When Andy Murdoch went from professional football player to polis his club, Partick Thistle, tried to get the police to pay a £50k transfer fee! Strangely enough, Strathclyde Police insisted on a free transfer and there he rose through the ranks, spending time as a trainer at the Scottish Police College and eventually become a superintendent, retiring from the Contact, Command & Control division (also known as C3). Since retiring he has been chair of the Partick Thistle’s Former Players Association and remains a respected figure in both Scottish football and policing communities.

The SFQ podcast speaks to its first member of police staff - Angela Blair, formerly National Productions Manager with Police Scotland. What are productions? Basically, all the property that gets seized by the polis, about 500,000 items a year. How does it do that? What does it do with all those bricks and how was Angela involved in a previous Oasis concert in Scotland?

If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:
 
 https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

Hear how Retired Chief Inspector Andy Brown went from a career in the highlands of Scotland to successfully negotiating a hostage release with the Taliban as part of his work with the Jesuit Brotherhood, in addition to his time spent studying negotiation in the United States as a Fullbright Scholar.

You can find Andy's 'The Right Path' website here:

https://www.the-right-path.com

If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:
 
 https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

Hear how Jonathan Wender went from a 20 year career as a 'philosopher cop' in Washington to leading academic on the subject of police-public communication. He describes his groundbreaking work using AI to analyse body worn camera footage to reduce the likelihood of conflict. Is this something Police Scotland should consider when it finally gets around to using BWV?

Also - the shocking story of Polis Dug Zara.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/young-police-dog-zara-put-34552686

If you want to know more about Jonathan's work, you can find his website at the following link:

https://www.polis-solutions.ai

If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:
 
 https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

Former Strathclyde Police/Police Scotland detective Stuart Hall describes how he discovered the identity of the murderer of Emma Caldwell in 2005 and how this derailed his career when he went against his bosses - who had a different suspect. It would take nearly 20 years for Stuart to be proved right.  
 
If you want to know more about the murder of Emma Caldwell, you can watch Disclosure: Who Killed Emma:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0002w1m/disclosure-series-1-8-disclosure-who-killed-emma

Alternatively, you can listen to the Who Killed Emma podcast on BBC Sounds:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p09bxhkf

 
If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:
 
 https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie


Stuart was able to get help from Police Care UK. If you are unable to get help through your own organisation, are a retired officer or a family member, you can contact them here:

https://www.policecare.org.uk/get-help-now/

Join me for the second part of my chat with former Police Scotland superintendent and terrorism expert Dr Martin Gallagher. In this episode, we discuss what causes people to take part in terrorist acts.

Here is a link to Martin's website:

https://www.kilmailingconsulting.com

If you want to buy Martin's book, you can follow this link:

https://amzn.eu/d/4yQXagG

If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

Why do people become terrorists? Former Police Scotland superintendent, Martin Gallagher, has become an expert on this subject, publishing his book 'Terror for Profit' earlier this year. In this episode, Martin describes his police career and reflects not he current state of policing.

Here is a link to Martin's website:

https://www.kilmailingconsulting.com

If you want to buy Martin's book, you can follow this link:

https://amzn.eu/d/4yQXagG

If you are interested in talking to the host, Andy, about CBT therapy, you can contact him here:

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

What happens when someone dies as a result of the police use of force?

Following on from the previous episode, former Police Scotland Chief Firearms Instructor, Scott Williamson, discusses post incident management, the promotion process, offers advice to those officers considering a career in firearms and his gravestone cleaning business.

Here is Scott’s Linkedin profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-williamson-dip-pslm-30294bba/

Scott’s business website

www.gravecarescotland.com

Post Incident Procedures

If you want to know more about post incident procedures, read the guidance from the College of Policing

Post-deployment | College of Policing

Police Firearms Officers Association

https://www.pfoa.co.uk

Andy's contact details for those considering CBT

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

From his first operational incident at the scene of the Dunblane Primary School shooting, to his final post as Chief Firearms Officer for Police Scotland, firearms have bookmarked Scott Williamson's police career. He describes it in this episode, alongside his account of searching a rubbish tip for a murder victim's body and working at Kamp Van Zeist in the Netherlands for the trial of those responsible for the Pan Am bombing at Lockerbie.

Here is Scott’s Linkedin profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-williamson-dip-pslm-30294bba/

BBC News article about Police Scotland BWV

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8n07dje64o

Police Firearms Officers Association

https://www.pfoa.co.uk

‘No Ordinary Day’ By Matt Johnson and John Murray

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ordinary-Day-Espionage-terrorism-corruption/dp/1802471448/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fW4Cm8xQElrOUr0IaTGYbwSRHhZ1YwXW6zYsuK8NqEvOZZCq8IqKZtXrpuIlJcsZh8gmstzIa3jiOeaOr7mjoWOY_Fpv_WutCsq67E_mF_NQfB1njt-Xy8D9pcjgM4ic8LZMZBc63lCk02wP9wUZvhy_ndoNbdTkU4XxRrsYiMlSzpy89NZGRMdelrY7BTACL2_Ybxt6-XNgCwujl2QTbbGvVnFiOTUaSCFjj_qFAec.9tFA5CJaPw26-rMkopr6FasPzBlX8g4z2t1zfCe4CME&dib_tag=se&keywords=no+ordinary+day&qid=1726154865&sr=8-1

Andy's contact details for those considering CBT

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie

In this episode we hear more from psychological therapist Rachel Rogers about her plans for future work in the sphere of police mental health and a brief discussion regarding Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing therapy, which has proved to be a highly effective treatment for PTSD and complex PTSD.

Rachel’s website for Phoenix Trauma Solutions

https://phoenixtraumasolutions.co.uk

Police Treatment Centres

https://www.thepolicetreatmentcentres.org

BACP EMDR therapy video

https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/eye-movement-desensitisation-and-reprocessing-emdr/

EMDR UK

https://emdrassociation.org.uk/discover-emdr/

Police Care UK

https://www.policecare.org.uk

PTSD Awareness - Police Care UK

https://youtu.be/Fg6T3n8etWw?si=7tCVLfI7woVQvEKd


Andy's contact details for those considering CBT

https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/andy-fairie