My evening with the London Met Police Commissioner

An activist, with her own vivid personal experiences of London policing, meets the man in charge: Bernard Hogan-Howe, the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

By Open democracy

/ 9 Dec 2011

Keeping our spies under scrutiny

The British government is proposing to introduce controls over the security forces. Peter Evans, formerly an investigative journalist on The Times, questions whether they go deep enough to be effective.

By Open democracy

/ 6 Dec 2011

The History of Police Militarization in the US

On Monday, November 28, 2011, students at UC-Davis occupied Dutton Hall, the University's financial center, and held an all-day teach-in. openDemocracy's Charles Shaw was one of the featured speakers. Here is his talk, "The History of Police Militarization in the US."

By Open democracy

/ 1 Dec 2011

'Fuck the police!' Working-class youth and the routine abuse of power

For many, the 'boys in blue' are a brutal force who use their powers to punish and wreak revenge. England's riots began with an explosion of anger towards the police - so why is this issue not being addressed?

By Open democracy

/ 16 Sep 2011

Sandwiches, Red Bull and Public Support: police officers talk about England's riots

A fortnight after a peaceful protest against the shooting dead of Mark Duggan sparked four days of rioting across urban England, police officers tell their stories of violence, sleep deprivation and acts of kindness

By Open democracy

/ 20 Aug 2011

'Police prevarication sparked the UK's Tottenham riots'

After the police shot a man dead in London last week, they showed disregard for the feelings of his family, which led to some of the worst rioting in the city in over a decade, says community activist Stafford Scott

By Open democracy

/ 8 Aug 2011

Campus counter-terrorism: student-led or top-down?

The issue of counter-terrorism in Britain's universities has been raised again as the government finally publishes its review of the 'Prevent' strategy. The director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy argues for a holistic approach.

By Open democracy

/ 16 Jun 2011

Tactical Questioning: Scenes from the Baha Mousa Enquiry

A review of Tricycle Theatre's dramatisation of the public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, an innocent Iraqi citizen, at the hands of the British military

By Open democracy

/ 15 Jun 2011

Beating the Retreat: how much longer for Britain’s child soldiers?

As the Armed Forces Bill reaches its final stages, we have one last chance to stop Britain recruiting under 18s

By Rachel Taylor

/ 14 Jun 2011

The fiery birth of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy: England's Summer of Discontent, ten years on

As the UK government reviews its counter-terrorism, counter-radicalisation strategy, Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Robert Lambert argue that a panicked reading of the events of summer 2001 - the attacks on the twin towers and communal riots in the north of England - have set the tone of a divisive an

By Open democracy

/ 3 Jun 2011

The security sector: an awkward space for engagement

Alongside powerful arguments against militarism, we are hearing an increasingly significant voice from within the security sector, including women in uniform, working on ways to improve the security sector’s own understanding and response to issues of women’s rights and security. Jessica Horn repo

By Jessica Horn

/ 25 May 2011

Perpetuation and perpetration: the momentum of violence

So many armed men began their lives as victims of loss and grief. So many have gone on to become the source of bereavement for others. Trying to understand how soldiers make this transformation is crucial to understanding how violence is perpetrated in conflict. Jocelyn Kelly writes from the Nobel

By Open democracy

/ 25 May 2011

Security sector reform - a global challenge