NEW Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd to lead Govt review to “root out” violence, Illicit drugs and organised crime in prisons.. My questions are Why and Why Now? We’ve had 5 major prison reviews in 3 years (Bristow, Gauke, Owens, Hall, Owers), Justice Committee inquiry & countless inspections…

NEW How should the Home Office & government ministers respond to the murder of Henry Nowak amid claims of 'two-tier policing'? Here's what I've written for the independent think-tank, the Institute for Government. It's free to read: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

NEW How should the Home Office & government ministers respond to the murder of Henry Nowak amid claims of 'two-tier policing'? Here's what I've written for the independent think-tank, the Institute for Government. It's free to read: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

NEW Rape victims no longer have to surrender phones to police. New technology - from UK firm Kulpa - enables victims & witnesses to send digital material - messages, photos, emails - to police in a format that can be used as evidence in court. 3 forces using it: www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/954069a...

NEW Police mergers are on the way. There'll be "fewer, larger" forces in England & Wales - under legislation announced in King's Speech. Govt says in every force there will be "Local Policing Areas" headed by a senior officer. Also confirms creation of National Police Service...

NEW After Golders Green, five things that need to happen: 1. Fast-track this case & the other recent antisemitic attacks through the courts (just as riot cases were) to deter others & send a strong signal.

NEW After Golders Green, five things that need to happen: 1. Fast-track this case & the other recent antisemitic attacks through the courts (just as riot cases were) to deter others & send a strong signal.

NEW Cannabis farms and crypto mining are behind a surge in electricity theft... ...an estimated £1.5 billion, from revenue losses & investigation costs, is passed onto UK consumers every year - that's at least £50 per household... And it's set to get worse. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04...

NEW Mistaken release of jailed asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was partly caused by confusion over 3 letters: 'ERS', says Dame Lynne Owens review. ERS stands for 'Early removal scheme', under which Kebatu was being deported AND 'Early release scheme', which did not apply to him...

NEW Three of the country's most respected judicial figures give their verdict on the Government's jury reforms. Their views may surprise you. My blog, free to read, no paywall, no subscription: www.dannyshaw.net/post/jury-re...

NEW Three of the country's most respected judicial figures give their verdict on the Government's jury reforms. Their views may surprise you. My blog, free to read, no paywall, no subscription: www.dannyshaw.net/post/jury-re...

NEW Southport Inquiry findings: Axel Rudakubana's attack "could and should have been prevented". Retired judge Sir Adrian Fulford said "some form of grave violence had been clearly & unambiguously signposted over many years" with multiple "missed opportunities". AR was not mentally ill...

Could specialist sexual offences courts cut the Crown Court backlog, as MP Charlotte Nichols & others say? (PM, Radio 4) Sir Brian Leveson's answer: No. "What might have been a good idea 10 or 15 years ago when there were fewer such cases does not cut it now. There are just too many cases."

NEW A controversial view about probation - I don't expect everyone will agree. But there are points in my article for the Telegraph about inexperience, a shortage of male probation staff & flaws in risk assessment & public protection that urgently need addressing: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04...

Recommended listening. Secrets of the Home Office ... … and who really came up with the phrase ‘not fit for purpose’ to describe the dysfunctional immigration directorate. It wasn’t John Reid. Newscast with Adam Fleming & Chris Mason - 3-part series: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

NEW Home Office scandal no one wants to talk about... New emergency communications system for police, fire & ambulance - ESN - is delayed again, to 2030/31... ...as costs and doubts mount. It's already £3 billion over budget & will now be 11 years overdue. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03...

NEW Home Office scandal no one wants to talk about... New emergency communications system for police, fire & ambulance - ESN - is delayed again, to 2030/31... ...as costs and doubts mount. It's already £3 billion over budget & will now be 11 years overdue. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03...

Powerful call from victims & survivors urging MPs to support reform of jury trials. They say, correctly, debate "dominated" by lawyers discussing "tradition, procedure & constitutional safeguards" ...but "human impact of delay is absent from that conversation": www.openjusticeforall.com/open-letter

BREAKING Martin Hewitt - the UK’s first Border Security Commander - is leaving his role after just 18 months. Small boat crossings were 2nd highest on record last year. Sun journalist Julia Atherley broke the story.. www.thesun.co.uk/news/3857940...

NEW Lawyers, especially barristers, have dominated the debate about plans to curb jury trials, skewing the narrative. Their views are important - but we should listen to victims & others too. My thoughts on the task facing David Lammy to cut the Crown Court backlog: spectator.com/article/can-...

NEW Lawyers, especially barristers, have dominated the debate about plans to curb jury trials, skewing the narrative. Their views are important - but we should listen to victims & others too. My thoughts on the task facing David Lammy to cut the Crown Court backlog: spectator.com/article/can-...

NEW Palestine Action - what does the court ruling mean & where does the Govt go from here? I discuss this with Tim Owen on Double Jeopardy... ...plus Shabana Mahmood's police reforms.. ...& questions Antonia Romeo must answer about her leadership at the MoJ podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...

NEW UK's lax controls on car registration are making it easy for organised criminals & drug dealers to evade detection... ...through the use of 'ghost' number plates - invisible to roadside police ANPR cameras. My latest, for the Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02...

NEW UK's lax controls on car registration are making it easy for organised criminals & drug dealers to evade detection... ...through the use of 'ghost' number plates - invisible to roadside police ANPR cameras. My latest, for the Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02...

Significant & welcome. Being caught with a knife must be a ‘reachable’ moment when swift & meaningful investigation & action is taken. Current practice across England/Wales is patchy & slow. Also good to see continued investment in Turnaround project: www.gov.uk/government/n...

