In this article, the author reflects on the impact of COVID-19 on policing, the relations among police officers and the interactions between police and citizens based on systematic social observations in small to semi-sized local police forces during the pandemic. The article discusses the nature of police work during the crisis and new types of interventions that police officers are confronted with (e.g. curfew controls). Additionally, the impact of the pandemic on the internal and external relations is discussed. Internally, the COVID-19 measures may have an impact on police officers’ possibilities for personal, social interactions among colleagues, which may potentially challenge the solidarity within the police force. Externally, tensions may arise in relations with citizens, partly because of unclear regulations or variable interpretations of those regulations. Those unclear regulations, but also uncertainties concerning one’s own competences and questions regarding the police’s role in enforcing the pandemic regulations, put pressure on the police’s (self-)legitimacy.

This article examines the use of citizen participation in urgent missing person cases. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used to examine which specific considerations investigators have in this regard and which have the greatest influence on the choice of whether or not to involve citizens. The findings suggest that this choice is primarily attitude-driven. Detectives are predominantly positive about participation, but see harm to the investigation as the main risk. A practical implication is to focus collaboration primarily on professionally organized groups of citizens to reduce (perceived) risks.

Police officers are often the victim of aggression by citizens, which has negative consequences for them and society in general. Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge about related factors. This study examines to what extent experiencing aggression as a police officer is related to their patience with citizens and use of force. Two explanations based on the victim-offender overlap are examined: that aggression experiences and dealing with citizens influence each other and that they have common causes. This study was conducted on the basis of a longitudinal questionnaire survey among police officers (N=693). The results show that interaction with citizens, including patience with citizens and the use of force, is related to the aggression police officers experience. The association diminishes when common causes, in this case socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, are taken into account, but does not disappear. No direct support is found for reciprocal influence. Implications and suggestions for further research are described.

Based on a scoping review regarding international policy recommendations, the authors of this article explore the most important aspects concerning bodycam policies for police services. Even though most literature on the shortlist is situated in the United States, important issues are discussed for a Belgian bodycam policy. Examples are a clear activation policy and regulations regarding warnings. These recommendations are compared to the legal regulations on bodycams in Belgium, such as the individual discretion Belgian police officers have when activating the camera. Throughout the article, the use of bodycams is linked to procedural justice. Because of the scarcity of Belgian bodycam research, we also give some recommendations for further research on this topic.

The rise of the internet and social media has important consequences for the way we interact, communicate and access information. This has repercussions for the police organization and also for the cooperation between police and citizens. One of these forms of cooperation between police and citizens are neighborhood watch (NW) projects (also known as ‘BINs’ in Belgium and ‘burgerwachten’ in the Netherlands). This study uses semi-structured interviews (n=380) in Belgium to examine how NW members and non-NW members perceive the effectiveness of both formal and informal NW projects and how the two relate to each other. The perceived effectiveness is assessed based on several criteria, including impact on crime, fear of crime, policing, and the relationship between police and citizens.

In this article, we investigated the effects of the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown on social stability within the individual level, group level and society level. To investigate these effects, data from incident reports of emergency services (i.e., police, fire brigade and ambulance) in the South of the Netherlands from 2018 to 2020 were collected. An incident is defined as an unique notification with deployment of one or more emergency service(s). Incidents were categorized according to the standardized classification LMC 6.0. We investigated regional differences from 2018 to 2020 using monthly time trends. On the individual level we found a time trend in accordance with the onset of the lockdown, with a decrease in property crime operationalized as theft, burglary and robbery, and an increase in psychological effects, operationalized as suicide attempts and nuisance by a person. On the group level, operationalized as incidents nuisance by youth, noise, fireworks and vandalism, we found a time pattern with an increase in incidents coherent with the lockdown period. On the level of the society, operationalized as incidents public order, conflicts, violence and explosives, we also found an increase in incidents coherent with the lockdown period. We conclude that incident reports of emergency services give additional insight in the effects of a lockdown on social stability.

