How to solve Britain’s shoplifting epidemic
Fifteen years ago, at the tail end of Blairism, I was running things for the Home Office in Southwest England.…
Police chiefs must learn to use their common sense
Britain’s top cop club has released new guidance to forces in England and Wales on when and how to describe…
The Met Police dealt with the Palestine Action protest admirably
Jonathan Porritt’s arrest under the Terrorism Act 2000 is the apogee of a ‘luxury belief.’ Unlike the dozens of other…
Are Britain’s prisons ready for this summer’s protests?
We’re looking at a busy weekend for the country’s criminal justice system, already permanently running red hot. The activist group…
How police chiefs can win back Britain’s trust
Policing and crime commissioners haven’t exactly fired up the public imagination since they were introduced in 2012. PCCs were intended…
Farage is right: our police must be tougher
A few years ago, I was encouraged to apply for a role within the College of Policing for an advisory…
Must we forgive the 7/7 bombers?
‘Bear in mind these dead, I can find no plainer words,’ wrote the Northern Irish poet John Hewitt reflecting on…
Terrorist prisoners should be kept on a military base
The murder of a prison officer on duty is closer now than at any time in the last 25 years.…
Labour’s prison reforms will flop without more police funding
The sentencing reforms announced by Labour last week were primarily an attempt to address a capacity crisis. This is something…
The police have questions to answer after the Liverpool car incident
Could the carnage and horror that played out on the streets of Liverpool city centre yesterday have been averted? We…
The good and the bad of the sentencing reforms
Our prisons are nearly full to bust once again so the Ministry of Justice has been flying some kites ahead…
Is the era of cowardly criminals hiding from court over?
The disconnect between actions and consequences that bedevils this country’s justice system suffered a modest reversal today. The government has…
The HMP Frankland attack should never have happened
How do you break the rule of law inside our jails? You could do worse than try to murder a…
Are our jails unfixable?
The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, published today, addresses the prison cell crisis in the UK, highlighting huge government…
Britain is not prepared for car ramming terrorist attacks
At least two people have died and several injured after a car was driven down a busy shopping street yesterday…
Gentler stop and search tactics won’t keep Britain safe
What sort of mojo do you want your police officer to bring with them the next time you’re stopped and…
Cracking down on Facebook won’t stop teenagers being radicalised
I’ve yet to meet an oncologist, thank God. But if I did turn up to be told I had cancer…
Why do Home Office staff think talk of two-tier policing is ‘extremist’?
How do you create a low-trust society? One way to do so is to have an administrative class which seems to treat…
Prevent is not solely to blame for Southport failings
The assailant in the Southport massacre has pleaded guilty to the murders of three children in the town last year.…
Empty pledges won’t solve the knife crime epidemic
On 23 September last year at 6.30 p.m. in the evening in a street in Woolwich, London, Daejaun Campbell cried…
How front-line police were failed in the summer riots
The police establishment has delivered its initial verdict on this summer’s rioting, following the massacre of children at Southport. Andy…
Why Labour’s policing targets won’t work
This week, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper plans to announce new police performance targets. Perhaps the government has been stung…
Is Airbnb to blame for rising crime in London?
Does Airbnb drive up crime in London? That’s the question posed of the world’s most successful short-term rental service in…
Mass prisoner releases aren’t working
Today, over a thousand offenders will walk out of jail early as part of the government’s ongoing emergency scheme to…
Texas-style reforms won’t save our prisons
Texas. Big country, big ideas. The new Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has become enamoured with an intriguing…
