OPINION: The August Bank Holiday weekend saw huge crowds at the Notting Hill Carnival, and while many were there to celebrate, others were intent on violence, with eight stabbings, two fatalities, more than 50 police officers injured, and 334 arrests; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now Managing Director of the Public Safety Foundation, believe it’s time to take a new approach to making the event safer.

OPINION: When a social media post earlier this month announced Met Police Commander Karen Findlay as the new Assistant Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, the response included a barrage of misogynistic and homophobic comments that drew strong criticism from the leaders of both forces and many other senior officers; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now host of the Protect and Serve podcast, believes more could and should be done to protect officers from online abuse.

OPINION: The ‘New Met for London’ plan is an ambitious turnaround framework for the UK’s largest force, in the wake of a series of critical reports and concerns around performance and public confidence; but former police officer Oliver Laurence, now a consultant and host of the Protect and Serve podcast, fears that poor communications – both internal and external – could derail the plan before it has chance to make real progress.

OPINION: Policing in the UK and internationally seemingly struggles to find the best approach to using social media, with forces and officers either criticised for not being proactive enough, or drawn into controversy as situations go viral; former police officer Oliver Laurence, now a policing consultant, looks at some of the recent challenges that have faced the UK’s largest force in its use of Twitter and X (caution this article contains content that may upset some readers).

OPINION: The recent killing of London schoolgirl Elianne Andam, who died after being stabbed on a Croydon street while on her way to school, has once again prompted lengthy debate around knife crime; former police officer Oliver Laurence, who grew up in Croydon, shares his thoughts on what can be done to tackle the crisis – including listening to the views of those with first-hand experience of knife crime in their community, such as AJ Wright.