The Crime Agents

Russell Brand has been on trial for nearly 3 weeks on multiple charges of rape and sexual assault. Brand denies all the charges against him, and this week he gave evidence in his own defence for the first time. Andy & Neil hear an extensive update from LBC reporter Helen Hoddinott, who has been covering the case at Southwark Crown Court, on the evidence the jury has heard so far.

Helen also explains how Brand presented himself when he appeared in the dock, and the three of them discuss whether there has been more media coverage of this trial than any other in recent memory.

Warning: this episode contains graphic allegations of serious sexual assault.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Introducing The Crime Agents Plus: the new subscription offering from The Crime Agents.

For £4.99 a month, you can listen to every episode of the podcast ad-free, plus you'll have access to exclusive monthly bonus episodes and a fortnightly newsletter.

Once a month, in the bonus episode of The Crime Agents Plus, Andy & Neil will take a deeper dive into a major crime story. They'll speak to special guests and go into more detail than they ever have time for in regular episodes to bring you insights you won't find anywhere else.

In the first episode of The Crime Agents Plus, they revisit the case of Lucy Letby. Speaking to a journalist who was in the courtroom for the longest murder trial in British history, and to the author of a bestselling book all about the case, Andy & Neil will look again at the question which divides the nation: is Letby the worst child killer in modern British history, or the victim of one of the worst miscarriages of justice of all-time?

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The Crime Agents is a Global production.

Tupac's killer first admitted his part in the crime years ago. So why did it take so long for him to be convicted?

The 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur became the most speculated-about killing in music history: a case surrounded by rumours and a conspiracy industry that has never gone away. But the man who investigated it says the answer was there long before a jury ever heard it.

In this episode, Andy and Neil are joined by former LAPD detective Greg Kading, who played a central role in the investigation into Tupac's death. He explains when the case first landed on his desk, what he inherited, and how the theories linking Tupac's murder to the killing of Notorious B.I.G. a few months later shaped his work.

Andy and Neil also press him on the hardest question in the case: Duane 'Keffe D' Davis effectively described his own role in the shooting years before his conviction. So why did it take so long for him to face justice? Greg also reflects on the moment the conviction finally came through, and whether he believes justice has now been done.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Protests across France have turned into riots in many parts of the country in recent weeks. Thousands of people have been arrested and more unrest is expected this weekend. So are organised criminal gangs behind this outbreak in looting, arson and attacks on police? Andy & Neil discuss how likely it is that they are involved - and whether Putin's Russia could also be to blame for fanning the flames of the recent protests.

They also look at the recent undercover investigation into Reform UK by ITV. The party has reported the broadcaster to police over the expose: so is this a legitimate complaint or a waste of police time? And could detectives even investigate Reform politicians over some of the racist language shown in the documentary?

Andy & Neil also discuss the controversial CPS murder prosecution of NX121 over the killing of Chris Kaba, and Neil reveals the best and worst police forces he's worked with around the world...

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Easter, 2015. A group of pensioners and grandfathers - which included some of Britain's most notorious and hardened criminals - attempt an audacious heist on the world's most famous jewellery quarter: London's Hatton Garden.

They made off with millions in gold, diamonds and other jewels, thinking they had pulled off the perfect crime. But gradually, the police investigation turned from 'Keystone Cops' into an exhaustive, years-long pursuit for the Met's renowned Flying Squad.

In this episode, Andy & Neil explain how the criminals' stories unravelled, how they turned on each other as rumours that one of them was a police informant grew, and how they were ultimately brought to justice. This is a tale of how what really would have been 'one last job' fell apart in spectacular fashion.

And they also ask the harder questions. Why does the public often see heists as victimless fun, when the men involved had links to a murdered police officer and other serious crime? Who were the real victims in Hatton Garden? And what unconventional techniques are used to catch and convict career thieves?

