We are fortunate in this country to have some truly superb Holocaust educators. The Holocaust Educational Trust does a brilliant job in teaching children – and adults – about the worst genocide in history. And Holocaust Memorial Day acts as a national remembrance. But while it is vital that people are taught about the worst […]
In 2016, I was tasked by the then Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, to look at Islamist extremism in our prison, probation and youth justice system. While I uncovered a litany of problems, what was really striking was the pervasive ‘institutional timidity’ I encountered when trying to get officials to name and deal with the challenge […]
Protestors are a savvy lot these days. When Just Stop Oil activists block a road, they will have been briefed on the Zeigler ruling by our Supreme Court which, in its infinite wisdom, has ruled that sometimes physical obstruction of the highway does not amount to the highway being physically obstructed. This must be news […]
Wherever the strobe lights douse the dancefloor, whenever the baseline pulsates through the sticky mass of a crowded field, ecstasy can be found. Whether as a pastel-coloured pill or a bitter tasting crystal, the drug offers an irresistible euphoria to some. But others are not so lucky. Ecstasy – or MDMA to give it its […]
Dominic Raab might have been hoping for some weekend respite after the recent bullying allegations against him. But while the Justice Secretary sought to get on the front foot with measures to tackle extremism in prisons, trans activists in his own department were doing their level best to cut him off at the knees. The […]
Defending free speech seriously, as opposed to just rhetorically, means defending the right to expression of those we vehemently disagree with (including those who would put us up against a wall come the revolution), are embarrassed to be associated with, and whose outpourings we find repugnant. Political liberals worthy of the title should, therefore, be […]
As barristers in England and Wales agreed to end their strike action last month, there are promising signs that the criminal justice system is starting to get moving again. But with the barristers’ strike having lasted since April and a Crown Court backlog nearing 60,000 cases, many victims of sexual violence are facing traumatising delays […]
Who joins the police and why? The latest Home Office statistics show that the Conservative manifesto for an uplift of 20,000 officers is on target to deliver by March next year. However, a review of vetting ordered by former Home Secretary Priti Patel in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by a serving officer, reveals […]
For anyone who thought the reputation of the Metropolitan Police couldn’t get any worse, the initial findings of the Baroness Casey Review will make for grim reading. The interim report was commissioned in the aftermath of the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met PC Wayne Couzens. Casey’s investigations have found that […]
Some years ago, before David Cameron’s gang abolished regional government, I had a unique perspective on the tension between government rhetoric on crime reduction targets and pavement level reality. By day, I was Director of Community Safety for the Home Office for South West England. By night I was special constable 74170 Acheson, patrolling the […]
There is a deep political irony these days: increasingly, it is progressives and not conservatives who cling to existing institutions and tell us that any attempt to limit or abolish them will inevitably lead to disaster. The good news is that conservatives have cottoned on to this turning of the tables and begun to fight […]
After negative headlines about police officers prancing around at Pride parades, or wearing high heels for domestic violence campaigns, there have been some welcome interventions. Crucially, the new Home Secretary Suella Braverman called for officers to not make ‘symbolic gestures’ at the expense of ‘common sense policing’. She is saying in effect, stop taking the […]
What’s happened to the police? Why do they dance the macarena and prance around in red high heel shoes when they cannot be bothered to pursue burglars or arrest looters? Why, in other words, are the police doing such a bad job? It’s because society has changed in ways that make their job more difficult. […]
If you’ve spent any time browsing Twitter recently, you may have come across the account ‘London and UK Street News’. It’s an aggregator perfectly suited to the social media age, sharing breaking updates on gang warfare, stabbings and robberies well before the newspapers have a chance to report them. Videos such as this footage of some […]
When the dust finally settles on the Conservative leadership contest next week we will see the appointment of the seventh consecutive Lord Chancellor under a fully Conservative administration. The possible reappointment of Robert Buckland to the coterminous Secretary of State for Justice post he was fired from last September would be a welcome way to […]
From the grotesque crimes of Wayne Couzens and Stephen Port, to the mishandling of sensitive moments such as partygate to the Sarah Everard vigil, to the frankly sickening evidence of what counts as workplace ‘banter’ among some officers, it’s fair to say events of the past few years have done severe damage to the public’s […]
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