The Inside Counter Terrorism Policing podcast highlights the work women are doing to keep the public safe from terrorism and protect the UK’s national security.
For security reasons, the majority of counter terrorism policing officers and staff cannot talk about their work in detail. This is the first time those working on the frontline are speaking in this format.
Hosted by Amy, Head of Media at Counter Terrorism Policing, the show takes listeners behind the scenes to reveal the untold stories of working in counter terrorism.
The podcast does the impossible and speaks about things that aren’t usually discussed in public. To do so safely, the women’s names have been changed. The voices, however, are real. Listeners will hear directly from women doing these jobs first hand.
Over five episodes listeners will hear from women who work in intelligence, investigations, forensics, countering extreme right-wing terrorism and human intelligence.
Speaking about their professional journeys and the reasons they got into working in policing, they openly discuss the realities of the job: “I’m having to deal with some of the worst people in society and some people that are planning on doing potentially some really horrific things.”
The highest stakes: “That decision about when to arrest them – a day too soon, a day too late – it can be down to the wire.”
And the best bits of the job: “It’s absolutely fascinating… it’s made me a better person.”
Already published episodes include:
- “Emma”, a counter terrorism human source handler, who talks about the importance of human intelligence when tackling terrorist plots
- “Jo”, an officer in one of the Counter Terrorism Policing’s strategic intelligence teams, who specialises in identifying emerging trends in extreme right-wing terrorism
- “Jess” who as a senior investigating officer has led high-profile terrorism investigations
- “Heidi”. Heidi spent the first part of her career as a teacher – an experience with transferable skills which helped her in her new job as Intelligence Assessor. She now plays a crucial role turning information from the public into intelligence to stop terrorist activity.
Still to come on Thursday April 3rd is “Cassandra”. Cassandra has 40 years of experience in one of the most specialised areas of policing; one of the most familiar to true crime fans. Now one of counter terrorism policing’s most senior forensics experts, she honed her skills investigating crime scenes across the UK and, as she describes it, “giving voice to those who no longer have one.”
Season one of Inside Counter Terrorism Policing is available now with new episodes released on Thursdays.
