Latest news with #crimefighting
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- The Guardian
We all became detectives in Erin Patterson's trial. But as a crime writer I can't help wonder, at what cost?
From the moment we saw Erin Patterson sobbing and wiping her eyes in her driveway in Leongatha, we started to judge her. The tone of her voice. The mournful tilting back of her head as she tried to control her emotion. The strange examining of her own fingers for tears. Was the performance real, or was she faking it? We had to decide. We had to participate. The public's natural hunger for participation in solving crimes has fuelled a billion-dollar podcast industry rooted in true crime. It's elevated crime fiction to the leading genre in the book world. Overwhelmingly, true crime podcasts that deal with unsolved mysteries dominate the hit lists, and the industry celebrates crime novels with unexpected twists and unreliable narrators. That's because the public wants to get involved. To join in. The human brain is made for solving puzzles and we hate to be fed answers. The media is riddled with advertising for opportunities to be a crime-fighting hero, from subscriptions to mail-out mystery solving games to in-person crime nights. Sydney-siders can now experience a simulated courtroom environment and be seated on a mock jury with The Jury Experience. The website boasts that 'the power to deliver justice is entirely in your hands!' Just $39 a ticket. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The problem is that armchair detectives and their untrained analysis of apparent shock and grief has been historically (and, for the victims, very painfully) wrong. The plight of Joanne Lees, whose boyfriend Peter Falconio disappeared during a terrifying abduction attempt by Bradley John Murdoch in the Australian outback, is an example of the savagery of mob crime-solving. Deep-breathing and tearless, her seemingly calm walk down a corridor to front the press, and her choice of a singlet top emblazoned with the words 'cheeky monkey', turned the tide of opinions against her. Her account of crouching in bushland, evading her would-be attacker and his dog, was shredded at watercooler conversations nationwide. The whole time, Joanne was telling the truth. She was traumatised and grieving and being called a liar. The wrongful public-opinion (and legal) convictions of Kathleen Folbigg and Lindy Chamberlain should have made us cautious about believing we can spot a killer by how they appear and behave. They didn't. Erin's driveway performance was viewed with suspicion. So it was time to examine the evidence. What didn't make sense in the mushroom saga is the apparent weight of the premeditation against Erin's utter lack of after-crime planning. We were told by the prosecution of the coldness and calculation with which she researched, accessed and concealed the deadly mushrooms, going so far as to dehydrate and blitz them in a blender. There was, they argued, a conceited lie constructed to make the victims come to the lunch. Stringent physical measures taken to ensure only her victims, and not herself or her children, fell ill. It seemed that Erin risked her own life, and those of her kids, to make this murder plot come to fruition. She apparently wanted her in-laws dead that badly. What then did we make of Erin's lack of any real plan to explain why three people had suddenly died after attending the lunch? Erin's accounting for her actions in court seemed half-hearted and ham-fisted. I lied. I panicked. I was mistaken. I don't remember. TikTok-trained psychoanalysis of Erin's explanations was bandied around WhatsApp group chats and office lunch rooms. She's a narcissist. She's a sociopath. She's an idiot. What makes the public's insatiable hunger to play detective, jury member, behavioural analyst and forensic scientist so worrying is that, when we do it, we lose sight of the victims entirely. The Pattersons, the Wilkinsons and their community will never recover from Erin's senseless act. Erin herself will likely spend her life behind bars and her children will have to somehow get through the loss of their grandparents, a great-aunt and their own mother. Right now, that family is trying to learn how to function again, having been hit with unfathomable pain. And they'll have to do it while mushroom murder memes are shared around and influencers break down the case into 60-second soundbites over trending audio. The line between real life and fiction is blurring, helped along by AI, the fake news movement and the pursuit of likes. But it comes at the expense of truth. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion I'm guilty of wandering that line myself, as a crime fiction author who keeps a close eye on court cases as a means of research. I've wondered many times during the mushroom trial how I'd fictionalise something like this, where I'd set it, whose perspective I would write it from. I worry that the true crime and crime fiction industry, of which I am a maker and a consumer, is making a professional crime-solver of all of us. Candice Fox is a bestselling Australian crime novelist based in Sydney
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Police chiefs call for cuts to number of forces in England and Wales
