Inside policing podcast season two launching – homicide prevention

Published on 7 May 2023
Join special constable and head of media and external affairs Antony Bushfield as he talks to the people behind today's top stories and hot topics
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55 mins listen

In the first episode of season two on the Inside policing podcast, Antony Bushfield talks to three guests about homicide prevention and how we reduce serious violence.

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In recent years, rates of homicide have fluctuated between 600 and 700. There were around 300 killings a year in the early 1960s. Even factoring in population changes, that is a significant increase.

In 2021 the government published its beating crime plan which set out what ministers expect of law enforcement and the wider justice system. Since then there’s been lots of operational activity across all forces.

ACC Simon Wilson talks about developing a national problem profile and how we share the work that is already going on in forces to prevent homicide. 

710 lives lost, 710 families shattered as a result. We in policing, we in our partner agencies are determined to reduce that number through the work that we're doing.

ACC Simon Wilson

Niven Rennie, former director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, shares his insights from more than 30 years in policing.

Ultimately, if you look at the Peelian principles, the consent of the police to operate is based on that support of the public. And if you get to a stage where you know best or where you continue to suppress a community, you will lose that public consent. And I think you do so at its peril.

Niven Rennie

John Hull, Detective Chief Superintendent with Sussex Police, has worked on homicide investigations during his career and is now the College of Policing’s National Performance Improvement Lead. 

...as police officers and staff, what we come to work for is to prevent people from dying... on our watch. And if you go right back to Human Rights, Article Two, we've got a positive obligation to uphold life, to protect life. 

DCS John Hull

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