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The Crime Agents

Q&A: Police 'Honeytraps' & should parents go to prison for their kids' crimes?

6/1/202625 min

Should parents ever be held criminally responsible for the actions of their children? In the wake of the inquiry into the Southport murders, the government is considering whether parents who fail to act on serious warning signs should, in some cases, face prosecution. Andy and Neil debate whether that would be a fair and effective change in the law, or a step too far.

They also revisit one of Britain’s most notorious police investigations: the undercover “honeytrap” operation used against Colin Stagg after the murder of Rachel Nickell. Would controversial tactics like that still be used today?

Plus, Andy gives a firm answer on whether prisoners should have the vote, and he & Neil share some of the most bizarre moments from their careers - including how Andy ended up appearing in an episode of Top Boy.

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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.

Clips

Eight-Year-Old Saves Murder Victim
Thrall to Tech Billionaires
Parents Terrified, Still Accountable
No Vote for Prisoners

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Andy Hughes· Host0:01

    [upbeat music] This is a Global Player original podcast.

  2. Neil Basu· Host0:05

    The collapsing house of cards that led to this murderous spree was started really by the neglect of the parents.

  3. Andy Hughes· Host0:12

    They knew that this boy was dangerous, and we know that because they told AR's older brother not to come home from university.

  4. Neil Basu· Host0:19

    This is a kid who should've been going to Oxbridge, and they were very close to going to Belmarsh.

  5. Andy Hughes· Host0:24

    It was very clear that the parents themselves were absolutely terrified.

  6. Neil Basu· Host0:28

    We're not policing that. We're not parenting that.

  7. Andy Hughes· Host0:30

    Mm.

  8. Neil Basu· Host0:30

    We're in thrall to seven tech billionaires, and we've got trouble.

  9. Andy Hughes· Host0:34

    People who are in our prisons represent some of the worst people in our society, so why should they have a right to vote?

  10. Neil Basu· Host0:41

    On balance, the more we've talked this through, the more I don't like it.

  11. Andy Hughes· Host0:44

    [gentle music] The Crime Agents. Hello, and welcome to this Q&A episode of The Crime Agents with me, crime journalist Andy Hughes.

  12. Neil Basu· Host0:53

    And me, the ex-cop Neil Basu.

  13. Andy Hughes· Host0:54

    Well, the questions have been flooding in this week, Neil, so thanks for all those, everyone. Uh, let's start with Pauline on Facebook. "What do you think of the government's plan to potentially imprison parents if their kids break the law?" Yeah, this was in the news last week, wasn't it, Neil?

  14. Neil Basu· Host1:11

    It was.

  15. Andy Hughes· Host1:12

    Um, and this was really came about because of the case of the Southport attacker.

  16. Neil Basu· Host1:18

    Yeah.

  17. Andy Hughes· Host1:19

    When the inquiry found that the parents, um, could have done more, and there were several red flags that they didn't alert the authorities of. Um, what do you think?

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