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Several studies have been conducted to understand why the conviction rate for rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) remains so low. Increasing pressure and criticism have led to questioning why improvements in RASSO investigations are proving ineffective. The purpose of this study was to capture police officers’ perspective of police specialism while investigating RASSO.

A total of 82 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data collection spanned across two years, from October 2021 until May 2023, and included police officers from four police forces in England and Wales. Template analysis was used to identify recurrent patterns around police specialism for RASSO.

Most officers viewed specialism as a tool to improve how police forces prevent and tackle RASSO. In spite of this, the lack of prioritisation of specialist training, roles and units specifically for this crime type has hindered the development of evidence-based practice in policing. The impact on well-being, resources, organisational support and role identity has been explored.

This is the first qualitative study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to look at officers’ insights on police specialism for RASSO in England and Wales. Officers discussed day-to-day challenges associated with conducting RASSO investigations while reflecting on potential advantages related to dedicated specialist units and/or specialist roles.

A growing literature emphasizes violence occurring in public places. Yet, police seldom report such violence separately from violent incidents occurring elsewhere. This paper aims to distinguish assaults that occur in public vs private, outdoors vs indoors and in homes vs the night-time economy.

The authors reorganize police data to classify 1,062 assault locations for Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2020–2021, providing basic descriptive statistics that are seldom calculated or published.

In this city, almost two-thirds of police-recorded assaults occur away from home, often within night-time economy zones. Almost half of police-recorded assaults occur outdoors.

Public assaults are probably under-reported and under-recorded in police data. The share of assaults occurring in public is likely to vary greatly among cities, along with reporting practices.

Public assaults can create special problems for police and social services. Poor management of public space can contribute to such violence. Alcohol policy and enforcement in public places is especially relevant to public assaults. Poor urban design might explain some of the problem.

Public assaults are seen by many people and may do extra harm to children and even adults.

Police reports and academic work based on them seldom distinguish public from private assaults and seldom enumerate outdoor assaults in comparison to those indoors. In addition, statistics estimating violence in the night-time economy might not compare risks to other settings.

Empirical literature is the primary source of understanding how policing can effectively reduce criminal activities. Spatial analyses can identify particular effects that can explain and assist in constructing appropriate regional strategies and policies; nevertheless, studies that use spatial regression methods are more limited and can provide a perspective on specific effects in a more disaggregated regional context.

This research aims to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to understand the relationship between crime indicators and police production using spatial regression models. We consider a combination of Kitchenham and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocols as a methodological strategy in five bibliographic databases for collecting scientific articles.

The SLR suggests a limited amount of evidence that meets the criteria defined in the research strategy. Several particularities are observed regarding police and criminal production metrics, either in terms of aggregation level, indicator transformations or scope of analysis. A broader time perspective did not necessarily indicate statistical significance compared to models with a single-period sample.

The findings suggest the possibility of expanding efforts by the public sector to provide policing data with the intention of conducting appropriate research using spatial analysis. This step could allow for a more robust integration between the public sector and researchers, strengthening policing strategies, evaluating the effectiveness of public security policies and assisting in the development of strategies for future policy actions.

Limited empirical evidence meets the criteria of spatial regression models with temporal components considering police production and criminality indicators. Constructing an SLR with this scope is an unprecedented contribution to the literature. The discussion can enhance the understanding of approaches for studying the relationship between police efforts and crime prevention.

This paper aims to evaluate how five Operation Soteria Bluestone (OSB) participating forces integrated principles of procedural justice and proactive disruption of offending into their investigations, specifically during the closing stages of a case when considering exit strategy and longer-term prevention.

A mixed-methods approach was taken, including 32 semi-structured interviews with officers and 59 case reviews of recent rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO). Data analysis methods included qualitative thematic analysis of interviews, while data from reviewed case logs was extracted and analysed using a bespoke case review tool.

Increased workloads, preparation of evidence and relational/communication difficulties with the crown prosecution service (CPS) were identified as barriers to implementing long-term disruption options. Dedicated resourcing, training and support are needed to promote suspect-focused investigative strategy and wider uptake of long-term disruption methods. Early investigative approach was also found to have “snowball” effects on suspect exit strategy, with initial lack of suspect focus and preoccupation with victim credibility, impeding consideration of long-term disruption and safeguarding options. Findings also point to a disparity between promising practice in relation to procedural justice for victims and (a relative lack of) proactive policing of repeat suspects.

The study represents a novel contribution to research on policing RASSO, illustrating the scale and nature of the obstacles to changing how these offences are investigated, even when under intense scrutiny from policy makers. It also highlights how increased organisational investment and support is linked to positive changes in practice in some forces.

There are significant challenges facing academics and senior leaders in higher education (HE) institutions internationally. These challenges have led to increasing levels of metrification and managerialism, which has fostered work intensification, reduced professional autonomy, stress and burnout amongst faculty staff. Traditional approaches for supporting and developing staff, such as mentoring and training, do not provide the resources faculty staff need to meet the challenges they face. In contrast, experiences in various other educational and professional settings have demonstrated the effectiveness of workplace coaching in fostering well-being, adaptability, flexibility and sustainable performance. This review argues that workplace coaching could similarly support academics.

