EP 198: Limbs in the Loch — The Clues That Caught a Killer, with Former Police Detective Alan Cotton

I've mentioned this, uh, before talking to other amazing guests, and I specifically talked to Lord Toby Harris, and what was funny about the conversation was obviously I was pitching him to come onto The Security Circle Podcast, and he was, "Yeah, email me." Uh, that's kind of what his voice is like.

But he specifically works on preparedness for war.

In terms of community, so community sentiment, you know, the engagement of our young people into, you know, joining the military, the preparedness for our communities to hear what the current threats are, to hear how to be informed, because I think you have to want to hear how to be informed.

He actually accused me of lobbying him actually, [laughs] which I thought was hilarious.

I never thought, "Oh, I'll go in and lobby a lord," because that's-

Got wrecked

... [laughs] but he clearly got my pitch.

But preparedness, it doesn't just include communities, it includes businesses and organizations and, you know, groups of people that arrange and support and organize.

I, I don't know about you, but I just don't feel at the moment, even if you look at our policing and the recent cases we've had, and our judicial system has had significant challenges.

You're another security professional, this is a bit left of bang, you won't be expecting this question, but when you look at preparedness and community preparedness, and the erosion of confidence in our police force, and now the erosion of confidence in our judicial system, just feels, it feels like an even more trepidatious time when you think about all of the wider threats there are that you've just mentioned that we are now kind of having to consider.

Yeah.

I think society and policing in particular faces a real, they're at a real impasse at the minute because was there a need for modernization and...

Absolutely.

Have they over-corrected? In my opinion, I think very much so.

And in the UK, we are fortunate to be, to be policed by consent, and it's always been that way since Robert Peel times.

Uh, hence the fact that we have, uh, relatively few firearms officers in, in, compared to the likes of the America and different things like that.

Yeah.

Uh, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to change that, but society's changing, the makeup of society's ch- the, the demography of society is changing.

The way people, uh, ex- the way people are educated now as well is very different because in years gone by, if a teacher said jump, or a doctor gave you information, you would've taken that as read.

Now every- now everyone is, uh, Googles it, or ChatGPT or any other, other devices and, and platforms are available.

Uh, people are able to check the veracity of, of, uh, information now.

So that, that in itself is a challenge.

But also I think policing has, sadly in my opinion, deteriorated to a, a really sad position now, and I don't...

People often ask me if I miss the police, and, and I, I miss the people and I miss the camaraderie, but I don't really miss the organization, and I certainly would not go back now to the way policing is.

I think there's been a dearth of common sense appointments in policing over the years.