Book review: Undercover: the true story of Britain’s secret police

"Undercover: The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police." Rob Evans and Paul Lewis. Faber and Faber. June 2013. --- Undercover, written by Guardian journalists Rob Evans and Paul Lewis, aims to reveal the truth about secret police operations – the emotional turmoil, the psychological challenges and the human cost of a lifetime of deception – and asks whether such tactics can ever be justified. An important account of police cover-ups, finds Tim Newburn, with heavy implications for public trust in the police

Cameron’s crime speech was a delicate balancing act ofburnishing the Prime Minister’s credibility and keeping asmany key constituencies as possible onside whilst doing so

Tim Newburn analyses David Cameron's recent speech on crime and argues that it was not really about moving the debate on but aimed at grabbing headlines and enhancing the image of the Prime Minister. This underlines a consistent pattern amongst politicians of talking tough on crime more frequently than intelligently on crime prevention

Reflections on why riots don’t happen

In contrast to much of the literature in the field of public disorder, rather than focusing on the nature and aetiology of riots, in this paper I investigate why riots don’t happen. During times of widespread disorder there are some locations that, whilst apparently sharing many of the features of the places where significant disorder is occurring, do not fall prey to rioting themselves. Why? Against the backdrop of the 2011 England riots – though the arguments developed here have international application - I use two case studies involving semi-structured interviews with key informants in two such locations to reflect on why riots don’t happen. Initially drawing on Waddington’s ‘flashpoints’ model, I argue that it was primarily matters at an interactional level that appear to have been crucial in the absence of riots in these particular cases. In order to facilitate a more detailed analysis at this level in particular, I propose some elaboration of the flashpoints approach, using Reicher’s ‘social identity’ model, as the basis understanding the nature of police-crowd and police-community interaction

Book review: the social order of the underworld: how prison gangs govern the American penal system by David Skarbek

This book challenges the widely held view that inmates in US prisons create prison gangs to promote racism and violence. On the contrary, gangs form to create order, argues David Skarbek. The Social Order of the Underworld is thought-provoking and challenging, writes Tim Newburn, and policy-makers in the UK have much to learn from Skarbek’s book

Reflections on why riots don’t happen

In contrast to much of the literature in the field of public disorder, rather than focusing on the nature and aetiology of riots, in this paper I investigate why riots don’t happen. During times of widespread disorder there are some locations that, whilst apparently sharing many of the features of the places where significant disorder is occurring, do not fall prey to rioting themselves. Why? Against the backdrop of the 2011 England riots – though the arguments developed here have international application - I use two case studies involving semi-structured interviews with key informants in two such locations to reflect on why riots don’t happen. Initially drawing on Waddington’s ‘flashpoints’ model, I argue that it was primarily matters at an interactional level that appear to have been crucial in the absence of riots in these particular cases. In order to facilitate a more detailed analysis at this level in particular, I propose some elaboration of the flashpoints approach, using Reicher’s ‘social identity’ model, as the basis understanding the nature of police-crowd and police-community interaction

Book review: Hillsborough voices: the real story told by the people themselves by Kevin Sampson (in association with the Hillsborough Justice Campaign)

On 15 April 1989, 96 people were crushed to death and another 766 injured at the Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs. Following new inquests, earlier this year a jury ruled that those who died in the disaster had been unlawfully killed. In Hillsborough Voices, Kevin Sampson – in association with the Hillsborough Justice Campaign – foregrounds the memories and first-hand testimonies of survivors, friends, families, footballers, campaigners and politicians. This is an extraordinarily powerful account told by those who have fought for 27 years for the truth to be known, writes Tim Newburn

#blacklivesmatter: what difference might COVID-19 make to the cause?

The fact that the latest anti-racism protests are taking place amidst a pandemic – and in the case of the UK have been triggered by events across the Atlantic rather than at home – might result in more sustained attention being paid to inequality and racism, writes Tim Newburn

Where does the Met go from here?

The recent review of London’s beleaguered police force in the wake of consecutive scandals identified structural and systemic failings and confirmed an internal culture of discrimination and cover-ups. Tim Newburn assesses the report and asks whether the Met is too dysfunctional for reform

A most extraordinary scandal: Hillsborough

A few days over 27 years and justice may finally have been done. After new inquests that have been sitting for two years, a jury decided that the football fans who died in the Hillsborough stadium disaster on 15 April 1989 were unlawfully killed. Local Merseyside MP, Andy Burnham, described what occurred since that day as ‘the greatest miscarriage of justice of our time’. Why? Tim Newburn gives his reaction to the verdict

Book review: Driving with strangers: what hitchhiking tells us about humanity by Jonathan Purkis

In Driving With Strangers: What Hitchhiking Tells Us about Humanity, Jonathan Purkis argues that the nature of hitchhiking and its place in the world has important things to tell us both about who we are and who we might be. This hopeful book suggests that if we could harness the mutuality and generosity brought to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic into a political movement, we might find ourselves hitchhiking again, writes Tim Newburn. Driving With Strangers: What Hitchhiking Tells Us about Humanity. Jonathan Purkis. Manchester University Press. 2021