In this edition of World Policing Weekly, Bernard Rix and Ian Wiggett scan another packed week of international policing developments, from surveillance powers in Germany and organised crime disruption in Greater Manchester to political tensions around police governance in Norfolk and the continuing challenge of police reform in the UK. A strong theme throughout is that the same pressures keep surfacing in different places, even when the systems look very different.
The deeper discussion focuses on Tasmania’s latest policing review and what it says about the changing role of police. Rising mental health demand, family violence, workforce pressure, training concerns and public trust all feature in a report that, as the presenters note, could describe many other jurisdictions too. The episode also touches on specialist roads policing, service dogs, the growth of the podcast itself and the fascination of leadership roles in places like St Helena.
References
- germany-federal-police-powers-ai-surveillance
- the-national-police-service-lessons-from-scotlands-transformation-that-england-wales-cant-afford-to-ignore
- data-driven-policing-and-ai-modernising-law-enforcement-cultivating-the-phygital-officer-to-address-skills-gaps
- routine-arming-avoids-spike-in-officer-involved-shootings-if-implemented-with-right-training-and-protocols
- breaking-the-network-how-social-network-analysis-and-multi-agency-tactics-can-disrupt-ocgs
- stephen-russell-the-technology-is-really-important-but-its-just-the-means-to-an-end-for-officers
- new-norfolk-pcc-vows-crackdown-woke-policing
- met-axe-road-policing-cuts
- more-than-30-police-staff-investigated-over-sexual-misconduct-allegations
- 2-ottawa-police-officers-accused-of-gender-based-misconduct-have-quietly-left-force
- how-chinese-police-infiltrated-and-monitored-dark-web-help-ai-tools
- hundreds-of-online-predators-and-abusers-caught-by-specialist-organised-crime-teams
- rcmp-updates-look-frontline-police-vehicles
- 200-victorian-public-service-employees-take-up-policing-offer
- western-australia-police-real-time-facial-recognition-trial-privacy-ntwnfb
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2026.2703692
- always-ready-to-step-up-victoria-police-chief-commissioner-mike-bush-speaks-out-after-performing-dramatic-arrest/news-story
- new-laws-to-give-nsw-police-access-to-critical-evidence-for-major-investigations
- fur-missile-the-rise-of-the-belgian-shepherd-for-police-and-militaries
Key takeaways
- World Policing Weekly says the same core policing pressures keep reappearing across different countries and forces.
- Germany’s new federal police powers around drones, AI and surveillance show how forces are trying to catch up with emerging threats and technology.
- Ian Wiggett highlights Greater Manchester’s use of social network analysis as a sign that policing has to keep adapting to new organised crime structures.
- The discussion around specialist roads policing in the Met underlines how hard it is to preserve expert capability under cost pressure.
- A major focus of the episode is Tasmania’s policing review and its picture of rising demand, limited resources and growing complexity.
- The presenters stress that police are increasingly becoming the default service when wider public systems are under strain.
- They also argue that policing cannot solve today’s problems by trying to return to how things worked 10 years ago.
- The overall message is that policing needs to evolve, learn internationally and face change directly rather than pretend old models still fit new demands.
Chapters
00:24 – Welcome back to World Policing Weekly
01:48 – Germany, Greater Manchester and the week’s big stories
05:18 – Why the undercover policing review still matters
06:37 – What Scotland’s single-force lessons might mean next
11:11 – Politics, PCCs and the question of operational independence
13:36 – Dogs, service dogs and a world policing detour
16:39 – Tasmania’s policing review and what it reveals
24:02 – Why policing needs to look wider
29:04 – Vacancies, reform and what comes next
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