Police chiefs in England and Wales have told ministers that the number of forces should be cut to end 'the postcode lottery for victims of crime', the Guardian has learned. They believe a reduction from the current 43 forces would save money, cut overheads and boost crime-fighting efforts. Law enforcement leaders told the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, last month at a roundtable on police reform that they were in agreement about the need for the change. Cooper has already backed other police reforms, such as setting up a national centre for policing, and believes the way policing across England and Wales is organised is out of date. But a lack of money threatens to delay changes and some smaller forces may oppose the changes. One source said any changes could start with smaller forces merging or being abolished. In the west, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire could merge. In the Midlands, Warwickshire could join with the West Mercia force or be absorbed by the much bigger West Midlands force. In the east, the Norfolk and Suffolk forces could merge. The West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and the South Yorkshire forces could also merge. Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, told the Guardian: 'Police reform is about restructuring policing so that it can keep up with modern criminality, retaining the bedrock of community policing whilst modernising our workforce to deal with national threats such as organised crime and violence against women and girls. 'Our current model of 43 different police forces in England and Wales has a wide range of geographical size, workforce size and operational capabilities. There is also real variation in financial resilience and the ability to invest, which means policing operates in subtly different ways with often incompatible technology, which leads to inefficiencies and inconsistency. 'A smaller number of police forces, supported by a national policing organisation, would enable us to make decisions far quicker and maximise funding to invest in technology and our workforce. Making improvements to our service once and for all, instead of in 43 different ways, would help to end the postcode lottery victims face when reporting crime.' One senior source said: 'Everyone is in agreement we need fewer forces. It would create efficiencies and greater effectiveness.' Another source with knowledge of discussions said: 'Chiefs of smaller forces are nervous but accept this is where the tide is going. We hope for a phased reduction over the next decade.' No changes are expected to happen in this parliament, and any change of government after the next election could lead to the agreement to abolish police forces being scuppered. Politically, it was believed a reduction in the number of forces would have to happen under Labour. MPs representing Conservative areas, which tend to be less urban, feared police would move from more rural areas to areas where crime tended to be higher. One chief constable said that if their force absorbed a smaller force, people in more rural areas could be offered a guarantee about how many officers would be ringfenced to protect them. As yet, no detailed plans have been drawn up or presented to the government, but Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said he favoured a reduction to as few as 12 forces. It is understood that this is the number of forces senior police chiefs think should ultimately cover England and Wales. In a piece for the Sunday Times, Rowley said: 'The 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and hasn't been fit for purpose for at least two decades. It hinders the effective confrontation of today's threats and stops us fully reaping the benefits of technology. 'We need to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, with the new, bigger and fully capable regional forces supported by the best of modern technology and making better use of the limited funding available.' In Scotland, forces have already merged into one organisation covering the entire country, which is the second largest in the UK behind the Met. Northern Ireland is also covered by a single force.
The Herald
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
'I will die for this badge': KZN top cop Mkhwanazi alleges political interference in high-profile cases
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi came out guns blazing on Sunday during a briefing, suggesting there was political interference in some of the cases police were working on. He also questioned some of the decisions allegedly made by police minister Senzo Mchunu on the dissolution of the political killings task team. He said the teams were making great strides and were close to cracking some of the unresolved murders, including those of popular musicians in Gauteng. Mkhwanazi said he was a hard-core policeman and was prepared to die for the SAPS badge for telling the truth. 'I chose to be a policeman, and in many years in my career as a police officer, I have been involved in combat,' he said. Holding back no punches, Mkhwanazi also said he was prepared to die in the fight against criminals, some of whom he alleged were high-ranking police officials and politicians who were part of serious drug cartels in Gauteng. Mkhwanazi said he was concerned that within the police services there were elements working with criminals. 'While we fight with criminals in the streets, we also need to be vigilant that some of our own are working with criminals,' he said. 'Even if it means to pay with my life, let it be.' Mkhwanazi said police need to dismantle the drug cartels to end crime in the country. 'We need to destroy all drug nests because it is these drugs that fuel crime in the country; criminals become brave after taking drugs and start doing criminal activities.' Mkhwanazi said he was happy with the work of the police, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. However, he said there was still room for improvement. TimesLIVE
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Met commissioner calls for the axing of 43 county constabularies and the forming of '12 mega forces'