While not a new phenomenon, research on criminal intrusion in (small) businesses is often focussed on the perspective of the criminal, reconstructed after a crime has taken place. In this article we add the perspective of the entrepreneur from the moment he/she is confronted with early signs of possible criminal intrusion. Firstly, we introduce a definition of criminal intrusion, based on 18 cases of (attempted) criminal intrusion in small business: The process by which an actor of a criminal organization turns to and associates with a bona fide corporation, making that corporation a facilitator of criminal business process without its deliberate intent. Secondly, we distinguish three (not necessarily limitative) main practices on how this facilitation of crime takes place within the scope of criminal intrusion in bona fide businesses: 1) a transactional model, which focusses on an exchange of products or services between criminal organizations and businesses; 2) a parasitic relationship where operational processes are abused for criminal gains, and 3) infiltration, in which targeted infiltration, corruption of employees or ‘criminal investment’ takes place to gain a foothold within the business. By introducing a theoretical framework for the categorisation of cases, we hope to further develop the possibilities of (criminological) analysis of criminal intrusion, while simultaneously provide small business owners insights to strengthen their resilience against organised crime.

In recent years, big data technology has revolutionised many domains, including policing. There is a lack of research, however, exploring which applications are used by the police, and the potential benefits of big data analytics for policing. Instead, literature about big data and policing predominantly focuses on predictive policing and its associated risks. The present paper provides new insights into the police’s current use of big data and algorithmic applications. We provide an up-to-date overview of the various applications of big data by the National Police in the Netherlands. We distinguish three areas: uniformed police work, criminal investigation, and intelligence. We then discuss two positive effects of big data and algorithmic applications for the police organization: accelerated learning and the formation of a single police organization.

Predictive policing is the use of historical crime and other data in complex statistical models to predict where and when there is a high risk of new crime events. These predictions can then be used to direct police patrols proactively. Despite the increasing use and commercialisation of predictive policing worldwide, academic research into the methodological and operational dimensions of predictive policing is relatively limited. Since 2015 we have researched and tested several predictive crime models methodologically and operationally, based on police and other (big) data sources in several Belgian police districts. In this article, we summarise the results of six years of empirical research into predictive policing and look to the future of predictive policing research and practice.

This article was written by Claudia Mazzucato for The International Journal of Restorative Justice 21(2) and translated for our thematic issue. Mazzucato explains that there is something in restorative justice that resembles art. In her view restorative justice is made of the same fabric. Both deal with ‘creativity and rigour, imagination and insight, preparation and improvisation, vocation and inclination, talent and skill’. Both trigger innovation and have a political dimension when identifying problems and look for transformations or cultural change. The use of art in the restorative field is growing and visible in literature, paintings, theatre and films. Art can become a sort of mediator of restorative encounters or can give a concrete shape to stories that otherwise cannot be told. The author asks questions about liaisons between restorative justice, law and art. The leges artis of restorative justice are values and standards as drafted by the United Nations and Council of Europe. Do they nourish criminal justice in terms of beauty? To a certain extent yes. A challenging task of the art of restorative justice is in her view: ‘to approach the complexity of the quest for justice in the real world, combining hard and soft skills harmonically, and complying rigorously with the proper restorative leges artis, in order to amend in democratic ways what has proved wrong and harmful, and to prospectively avoid its reoccurrence’.

Brunilda Pali described in 2015 the work of the American digital and media artist Sharon Daniel (University of California in Santa Cruz) in a special publication as a result of an interdisciplinary, international arts research collaboration. The new-media documentary Inside the Distance was shown in the StuK Art Center Leuven in that period and included fragments of restorative justice encounters. It was an effort to test the potential for activist art practice to have a direct role in changing social conditions. To hear about what the project meant for Sharon Daniel, but also about her current work ánd to explore how art can further play a role in changing justice, Ivo Aertsen and Annemieke Wolthuis interviewed Sharon Daniel and Brunilda Pali. More stories were shared to combine art and restorative justice.

In this essay Peter Vermeersch, a social scientist and writer, describes his personal journey to the world of restorative justice. It starts with a group encounter between inmates and victims of non-related crimes in a Belgian prison. As one of the participants in this meeting the author discusses his experience as the victim of a robbery. He also gives an account of his experience as member of a jury trial for a murder case in Brussels, about which he published a book (2019). Vermeersch reflects on his role as juror, illuminates the short-comings of the justice system and its old-fashioned architecture, and most importantly, observes the complex human realities that hide behind the standard images of offenders, victims and other people involved in a crime. In this context, he asks what justice is, thinks about what the role of punishment and retribution can be, and, more broadly, discusses the potential of citizens’ participation and deliberation in issues of public interest. The essay includes several references to film, poetry and other literature that challenges stereotypical images of good and evil. It concludes with a discussion of the wider societal meaning and possible role of restorative justice.

