Killers and sex offenders were being lined up for early release later this year - until new PM Andy Burnham paused the scheme. Was that the right call? Can letting people convicted of serious offences out after half their sentence ever be justified? Andy & Neil debate the government's options as it scrambles for a short-term fix to Britain's never-ending prisons crisis.

They also ask what police can realistically do about the depressing spike in domestic abuse that accompanies every major football tournament, and Neil explains how Russian spies tracked down Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, even though neither police nor MI5 knew where he was living.

Plus: can having a criminal parent stop you joining the police? And Andy shares tips for young reporters trying to build trusted law enforcement sources.

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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.

You've seen the Hollywood movies - but what is hostage negotiation really like?

John Sutherland spent decades as one of the Met Police's most accomplished crisis negotiators. In this episode, he gives Andy and Neil the inside track: how it feels to have a life in your hands, what you actually say in those moments, and how he coped when things didn't go to plan.

From talking down hostage-takers armed with suicide vests and flamethrowers, to helping ordinary people through the worst day of their lives, John reveals the reality behind the role most of us only know from the big screen.

Later, he also explains how the job almost broke him, and how he rebuilt his life as a Sunday Times best-selling author and novelist.

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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.

A 14-year-old boy was recently charged with terrorism offences. Were Andy and Neil surprised? Less than you might think. They explain what's behind the trend in terror suspects getting younger and why it should worry us.

They also take on the new Hillsborough Law, which legally compels institutions to tell the truth in public inquiries. What does it say about policing and public bodies that the government felt this law was necessary? Neil has his say.

They also discuss why the World Cup saw so little hooliganism and why Trump's ICE agents kept such a low profile during the tournament.

Plus, they reveal how long police keep your fingerprints on record, and they look at whether the Met is right to force experienced, specialist officers back onto the beat; is this another move that will damage morale in the ranks?

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.

Many people called it an act of war. The 2018 Salisbury Poisonings remains one of the most infamous criminal cases in British history - and Neil was the man who led the investigation.

In this episode, he reveals how police, the security services and MI6 worked together to identify the Russian agents who carried out the Novichok attack, and why he still lives in hope of bringing them to justice.

But should the local police and MI5 have known that former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was living an apparently normal life in Salisbury? Andy challenges Neil on whether the failure to flag his presence was a justifiable decision or a dangerous blind spot.

Plus, they explain what you'll learn from the new CNN documentary The Salisbury Poisonings: The Spy Next Door, in which Neil plays a prominent role.

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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 UK government has finally proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, but what does that actually mean in practice? Andy and Neil break down what labelling the IRGC a terror group gives police and security services the power to do, and whether it will make any real difference.

Neil also explains why Counter Terror Police may have taken over the Ann Widdecombe investigation, and reveals whether the Met's famous Flying Squad are still armed and operational.

Plus: should police tell the public more or less about ongoing investigations? Andy makes the case for how forces can rebuild public trust through better communication.

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.

Counter-Terrorism Police have confirmed that the killing of Ann Widdecombe was a 'targeted attack'. So how does an investigation like this actually work? Why did it take days for CT Policing to take over from Devon & Cornwall? And why did the local force publicly rule out a political motive, only to reverse that position 24 hours later?

In this special episode, Andy and Neil break down what we know, examine how the investigation has been handled, and ask whether MPs and public figures need more protection than they're currently getting.

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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 leader of the Rochdale grooming gang has been freed after just 14 years - and the government says it can't deport him. Andy and Neil dissect how Shabir Ahmed ended up back on British streets, discuss why the case has provoked such fury, and give their view on what should happen to him now.

They also ask whether justice has finally been served after two teenage boys who raped young girls in Hampshire were given custodial sentences on appeal. Plus, Andy explains why rapists are often given such short prison sentences, and Neil gives his view on whether sex offenders should ever be eligible for the government's early release scheme.

Later, Andy reveals whether his undercover reporting has ever put him in enough danger to need close protection.

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.

On 22 May 2013, Fusilier Lee Rigby was murdered in broad daylight on a London street. His killers didn't flee, they waited, bloodied weapons in hand, and spoke to camera. It remains one of the most shocking terrorist attacks on British soil.

Neil was a Met police commander in southeast London that day. He reveals what happened inside the Met's leadership team in the minutes after the attack, why it took 15 minutes for armed officers to arrive, and what the footage of those officers' response tells us about the reality of policing.

Together, Andy and Neil examine the uncomfortable questions this case still raises: How were both attackers already known to MI5? Why was hate preacher Anjem Choudary allowed to radicalise young men for decades before being stopped? Should the media have broadcast a terrorist's self-made martyrdom video? And how did the murder of one soldier become the launchpad for a national far-right movement?

Andy was in the newsroom when the infamous footage first surfaced, and at the EDL rally in Newcastle three days later when Tommy Robinson exploited Lee Rigby's death to galvanise thousands. This is the story of how one act of terror fractured British society in ways we're still living with today.

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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.

Should a police commissioner publicly criticise the mayor who holds him to account? Sir Mark Rowley did exactly that after Sadiq Khan blocked the Met from working with Palantir, the AI company built on CIA technology. Neil explains the unwritten rules of police leadership, and why he understands the intervention, even if it breaks their relationship.

Andy also responds to a listener who asks: why didn't he go straight to MI5 when he uncovered intelligence connected to the Manchester Arena bombing? He explains where the line sits between investigative journalism and national security, and what he'd do differently now.

Plus, how shows like 24 Hours in Police Custody actually get made, why most police forces say no to cameras, and what Neil learned when a documentary crew followed his murder squad around for ten months. And finally, if Andy had to join the police, would he pick up a detective's notebook or join the armed response unit?

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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.

Valdo Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He'd been arrested and sectioned for violent offences multiple times. He was known to carry knives. And yet on a June morning in 2023, he was free to roam the streets of Nottingham, where he killed three innocent people.

In this episode, Emma Webber - mother of 19-year-old victim Barnaby - tells Andy and Neil about her fight for answers. She reveals how the families discovered the deaths were preventable, the litany of failures by police and mental health services that left Calocane free to kill, and her fury that not a single person has been held accountable for the errors that cost Barnaby, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates their lives.

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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.

Andy Burnham looks to be on the cusp of becoming the next Prime Minister. In this Q&A episode, Andy and Neil reveal how police work out which politicians need close protection, and whether Burnham will automatically be getting extra security now he's back in Parliament.

Plus, a knife attack in Edinburgh reportedly targeted Muslims and left five people injured, so why didn't it get more news coverage? Andy explains how newsrooms decide which stories lead the agenda, while Neil asks the uncomfortable question: would this have received more attention if the alleged attacker was Muslim and the victims were white?

They also give their verdict on Peter Murrell's five-year sentence for embezzling SNP funds, and debate whether fraudsters like him deserve space in our overcrowded prisons.

And in the shocking case of a child allegedly thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a Cambridgeshire zoo, Andy and Neil explain why a suspect arrested on suspicion of attempted murder might still be granted bail.

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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.