On 12 March, Dr Kristian Gustafson of the Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies went to the Metropolitan Police Service in London to assist the Firearms Enquiry Team, and FETs from around the country, to produce and field better structured techniques to investigate certain aspects of firearms crime. The aim was to provide a structured, evidence-based process by which Police can detect and prevent theft from or smuggling by firearms dealers. Dr. Kristian Gustafson ran the session with help from colleagues in the National Crime Agency and the MPS firearms enquiry team—Dr Roger Arditti, a former Brunel student!
In the photo here, MA Intelligence and Security Studies (MAISS) student Ms. Madeleine Beckett is working in a syndicate with police from London and around the country, producing a series of “indicators & warnings” based on a real case of organised theft from a firearms dealer. Students from the MAISS often get opportunities to interact or work with intelligence analysts from the government and private sector, either in workshops like this, through internships, or in presentations from professionals in the field. Maddy felt that the day was really beneficial in giving her a deeper understanding of how the techniques she’s been taught on her MA are deployed in real life by analsyts.