Brunilda Pali described in 2015 the work of the American digital and media artist Sharon Daniel (University of California in Santa Cruz) in a special publication as a result of an interdisciplinary, international arts research collaboration. The new-media documentary Inside the Distance was shown in the StuK Art Center Leuven in that period and included fragments of restorative justice encounters. It was an effort to test the potential for activist art practice to have a direct role in changing social conditions. Brunilda Pali said: ‘In interacting with Sharon Daniel, we had the opportunity to create a focused dialogue, addressing the intersection of artistic and social practices. This project has brought together, research, art, theory, and practice in a very innovative and interesting way.’ The exhibition also investigated whether a new imagining of affect and responsiveness is possible through the use of specific visual, narrative, poetic, and formal frameworks. These reflections reveal the uniqueness of the work of Sharon Daniel and can also be seen as ‘art for social change’ by showing stories of marginalized people who otherwise are not heard.

Dutch prisons are not exempt from incidents. Despite the negative impact of violence on the safety of inmates and the chances of successful reintegration, not much is known about the prevalence of victimization in Dutch prisons and the characteristics of victims. Additionally, previous research has pointed out the overlap between victim status and offender status. In this contribution, the authors will discuss the prevalence of self-reported victimization among Dutch inmates and the characteristics of victims and victim-offenders. Data from 3,485 participants from the Life in Custody Study are used for this purpose.

Dutch mayors play an increasingly prominent role in tackling (organized) crime. However, empirical research into how mayors fulfil this role remains scarce. Based on 23 interviews with nineteen mayors and sixteen municipal officials, this study reveals the different ways in which mayors have given meaning to the administrative approach of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) in the period 2012-2017. While the national approach to OMCGs fits within the wider focus in society on prevention and the exclusion of ‘risky groups’, this empirical study shows how mayors give their own effect to this focus at the local level.

The promises of big data have reached the domain of safety and security. After these techniques proved their added value in the private sector, they soon reached the attention of the public sector. In this article we present the results of our interviews with 27 executive professionals of the Dutch police and the department of public order and safety of local governments. What are their expectations of big data? Their experience with big data varied. Our respondents gave expression to a basic positive attitude towards intelligence led policing and the chances that big data brings to it. But anticipation of working with big data was not free from discussion and the respondents stressed the need for securing privacy and other constitutional rights of citizens before big data applications are implemented in the police function. With that, our respondents strongly aligned with the international, academic call for a constitutional reflection about the application of big data withing the police function.

The availability and use of big data sources is increasing exponentially. The variety of new and emerging data sources offers opportunities to complement, replace, improve or add to conventional data sources. Survey data are one kind of conventional data sources. In survey research, a framework to assess the accuracy of survey data already existed for quite some time. This framework is known as the Total Survey Error (TSE) framework. The philosophy behind this framework has only recently been universalized to (big) data in general in the form of the Total Error (TE) framework. This generic framework, which allows for assessing the accuracy of (big) data, is outlined in this article. Additionally, the TE framework is applied to big data sources that could be relevant for policing: police-registered crime data, Twitter data and mobile phone data.

This introductory article of a special issue on naming and shaming addresses the origins of the concept and its transformation during the last decades. The main conclusion of the article is that contemporary forms of naming & shaming come closer to humiliation and public lynching, rather than redemption and self-reflection.

Naming-and-shaming campaigns, in which civil society groups publicly call upon corporations to end harmful behavior via social media, are a powerful mechanism for social control of corporations. This article investigates naming and shaming in modern, global markets through a case study of Shell - one of the most stigmatized corporations of our time. First, the perspective of organizational sociology is used to answer the question why Shell is receiving such significant attention. Next, the article addresses how shaming manifests itself in global markets. The example of Shell illustrates reintegrative shaming, aiming to end harmful activities, as well as stigmatizing shaming that undermines a corporation’s license to operate.
Finally, this article discusses the potential consequences of naming and shaming for corporate reputations. In the case of Shell, Goffman’s concept of courtesy stigma appears to form the greatest reputational risk, as stigmatization of Shells business partners will create status anxiety and will limit opportunities to develop business.