The Crime Agents
If you want to understand what’s really happening on Britain’s streets, you need to hear this. The Crime Agents, the new podcast from the makers of The News Agents, goes beyond the headlines to uncover the truth behind crime that affects all of us. Why is violence rising? Why is public trust in the police collapsing? And what’s really driving young people to kill each other? Hosted by two insiders who have spent their lives chasing the answers, this is your front-row seat to the realities of crime today. Neil Basu, the former Head of UK Counter-Terrorism Polici...
Episodes
The Crisis Room: Manchester terror attack - what happens next? - The Crisis Room
Today, Andy from The Crime Agents joined forces with fellow Global podcast The Crisis Room for a special episode to react to yesterday's terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester.If you'd like to hear more from The Crisis Room, find episod…
SPECIAL EPISODE: another crisis for the Met
In this emergency episode, Andy and Neil react to the shocking revelations in last night's Panorama, which exposed widespread racism, misogyny, and gratuitous use of violence within Charing Cross police station. Two years after the Metropol…
Is Stop and Search racist?
It's the debate which won't go away: is stop and search a vital tool for making our streets safer? Or is it a blunt, overused tactic which unfairly targets ethnic minorities? In this episode, Andy and Neil unpack exactly how stop and search…
How the UK’s drugs trade really works
The UK is the biggest consumer of illegal drugs in Europe. From the British Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, to Albanian gangs taking over in the last decade, and a crack cocaine epidemic in between, Andy and Neil tell the story of how this shoc…
Q&A: Why is it so hard to secure a rape conviction?
In this week's Q&A episode, Andy and Neil answer your questions on why the conviction rate for rape and other violence against women and girls is so low - and give their verdict on whether social media and the 'manosphere' is making it more…
SPECIAL REPORT: What really happened at Tommy Robinson's rally
Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march was supposed to be in the name of free speech.Around 150,000 people attended the protest in central London this weekend. The far right activist said he wanted it to be a family event with no violence…
The secret world of child terrorists
In the last year, a child has been arrested almost every week by counter-terrorism police. That's a record - but why is this happening? And who is trying to radicalise these children? In this special episode, Andy speaks exclusively to an u…
The real life Line of Duty: how to catch corrupt cops
If you've ever watched Line of Duty and wondered how realistic AC-12 really is, then this is the episode for you. For the first time, Neil takes us behind the scenes of his four years working in anti-corruption units - and reveals the impac…
'Two-tier' policing: are cops tougher on some protesters than others?
All summer, Britain's police have been kept busy by a range of protests. From demonstrations outside asylum hotels, to marches in support of Palestine Action, thousands of people have taken to the streets to make their voices heard from acr…
What’s the future of Notting Hill Carnival?
Notting Hill Carnival is Europe's biggest street festival. It's been a fixture of London's cultural scene for decades and it's attended by millions every August Bank Holiday. But the event also regularly attracts negative headlines, with se…
Q&A: Should police reveal suspects' ethnicities?
The Q&A is back! In this week's episode, Andy and Neil answer your questions on one of the major talking points from last week: an announcement of new guidance suggesting police should reveal the ethnicity of suspects in 'high-profile and s…
Cocaine and punching police horses: inside football hooliganism
You've seen The Football Factory and Green Street. You remember the chaotic scenes at Wembley for the Euro 2020 final. And for years you've heard hooliganism described as 'The English Disease'. But what is the reality of football hooliganis…
Policing, politics, prejudice: 30 years on the frontline
In this week's bonus episode, Andy quizzes Neil on some of the most memorable moments from his 30 year policing career. For example, Neil tells the harrowing story behind his most memorable murder case - the 2003 shooting of drug dealer Ton…
Inside a Manhunt: on the tail of an armed drug dealer
When a criminal goes on the run, what do police do to try and catch them? In this episode, Andy is given exclusive access to a Met Police firearms unit who are on the tail of an armed drug dealer. Listen to find out exactly what happens whe…
Broken justice: why criminals are getting away with it
Why are there 5 year backlogs in some of Britain's courts? Why are our prisons so full? And why doesn't any government seem interested in fixing the broken criminal justice system? In this week's episode, Neil and Andy look at who is to bla…
Is the far-right hijacking legitimate immigration protests?
Protesters gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping for a 5th time this weekend - and there were also demonstrations outside other migrant hotels in several more towns around the UK. Andy went to Epping to see the protest for himself - and…
Q&A: Were the Sycamore Gap vandals given too long a prison sentence?
Can it be right that the two men who needlessly felled the iconic Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall were sentenced to four years in prison? After all, that's the same as the minimum sentence for someone convicted of rape. That's one of th…
How to foil a terror plot
No one ever forgets a terror attack. But what about the dozens which are foiled at the last minute? Or the threats which are stopped in their tracks months before they can become a reality? In this episode, Neil reveals the most memorable a…
Q&A: Should Shamima Begum be allowed back in the UK?
Neil and Andy address the controversial issue of Shamima Begum, and whether it's right that she was stripped of her British citizenship, in this week's bonus episode. Neil recalls the moment when the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid interrup…
Death threats and the bomb squad: infiltrating the far-right
Andy is one of only a very small number of journalists to have successfully gone undercover and infiltrated the far-right. In this episode, he reveals for the first time what happened when the group found out his true identity - and why he …
Q&A: Were the police and journalists too cosy during the Lucy Letby trial?
One year ago, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies while working as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Many believe she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice - and in this week's bonus episode, Neil and Andy ans…
Mission creep: Why are Britain’s police forces at breaking point?
Police officers are increasingly forced to spend their time doing jobs they were never meant to - and that other public services are simply too stretched to respond to. This week, Neil and Andy discuss the intervention by Britain's top cop,…
Face to face with a terror group
Palestine Action – the extreme activist group that infiltrates and vandalises military sites and defence firms - is to become a banned terrorist organisation. But very little is known about its members or supporters.The Crime Agents host an…
Inside gangs: Why are children killing each other?
In this week’s episode of The Crime Agents, investigative journalist Andy Hughes reveals the inner workings of Britain’s most violent street gangs.He’s joined by his co-host Neil Basu, ex Assistant Commissioner at the Metropolitan Police. H…
Exclusive - The convicted terrorists living on our streets
In the very first episode of The Crime Agents, investigative journalist Andy Hughes reveals exclusively how hundreds of convicted terrorists have been released from UK jails over the past two decades, and are now living among us, many of wh…
Face to face with a terrorist: the inside story of tracking down an extremist
In the first bonus episode of The Crime Agents, Andy takes us inside the high-stakes hunt for convicted terrorist Abdalraouf Abdallah, and reveals what happened behind the scenes when they came face to face in Manchester. Neil questions And…
Revealed: Hundreds of terrorists roaming Britain's streets 20 years after 7/7
As the twenty year anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London approaches, Andy Hughes reveals the shocking number of convicted terrorists who have been released from prison in the last two decades. Incredibly, hundreds of these criminals refu…
Introducing: The Crime Agents
Meet Neil Basu and Andy Hughes - aka The Crime Agents. Neil is a former top police officer and Andy is an investigative journalist who's been covering crime for two decades. In this podcast, from the makers of The News Agents, they'll go be…