Rio police launch major assaults on favelas

Police respond to attacks by the Red Commando drug gangs. Let's hope they have the personnel to succeed. There will be more on this in the coming days

How secure is your University City?

As my old fellow student Lucy Hodges points out, Universities in the UK are not compelled to collect statistics on or report crime against students or within Universities. They are in the USA.

Another one of the UK's dirty little secrets? University authorities don't want this studied because they don't want any negative publicity. But how can you make policy against it unless you have empirical data about what's going on?

New Edition of Standing Group on Organised Crime Newsletter released!

4 articles and loads of news. Particularly note the information on the Third SGOC Summer School, this time in Macedonia

Qaeda Branch aimed for broad damage at low cost

Article released in al Qaeda English language journal, Inspire. Cost of recent operation to place bombs in cargo planes: $4,200...Impact on security costs for shippers and courier services: priceless.

Labour got balance wrong on civil liberties, says Balls

90 day detention for "terrorist" suspects too long. Labour should back cutting back to 14 days. But still likes the DNA database and CCTV...Dont think he understands the concept of civil liberties at all. We should follow the police and security services. Ed. You still havent "got it". Civil liberties are absolute values, not relative ones, in a democracy. You're allying your self with the "terrorists" to undermine Western democracy [Discuss].

Reports warn of attack on Reichstag

BKA and FBI excited. CIA, BND and BfV not quite so excited.

Justice Minister warns against exploiting terror

ken Clarke, are you listening?

Under fire, foreclosure king resigns

Apparently Mother Jones was exposing this guy a while ago. Rolling Stone late on the scene.

Courts helping Banks Screw over Homeowners

Big article in Rolling Stone alleging wholesale fraud in Florida in foreclosure actions against homeowners. Big banks named. Shocking. UK next? ....watch this space

The making of a dissident movement

The creation of an alliance between the experienced and disillusioned members of the Provisional IRA in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland and the youth of the "sink estates" to recreate terrorism. read veterans of Afghanistan and Bosnia and their alliances with Muslim youth in various British sink estates and elsewhere, with no career prospects. and we're surprised we have a problem?

Who was Gareth Williams?

More importantly, who killed him, why and how? Presumably the intelligence services will one day make up a story and leak it through their people on the Sunday Times. What's the message in the way he was killed? Why didnt someone come back and take the bag away? This article suggests he may have been looking at organised crime groups. Disinformation?

Cannabis haul disovered after strong winds blow doors off Kirkby Lock-up

Merseyside again. Photo gallery of 2,000 plant farm.

27 held after drug gang raids

Liverpool in the news again! But SOCA involved this time, too.

Silvio Berlusconi's allies "helping Mafia spread across Italy"

'Ndragheta alleged to be courting Northern League by Roberto Saviano, anti-Mafia activist.

Coalition U-turn over FSA crime powers

I'm not clear whether this is a good thing, a bad thing, or more divide and rule by the City

Warning over anti-virus cold calls to UK internet users

Organised crime now runs call centres. Don't buy anything on the telephone!

Al Qaeda's "Sword of Justice" and the coming war of attrition with the west

Cheerful thoughts for a Friday afternoon. What al Qaeda's head of operations in the West may be planning for us all.

CFTC eyes new powers to police algorithmic trading

This was the article that started me off. Who is seeking powers to police the software used to analyse crime-related databases?

That would be nobody, wouldnt it? Organised crime is nasty, so things to defeat it dont need policing...right?

One for the geeks

This is an insight into what I really need to know to start writing the definitive article on "the computer in the dock"

When does a rogue become a scoundrel?

More on algorithms running riot unsupervised...

Stock Exchanges at risk from rogue trading algorithms?

Ive submitted something to the Newsletter on the computer in the dock and thought I had pasted these stories earlier. Since I couldnt find them when I was rewriting it, I'm reposting. I keep thinking Ive posted stories lately when I appear to have failed...Alzheimer's or external intervention? Yeah, I know. Its incompetence!
Anyway, the Stock Market fined Credit Suisse for failing to control its trading algorith recently. Now Ive been burbling about databases and software for the last 10 years, but no-one ever listens. Algorithms have a life of their own...and the innocent have lots to fear!

Drug gang leaders held following Garda "super raid"

Article from the Irish Times gives some detail on biggest organised crime groups in Ireland.

Devon company director jailed over £1 million in car

£380,000 of the money linked to the £53 million Securitas robbery in Kent, February 2006.

The benefits of popping into the pub and picking up the local paper! I wouldnt have spotted this otherwise.

Al qaida and the fragmented global islamic militancy

Thoughtful piece, reminding us once again that "terrorism" is not a Weberian bureaucratic pyramid. Put it on the wall, PhD students!

Nuclear Bomb Material found for sale on Georgian Black market

18 grams offered by two Armenians with promise of more to follow. Sting operation netted it. The world will sleep uneasily tonight...