by insider threats and the steps that they can take to identify and mitigate these threats. This document outlines several recent examples of election security-related insider threats, discusses potential scenarios that could arise during the 2024 election cycle, and provides recommendations for how to mitigate the risk posed by insider threats."

United States. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency; , et al. 2024. 9p

Review of the Department of Justice's Response to Protest Activity and Civil Unrest in Washington, D.C. in Late May and Early June 2020

United States. Department Of Justice. Office Of The Inspector General.

From the document: "The Department of Justice (Department or DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) undertook this review to examine the Department's and its law enforcement components' roles and responsibilities in responding to protest activity and civil unrest in Washington, D.C., between May 29 and June 6, 2020, following the murder of George Floyd on May 25. The report details the relevant events involving DOJ and its components during this time period, including their assistance to the U.S. Park Police (USPP) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) in and around Lafayette Park in connection with USPP and USSS plans to construct a fence on H Street after violence had erupted during protests on May 29; meetings attended by then Attorney General William Barr and other DOJ officials at the White House on June 1; Barr's involvement in the events at Lafayette Park on June 1; and DOJ's deployment of its law enforcement personnel on June 1 and on subsequent days. Thereafter we describe our analysis of these events, including whether Barr affected the timing of the clearing operation at Lafayette Park on June 1."

United States. Department Of Justice. Office Of The Inspector General. Jul, 2024. 168p.

IT Outage from CrowdStrike's Update: Impacts to Certain Public Safety Systems and Considerations for Congress

Pechtol, Colby; Gallagher, Jill C.

The following passage from the document contains multiple links embedded in the text: "On July 19, 2024, CrowdStrike, a U.S. cybersecurity firm, released a software update to their customers. The update caused certain systems to crash, disrupting services across several industries, including airlines, banks, hospitals, government agencies, and public safety systems. CrowdStrike reported that the incident was caused by 'a defect found in a single content update of its software on Microsoft Windows operating systems' and was not a cyberattack. Though the update affected less than 1% of all Windows machines, the impacts were widespread and global. The incident illustrates the vulnerabilities of information technology (IT) systems, increased dependence and risks in relying on third-party vendors for critical IT services, and lack of protocols and backup systems in the event of IT system failures. This In Focus discusses the incident's impact on certain U.S. public safety communications systems and services."

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE. 26 JUL, 2024.. 3p.

ADVANCING PROBLEM-ORIENTED POLICING: LESSONS FROM DEALING WITH DRUG MARKETS

by Rana Sampson

Abstract: In the early 1990s, American policing, applying a problemoriented approach, displayed much creative energy in closing drug markets. This has not translated to a under range of quality efforts in tackling other common crimes, such as burglary, auto theft, and shoplifting. While few of the factors that combined to fuel wide exploration of creative solutions in drug markets are present for other crime and safety problems, there may be some simple ways to engage the police to further study and target other crimes. Three strategies are offered: identifying, understanding, and responding to snowball crimes; using a situational crime prevention approach to graded responses for repeat victimization; and examining privately-owned properties for disproportionate demands on police service with an eye towards shifting responsibility for crime-place management to these owners.

Crime Prevention Studies, vol. 15 (2003), pp. 239-256..

Diagnostic Assessment and Countermeasure Selection: A Toolbox for Traffic Safety Practitioners (2024)

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

NCHRP Research Report 1111/BTSCRP Research Report 12 presents a toolbox to help highway safety practitioners diagnose contributing factors leading to crashes for use in selecting appropriate countermeasures. To develop this toolbox, the research team conducted a systematic literature review; developed comprehensive evaluation and analysis procedures, methods, and tools; and conducted a workshop to demonstrate the use of the draft toolbox to receive feedback from practitioners. This publication will be of interest to state departments of transportation and other stakeholders concerned with diagnosing contributing factors leading to crashes for use in selecting appropriate countermeasures.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27890.

DOES PROBLEM ORIENTED POLICING PREVENT CRIME?

By Vedat KARĞIN*

The effectiveness of crime prevention programs can be best understood through systematic analysis of the past studies that examined the effectiveness of crime prevention programs. The purpose of this paper was to show whether POP is effective in preventing crime and provide the most up-to-date information regarding the effectiveness of POP in crime prevention. Six of eight evaluation studies reviewed in this paper produced strong evidence that POP was an effective strategy in preventing all kinds of crime including serious violent and property crimes. Two evaluations found no positive impact of the programs on crime but these evaluations suffered from serious methodological problems. It is concluded that POP is an effective crime prevention strategy and should be continued to be supported.