A critical literature review evaluates coaching interventions across educational and comparable sectors to identify positive well-being and performance-based outcomes.

While there is limited research into the efficacy of coaching interventions for faculty staff in HE, research in other educational, as well as comparable professional contexts, identifies significant sustainable improvements in well-being and performance for professional staff.

The evidence that identifies positive outcomes of coaching in professional workplace contexts is compelling. This critical review uses some of that evidence base to propose an agenda to implement coaching programmes that support faculty staff to improve their well-being and performance.

While there are published research studies on the positive outcomes of coaching in primary and secondary educational contexts, as well as for postgraduate research students, there is very limited knowledge, practice and research about coaching faculty staff in HE. This article addresses this by critically reviewing a broad range of literature to identify coaching and research initiatives for faculty staff in HE institutions.

In this chapter, the authors present a theoretical framework to not only better understand the wicked nature of the Airbnb phenomenon but also, using case examples from around the world, to illustrate how governments have attempted to mitigate Airbnb’s negative impacts.

Analysing the sharing economy, specifically the Airbnb platform, through the lens of Karl Polanyi’s Double Movement Theory, brings growing tension between markets and society into sharp relief. In the ensuing sections of this chapter, the authors will then adopt a ‘wicked problem’ perspective to provide some analytical insights into how governments across the world have attempted to respond to this wicked policy problem and explore different policy responses and regulatory frameworks in greater depth. Through the review of exemplary cases from around the world, considerable variation in governance and policy responses could be identified.

Recognising current, significant rates of youth sexual violence and abuse (YSVA) and the need for more comprehensive prevention approaches to combat this social issue, new approaches are required to ensure that agency is given to the people who are most affected and who know their lives the best. This paper aims to report a youth-led (Young Voices United [YVU] Committee) participatory design approach aimed at delivering the highest level of engagement to understand what people agree is needed to reduce YSVA in their own communities.

The seven-step co-design (Trischler et al., 2019) process was implemented following ethical clearance. Over five months, 13 group co-design sessions involving 102 young people aged 12–25 years, 17 parents/caregivers (including young mums) and 9 teacher/guidance officers were conducted. Purposive sampling was undertaken to ensure that young people who had previously experienced YSVA or were most at risk of experiencing YSVA were overrepresented. Convenience sampling was used to gain wider community involvement in co-design. Four sessions were facilitated by YVU members, who were aged between 12 and 25 years, and more than 66 people helped the design team. Inductive thematic analysis identified emergent themes across completed co-design sessions.

New ideas and solutions to prevent YSVA can be identified by young people who have previously experienced violence, carers, other young people and community members. A core finding in this study is the need for positive relationship role models and an enhanced understanding of consent. Education and training, a community promotional campaign, sector involvement, capacity-building and consideration of the unique needs of different target audiences were key ideas emerging from youth-led co-design. The YVU Committee provided recommendations for resource prioritisation.

This youth-led co-design process empowered the community. Project stakeholders have since formed partnerships won funding and used that funding to co-design and trial a new programme aiming to provide a safe haven for young people at risk of YSVA. The pilot programme delivers a safe and supportive environment for young people delivered at a time when it is needed most. Other geographical areas are now seeking to replicate the programme. The co-design processes and tools detailed in this study can be adapted to the design of programmes for those already engaged with the youth justice system and should be considered as part of a public health approach to effectively prevent and respond to YSVA and other youth crimes.

This paper advances understanding, providing a practical approach that ensures youth views are given weight [audience and influence described in Lundy’s (2007) participatory framework]. This paper explains how the YVU Committee, established at the commencement of the project, oversaw the community co-design effort, which followed Trischler et al.’s (2019) seven-step co-design process. Ideas were generated, and consensus views were consolidated, delivering the highest level of engagement according to Willmott et al.’s (2022) methodology, agent of change, training and engagement taxonomy. The participatory design method led to high levels of community engagement, and the success of the project is attributed to the establishment of the YVU Committee and stakeholder support.

This study uncovers the challenges and coping mechanisms related to stigma and discrimination experienced by gay professional team sport athletes.

Utilizing interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study recruited six gay athletes in professional team sports. Data were collected through virtual one-on-one semi-structured interviews, along with field notes and reflexive journaling, and were thematically analyzed.

The first theme highlights the discrimination and marginalization experienced by gay athletes in professional team sports, as well as the perceived differences between these athletes and their heterosexual counterparts. The second theme includes anecdotes illustrating their experiences of exclusion, along with counter-stories that resist marginalization. The last theme comprises stories that underscore the lack of acceptance and advocacy, emphasizing the awareness education aimed at making the sporting realm more inclusive.

Despite the extensive recruiting efforts for this study, numerous sports and countries remain unexplored. Follow-up studies are required to fill this gap. As this study was initiated, additional research is needed to provide information on athletes who are still in the closet. Cross-comparisons between gay athletes and their heterosexual teammates can help bridge the gap in perspectives.

Participants emphasized collective efforts in creating inclusive and welcoming environments for gay athletes, including anti-discrimination policies related to language use, showers and relocation adjustments.

Participants have put forth concrete recommendations for enhancing inclusivity within team sport environments and society at large, including proposals for early educational initiatives within the school systems.

This is the first empirical study that focuses on the experiences of gay professional team sport athletes.