NEW Who will be the UK's most powerful police officer? The Commissioner of the new National Police Service ought to be in post by the summer, to prepare for its launch - which means the selection process should start now. I've canvassed view for the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02...

BREAKING The number of homicides in England and Wales has fallen to 499 - the lowest level for four decades. From Oct 24 -Sep 25 there were also falls in knife crime and gun crimes, recorded by police. But shop theft rose to 519,381 offences. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

BREAKING Internal disciplinary proceedings against Met Police officer who shot dead Chris Kaba in South London are "paused". IOPC watchdog says it will wait for legal changes relating to use of force before deciding if to continue. The officer, Sgt Martyn Blake, was cleared of murder by a jury.

BREAKING The Home Secretary has announced a radical set of proposals for police reform in England and Wales. This is an ambitious package that has the potential to transform the way policing operates. The centrepiece is a mammoth new central body, the National Police Service. Here's my summary:

NEW So much in the Government White Paper on policing, to be published this afternoon. Here is a comprehensive summary of everything that has been announced:

NEW A Licence to Practise to be introduced for police officers, under Home Office plans in its White Paper. Officers will have to show they have the necessary skills, qualifications & training - or face dismissal. Process is used for doctors & lawyers. A seismic change that won’t be welcomed by all

NEW The biggest police reform package for 50 years is days away. The 43-force model is being ditched, so are PCCs, & the Home Office is taking back control…. Read - for free - everything you need to know about the Police Reform White Paper: www.dannyshaw.net/post/police-...

NEW The biggest police reform package for 50 years is days away. The 43-force model is being ditched, so are PCCs, & the Home Office is taking back control…. Read - for free - everything you need to know about the Police Reform White Paper: www.dannyshaw.net/post/police-...

BREAKING. Craig Guildford is to retire from policing. A statement is expected soon. He is the first chief constable to quit after pressure from the Home Secretary since 2005, when Humberside's chief David Westwood departed after David Blunkett called on him to be fired after the Bichard Report

NEW ‘Scandal’. A word to be used sparingly - but this is it. Ministry of Justice is spending over £100 million on a prison that can’t hold prisoners - Dartmoor. Key decisions taken in March 2022. Justice Secretary was Dominic Raab & Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo, now at the Home Office…

NEW Serious crimes by offenders on probation UP 13%. 2024/5: 872 serious further offences including murders & rapes. Figures highlight risk assessment & information-sharing failings of probation in England & Wales, with services under-staffed. Details here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12...

NEW What Vicki Crawford's legal ordeal tells us about the need to get record court backlogs down. My analysis of David Lammy's plans for jury reform & why radical action *is* needed so that victims don't have to wait years for their day in court. For the i-paper:

Here’s one way Rachel Reeves can save money: get the Home Office to restructure the £19.9 billion police service in England & Wales. There are too many forces, too many overlapping layers, too much red tape. My thoughts for the Spectator : www.spectator.co.uk/writer/danny...

NEW The police service of England & Wales needs shaking up. Half of the 43 forces are struggling financially; some are planning deep cuts. Yet, inefficiencies are baked into the structure of policing - the time for mergers is now. My thoughts for the Spectator: www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-...

NEW If your phone, bike or car has been stolen and you’d like the culprit to be caught you’ll almost certainly be disappointed … Here are some ways to change that - through a radical rewiring of policing: For the i-paper: inews.co.uk/opinion/how-...

BREAKING Home Office is about to announce that police and crime commissioners are to be scrapped.. Established in 2012 by Theresa May, Labour has never been a fan of the PCC system…they’ll be replaced in 2028 by policing mayors & local policing boards ..

🎧NEW @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast - Royal trouble - Inquiry woe - Prisons crisis @dannyshaw.bsky.social joins @cathhaddon.bsky.social @cassiarowland.bsky.social & @alexgathomas.bsky.social to make sense of it all www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/pris...

Yesterday at PMQs, while Kemi Badenoch tried to score cheap points re 'grooming' gangs inquiry, away from cameras Jess Phillips was being applauded at parliamentary meeting on coercive control. Inquiry handling - poor. But removing Phillips would be big mistake. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I'm back on the IfG podcast! Great to welcome @dannyshaw.bsky.social to discuss just a few of the big home affairs stories dominating the news this week - as well as our new report. Have a listen! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/pris...

NEW Cases of murder & manslaughter in Eng/Wales down to lowest level since comparable records began, in 2002/3 - 518 homicides July 24-June 25 Police recorded: violence with injury, knife crime, robbery, gun crime also down But rape & shop theft at record levels From Office for National Statistics

NEW Why Met Police changes to Non-Crime Hate Incidents won’t make much difference… It’ll still rely on police judgement.. NCHIs will still be recorded .. And real crimes take up most police time.. My first piece for @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/opinion/grah...

NEW The Met Police firearms officer who fatally shot Jermaine Baker was finally cleared of misconduct - after 10 years. The case should not have been brought - & highlights the need for urgent reform of the system. My thoughts for the Spectator www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

NEW As MPs debate the collapse of the China 'spying' case, we need a full explanation... ...but it needs to come from the Crown Prosecution Service & Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson. My thoughts - no fee or subscription needed: www.dannyshaw.net/post/china-c...

NEW As MPs debate the collapse of the China 'spying' case, we need a full explanation... ...but it needs to come from the Crown Prosecution Service & Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson. My thoughts - no fee or subscription needed: www.dannyshaw.net/post/china-c...

NEW Parole hearing for David Norris, one of the men who murdered Stephen Lawrence, taught us 2 things: 1 Norris is nowhere near ready to be released 2 Support for victims remains poor in comparison with the efforts to help prisoners secure their freedom: www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...