Academia EDU. Polis Bilimleri Dergisi: 12 (3). 22p.

Problem – Oriented Policing Brit Pop

By Adrian Leigh, Tim Read and Nick Tilley

Much police work is incident-driven and officers frequently find themselves returning to deal with similar or related incidents they or their colleagues have faced in the past. The concept of Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) is about examining patterns of incident clusters to identify and tackle underlying problems within the community. The active involvement of the community and external agencies is often vital to the identification of problems and the development of strategies to solve them. The originator of the concept, Herman Goldstein, believes that the whole of the police service needs to be oriented to problems. The perceived benefits of POP include:

  • a better-served public whose concerns are attended to at source;

  • officers with enhanced job satisfaction from bringing the public real benefits; and,

  • more manageable demands on the police because underlying problems are solved, reducing repeat calls.

Since POP was first proposed in 1979, it has been widely adopted in the United States. There have also been a number of efforts to implement it in England and Wales. Despite overlooking some elements of POP proposed by Goldstein, past initiatives have been labelled Problem-Oriented Policing because they have taken on board his most important tenet: that officers should tackle the root cause of related incidents, rather than repeatedly returning to them. Whilst forces have adopted a variety of approaches, most initiatives have been relatively small-scale and have affected only a small number of dedicated officers. All have recorded mixed success, although none has established a formal means by which to assess outcomes. In particular, none of the past POP initiatives in England and Wales has adopted a formal and systematic model linking incident identification and analysis with the construction of responses and subsequent assessment of the actions taken. At the time of writing, both Surrey and Thames Valley were intending to introduce POP on a much wider scale and in a form closer to that originally proposed by Goldstein.

London Home Office. Crime Detection and Prevention Series Paper 75. 1996. 72p.

The Pop Decade: An Analysis of the Problem-Oriented Policing Approach

By Colin Rogers

The Problem-Oriented Policing (or Partnership) approach is one that is used to underpin the current neighbourhood policing team approach in England and Wales. It relies upon a scientific approach which identifies problems and provides ethical and appropriate responses using the concepts of the Problem Analysis Triangle (PAT) and the SARA model. However, this approach has been in vogue since the mid and late 1990s and this article compares data from a current police service with that published in 1998. Comparison is made between this information to provide an indication of just how far the police have progressed in their use, application and understanding of the Problem-Oriented Partnership approach.

The Police Journal/2010, Volume 83/Issue 4. 6p.

PROTOCOL: The effects of problem oriented policing on crime and disorder: am updated systematic review

David Weisburd

Problem-oriented policing has garnered a great deal of attention since it was first proposed by Herman Goldstein in 1979. The core of the model is a shift from police operating in a reactive, incident driven way (primarily responding to calls for service) to a model that requires the police to be proactive in identifying underlying problems that can be targeted to alleviate crime and disorder at their roots. Problem-oriented policing can be thought of as a process rather than a specific intervention. As such, problem-oriented policing can work independently or simultaneously with other modern policing innovations (hot spots policing, focused deterrence etc…) to address problems of crime and disorder. While the ability of problem-oriented policing to target an array of different issues makes it widely applicable, the plethora of different interventions that may qualify as problem-oriented policing make generalizing research on its effect difficult. The current study will provide an updated systematic review of the effectiveness of problem-oriented policing in reducing crime and disorder. An earlier Campbell review by three of the same authors covered studies published through 2006 (Weisburd, Telep, Hinkle & Eck, 2008; 2010); this updated review will add studies published from 2006 to 2018.

The Campbell Collaboration. 2019. 42p.

Research for Practice: Problem-Oriented Policing in Practice

Gary Cordner, Elizabeth Biebel

Problem-oriented policing was first introduced in an article by Herman Goldstein in 1979. It was formally field-tested in the 1980s in Baltimore County (Cordner, 1986) and Newport News (Eck and Spelman, 1987), given a wider audience through an Atlantic Monthly magazine article in 1989 (Wilson and Kelling), and systematically described and explained in Goldstein's 1990 book. Today, it is widely regarded as the most analytical and intellectually challenging strategy in the police arsenal.