Sir Mark Rowley has called for Britain's 43 county constabularies to be axed and replaced with 12 'mega forces' in what would be the biggest overhaul of policing in 60 years. In a damning review of UK's crime fighting set up, the Met Police boss said the current system has not 'been fit for purpose for at least two decades'. Writing in The Sunday Times, Sir Mark said that bigger forces would be better able to utilise modern technology and would reduce 'expensive' governance and support functions. He said slashing the number of forces by two-thirds would make 'better use of the 'limited funding available' in a thinly veiled dig at Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Sir Mark said: 'The 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and hasn't been fit for purpose for at least two decades. 'It hinders the effective confrontation of today's threats and stops us fully reaping the benefits of technology. 'We need to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, with the new bigger and fully capable regional forces supported by the best of modern technology and making better use of the limited funding available.' He characterised Chancellor Rachel Reeves ' decision to increase police funding by 2.3 per cent above inflation each year in the recent spending review as 'disappointing'. Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, last month warned forces were facing 'difficult choices' and some would 'struggle to make the numbers add up' as the cost of borrowing spirals. Some have increasingly relied on borrowing, and the cost of debt is expected to rise by 49 per cent in the next three years. 'Forces' borrowing costs have been going up because for the last decade, local forces have had no capital investment at all,' he said. 'The main capital investment has gone to big projects at the centre.' Force chiefs want greater say over how they structure their workforces, with the removal of restrictions on ring-fenced funding that was granted by the previous government to replace officers cut during austerity. Mr Stephens said policing needs a variety of workers other than officers, including cyber specialists, crime scene investigators and digital forensic experts, in the same way that 'the health service is much more than just about doctors'. He added: 'We know that the Government had some very difficult choices to make, as a consequence of this, policing is going to have some very difficult choices to make too.' Sir Mark has previously warned of 'eye-watering cuts' to Britain's largest police force with it revealed in April it faces a £260million funding hole in its budget. It will see the loss of 1,700 officers, PCOs and staff, although frontline services would be protected. However, other areas will face cuts including scrapping the Royal Parks Police, a 10 per cent cut to forensics, and the possibility of taking firearms off the Flying Squad. London Mayor Sadiq Khan last month delivered a public rebuke to Ms Reeves as he warned her spending plans risk ' levelling down London '. Sir Sadiq said he was 'disappointed' that the review unveiled by the Chancellor had not committed to new infrastructure in the capital. He also condemned the funding settlement for the police, saying the Met might have 'fewer police officers' as a result. Despite Labour's massive borrowing-funded spending splurge, some areas are facing tough restrictions due to the NHS sucking up huge resources. Yvette Cooper's Home Office is thought to have been one of the losers, with police funding seeing limited real-terms increases despite a pledge to recruit 13,000 more officers and staff for neighbourhoods in England and Wales.
Zawya
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Police Chairperson Calls for Immediate Suspension of Every Arrested South African Police Service (SAPS) Officer
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, has called on the South African Police Service (SAPS) management to suspend every member of the SAPS arrested over the past week, pending finalisation of internal investigations. 'The sanctity of the investigations is dependent not only on justice being done, but also on the appearance that justice is done. It is essential for the credibility of the investigations as well as the SAPS reputation that arrested senior officers are suspended until the conclusion of the investigations,' Mr Cameron emphasised. The Chairperson has noted that the SAPS have in the recent past taken a nonchalant attitude towards errant officers, returning them to work despite serious criminal charges. While the Chairperson acknowledges that everyone is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise, investigations must be completed urgently to ensure that only fit and proper individuals serve within the SAPS,' Mr Cameron emphasised. The arrest of senior officers within the Crime Intelligence service has laid bare the level of rot within the environment. This has a chilling effect when considering the centrality of CI in combating crime in the country. 'It is clear that a major pillar to fight crime has been disabled through rogue officers who are inclined to act criminally,' Mr Cameron said. It is on this basis that a skills audit within the senior echelons of SAPS is necessary. Also, periodic lifestyle audits must be undertaken, especially in the CI environment and senior management of SAPS,' Mr Cameron contended. Mr Cameron reiterated that the committee will not be complicit and allow rogue SAPS to remain unaccountable. 'We will continue to insist that every rogue officer must be removed from the service to protect the reputation of the service,' Mr Cameron concluded. The committee will soon schedule a meeting to assess the impact of the arrests and processes to be followed in instituting internal consequence management. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
