In this episode of Joining the Dots, Thomas Drohan is joined by Rachael Herbert, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), to explore how economic crime is playing out closer to home than many people realise.

Rachael explains how money laundering, illicit finance and organised crime are increasingly embedded in everyday places – including the UK high street – and why tackling these threats requires a genuinely system-wide response. Using Operation Machinize as a case study, she unpacks how law enforcement, regulators, government and the private sector are working together to disrupt criminal networks, uncover hidden harms such as modern slavery, and generate intelligence at scale.

The conversation also looks beyond enforcement alone. Rachael reflects on the role of policy and legislation, the importance of trusted public–private partnerships, and how intelligence-led approaches can help organisations and authorities get further upstream of risk. Looking ahead, she shares her perspective on emerging threats – from crypto and synthetic identities to AI – and why local, community-level crime still matters in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.

This is a practical, grounded discussion for anyone working in economic crime, financial crime, regulation, security, or risk – and for anyone interested in how national strategies intersect with local realities.