Questions linger, however, about the implementation and practicality of problemoriented policing (POP). The SARA process (scanning, analysis, response, assessment) for carrying out POP is analytically and creatively demanding, as well as time-consuming. Some observers question whether police have the knowledge and skill to implement the SARA process properly. Police officers often question whether they have the time to do so.

The research reported here carefully examined problem-oriented policing in practice by ordinary police officers in one agency - the San Diego, California Police Department. The objective was to discover and describe the reality of everyday, streetlevel POP as practiced by generalist patrol officers. San Diego was chosen because of its reputation as a national leader in problem-oriented policing.

U.S. Department of Justice.. 2003. 28p.

Implementing and sustaining problem-oriented policing: A guide

By Gloria Laycock

This guide is about embedding POP in your organisation. It is written primarily for senior officers and managers and is intended to complement a sister guide on problem-solving in practice. This guide is not a step-by-step manual - there is no single road to or recipe for implementing POP. Instead, what follows is a review of what is known about implementing and sustaining POP, with recommended resources provided at the end. The guide has three parts. The first part outlines the core features of POP. The second part makes the business case for POP as an operating model for contemporary policing. The third part discusses three conditions conducive to the successful implementation of POP – leadership, understanding and infrastructure – and provides examples of good and poor practice. The guide ends with a self-assessment tool to help you determine your organisation’s readiness for and progress in implementing POP.

London. College of Policing. 2020. 26p.

Problem-Oriented Policing: Reflections on the First 20 Years

Michael S. Scott

In the last three decades, several concepts have been advanced to structure efforts to improve policing. Among them have been team policing, neighborhood policing, community policing, problem-oriented policing, and, most recently, quality-of-life policing. With much overlap, each concept, as reflected in its name, emphasizes a different need, relegating other commonly advocated reforms to a secondary role, shaped to support that need. This volume traces the efforts to implement problem-oriented policing.

The emphasis in problem-oriented policing is on directing attention to the broad range of problems the community expects the police to handle–the problems that constitute the business of the police–and on how police can be more effective in dealing with them. A layperson may think this focus elementary on first being introduced to it. Indeed, laypeople probably assume that police continually focus on the problems they are expected to handle. But within policing, this focus constitutes a radical shift in perspective.

Problem-oriented policing recognizes, at the outset, that police are expected to deal with an incredibly broad range of diverse community problems–not simply crime. It recognizes that the ultimate goal of the police is not simply to enforce the law, but to deal with problems effectively–ideally, by preventing them from occurring in the first place. It therefore plunges the police into an in-depth study of the specific problems they confront. It invites consideration of a wide range of alternatives, in addition to criminal law, for responding to each specific problem. Thus, problem-oriented policing draws the police away from the traditional preoccupation with creating an efficient organization; from the heavy investment in standard, generic operating procedures for responding to calls and preventing crime; and from heavy dependence on criminal law as the primary means for getting their job done. It looks to increased knowledge and thinking about the specific problems police confront as the driving force in fashioning police services.

This publication was supported through Grant #98CKWXK052 from the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions expressed herein are the author's and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice. October 2000. 46p.

Problem-Oriented Policing in England and Wales 2019

Aiden Sidebottom (University College London) Karen Bullock (Surrey University) Rachel Armitage (University of Huddersfield) Matt Ashby (University College London) Caitlin Clemmow (University College London) Stuart Kirby (Crime Insights Limited) Gloria Laycock (University College London) Nick Tilley (University College London).

‘Problem-oriented policing’ (POP) is an approach for improving police effectiveness. In the United Kingdom (UK), it is also referred to as ‘problem-oriented partnerships’ or ‘problem-solving policing’. Problem-solving policing calls for the police to focus not on individual incidents but on problems - defined as recurrent clusters of related incidents that affect the community. It advocates a structured process whereby the police (1) systematically identify persistent problems, (2) undertake in-depth analysis to determine the conditions giving rise to these problems, (3) devise and implement tailored responses and (4) work out if the chosen responses were effective. At its simplest, POP outlines a method for dealing with localised problems. In its most general sense, it outlines an approach for how the police operate.