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

How do police investigate a sexual assault reported years - sometimes decades - after it happened? In light of the sexual assault trial involving Russell Brand in which he denies the allegations, Neil explains how detectives test a victim's credibility, why reporting it to anyone straight away can become powerful evidence in court and what can be done to encourage victims to seek justice.

Andy and Neil also take on prison overcrowding and whether more low-level offenders could simply be put under house arrest. The Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has warned of more than 100 tag breaches a day, with the vast majority of those caught simply released again. Is tagging a genuine punishment, or a system that's been handed to the police to prop up?

Plus: if you're innocent until proven guilty, why do suspects' names end up in the press? Neil explains the rare occasions police do release a name, Andy reveals why reporters often sit on names they already have, and they discuss how naming a charged suspect can bring more victims forward.

And finally, a question they couldn't resist: what frightens criminals more, armed police or dog units?

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

He was one of the most wanted men in Europe, with a $5 million US bounty on his head, living openly in Dubai for the last decade. Now Daniel Kinahan is in prison, facing a charge of directing a criminal organisation in the Irish courts.

In this special episode, Andy travels to Dublin to discover the rise of the Kinahan cartel, from its roots in Dublin and the violent Hutch-Kinahan feud to the empire it’s alleged to have built.

Andy's joined by Nicola Tallant, investigation editor of the Sunday World, to unpack Kinahan’s arrest in Dubai, his extradition and what’s next in the ongoing court case.

Kinahan denies the charges against him and an application for bail is to be made on his behalf.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

The ‘Putney Pusher’ case has resurfaced in recent months after an inquest into a suspect's death was opened… but after 9 years, we are still no closer to an ID on the suspect.

So what are the processes of the police in identification and could there be new clues uncovered after all this time? Andy and Neil answer your questions

Then: what it really takes to make a film like Andy's recent ‘London gangs special report’. What goes on behind the scenes and how many months of build up does it take to complete?

Plus, what is a serving officer obliged to do off duty? And how much of the law do you take into your personal life? Neil explains all on why the badge is a 24/7 responsibility.

And the case for prevention: Glasgow's decade-long experiment, youth workers waiting at hospital bedsides, and the chicken shop moment that explains what policing is really about.

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

In September 2022, a Met firearms officer shot and killed Chris Kaba. What followed divided the country: protests and grief on one side, a mass walkout of armed officers on the other, and in the middle, a murder trial almost unprecedented in British policing.

In this episode, Andy and Neil go back through what happened that night and what happened in court. Should the officer ever have been put on trial? Should jurors have known about Kaba's criminal history earlier? And can a split-second decision taken behind a gun ever be fairly judged months later in a courtroom?

With Neil's experience of signing off firearms operations at the highest level, and Andy's extensive contacts within the Met's firearms unit, this is the full story behind one of the most controversial police incidents of recent years - and how it has changed British policing forever.

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The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Arrests at an RAF base on suspicion of terrorist offences, then bail. For many people - including President Trump - this didn't add up. Andy and Neil start this Q&A by explaining what police bail actually is and why the five suspects weren't held on remand for longer. Plus, they examine the likelihood of a hostile state - such as Iran - being involved in whatever happened in Gloucestershire in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They also discuss whether the police can and should be doing any more to crack down on the activities of individuals such as Danny Tommo, who was recently charged with criminal damage after an incident in the Channel. And can any more be done to protect the RNLI, who are coming under increasing hostility from far-right activists?

Andy & Neil also respond to the news that Scotland Yard is re-examining CCTV in the Jill Dando case. How much can enhancement technology realistically pull out of such old tape — and 27 years on, what would detectives genuinely need to turn a blurred figure on a screen into a named suspect?

And Mick asks about the Parole Board's decision to hear Jon Venables' latest review in private, despite James Bulger's mother Denise Fergus asking for it to be held in public. She says secrecy fuels misinformation, so who is a private hearing really protecting? And should victims' families have a say in that call?

Have a question for a future Q&A? Send it via email to [email protected] or follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

The Crime Agents is a Global production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.