Problem-solving has been widely adopted by police forces in the UK and internationally. Successive reviews, case studies and experiments have shown POP to be an effective way of reducing crime and disorder. Yet despite extensive evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of problem-solving, research also identifies recurrent challenges both in the implementation and practice of a problem-oriented approach. Consequently, POP has not become a persistent feature of policing in the UK.

College of Policing. NPCC. 2019. 89p.

Whither฀problem-oriented฀policing

By Nick Tilley

Herman฀Goldstein’s฀(1979,฀1990)฀vision฀of฀problem-oriented฀policing฀(POP)฀has฀not฀ been฀difficult฀to฀sell,฀at฀least฀in฀principle,฀and฀in฀the฀30฀years฀since฀he฀first฀mooted฀ it฀many฀scholars฀and฀police฀agencies฀have฀bought฀into฀it.฀POP฀promises฀a฀move฀ away฀from฀managerial฀priorities,฀standardized฀(and฀often฀ineffective)฀ways฀of฀working,฀and฀law฀ enforcement฀as฀an฀end฀in฀itself.฀It฀focuses฀instead฀on฀relevant฀community฀concerns,฀the฀openminded฀pursuit฀of฀ethical฀and฀effective฀solutions฀to฀recurrent฀problems,฀and฀attention฀to฀results฀ to฀learn฀better฀how฀to฀deal฀with฀similar฀problems฀in฀the฀future.฀It฀also฀suggests฀an฀efficient฀and฀ effective฀way฀of฀handling฀heavy฀demands฀on฀police฀time,฀by฀resolving฀problems฀rather฀than฀ simply฀by฀responding฀to฀them฀incident฀by฀incident.฀

American฀Society฀of฀Criminology. Criminology฀&฀Public฀Policy฀•฀Volume฀9฀•฀Issue฀1. 13p.

Cybersecurity of the Civil Nuclear Sector: Threat Landscape and International Legal Protections in Peacetime and Conflict

DIAS, TALITA DE SOUZA; HAKMEH, JOYCE; MESSMER, MARION

From the document: "Many states are becoming more interested in nuclear energy as a means to help achieve environmental goals, economic development and energy security. A declaration by 25 countries - including the US, the UK and Canada - during the COP28 UN [28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations] Climate Change Conference in December 2023 exemplified this trend, announcing an ambition to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 as part of efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. The commitment emphasized not only the potential role of nuclear energy in supporting sustainable development but also the consequent importance of maintaining safety, sustainability, security and non-proliferation standards in the civil nuclear industry. As growth in the use of nuclear energy would imply that more nuclear power plants will come into operation, considerations of safety and security in the civil nuclear industry - including around cybersecurity, the specific subject of this paper - are likely to become more critical than ever. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been a notable shift in many Western countries' energy security strategies. [...] This surge in interest can be attributed in part to nuclear energy's reliability, resilience and low carbon footprint. [...] However, any expansion of nuclear capabilities also brings new challenges, particularly in cybersecurity. Cyber operations targeting civil nuclear systems have been reported worldwide. Such operations pose significant risks, with potential harms including information theft, equipment malfunction, disruption of energy supplies, environmental damage and health impacts. The risks are prevalent both in peacetime and during conflicts."

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. JUL, 2024.

Cargo Security : A Nuts and Bolts Approach

By Lawrence S. Jones

Cargo Security Focus: The book, titled "Cargo Security: A Nuts andBolts Approach" by Lawrence S. Jones, R.I.C., is dedicated to combating cargo theft through management and procedural strategies.

Comprehensive Coverage: It covers various aspects of cargo security,including employee roles, cargo protection basics, warehouse and docksecurity, packaging, transportation hazards, and the involvement oforganized crime in cargo theft.

Practical Guidelines: The book provides practical checklists, securitymeasures, and detailed procedures for securing cargo across differenttransportation modes such as motor carriers, marine cargo, air cargo,and rail cargo.

Management's Role: Emphasizes the critical role of management in implementing effective controls and procedures to minimize cargo theft and loss, highlighting the importance of a coordinated effort among all parties involved in the transportation chain. The document serves as a guide for business executives, security directors, consultants, and law enforcement personnel to implement security practices effectively.

Butterworth Publishes, 1983, 379 pages