Senior law enforcement leaders publish Serious and Organised Crime white paper
The University of Huddersfield, in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Home Office, has published a new White Paper following the Senior Leaders’ Roundtable held at the 3rd Annual NPCC SOC Local Conference.
The paper, titled: ‘Reframing the Response to Serious and Organised Crime: Nationally Developed, Locally Delivered’ captures the insights and reflections of senior leaders from policing, government, prisons, and partner agencies who came together to examine how the response to Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) must evolve in the years ahead.
Hosted at the University of Huddersfield on 16 April 2026, the conference brought together representatives from across UK policing, Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), the Home Office, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), national policing portfolios.
The closed Senior Leaders’ Roundtable was co-chaired by Chief Constable Steve Jupp, former NPCC Lead for Serious and Organised Crime, and Professor John Synnott, Director of the Research Centre for Defence, Security and Leadership at the University of Huddersfield.
The session was facilitated by Detective Superintendent Andy Farrell, NPCC SOC Local Programme Lead. The roundtable was deliberately designed to move beyond surface-level discussion and create an open and candid environment where leaders could critically examine current approaches and explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration.
Local communities bear the brunt of Serious and Organized Crime
The resulting White Paper highlights a clear and consistent message throughout the discussion: while SOC is increasingly global, technologically enabled, and networked, its impact is most acutely experienced within communities.
The paper argues that the response must therefore remain locally delivered, supported by nationally coordinated strategy, capability, and partnership structures.
Key themes emerging from the report include:
- The need to strengthen further local ownership and delivery of the SOC response
- Increased alignment between national capability and local demand
- The importance of sustained partnership working and prevention-focused approaches
- The growing complexity of networked criminality
- The recognition that prisons and communities must continue be viewed as interconnected
The publication also recognises that while challenges remain, effective practice already exists across policing and partner agencies, and future reform should seek to strengthen and scale what is already working well.
The White Paper has been developed through thematic analysis of the roundtable discussion and reflects a collective synthesis of perspectives shared during the session. The publication coincides with the release of the official conference video, showcasing highlights from the event and reinforcing the importance of partnership-led approaches to tackling serious and organised crime.
See highlights and key messages from the SOC event at the University of Huddersfield.
DCC Wendy Gunney, NPCC Lead for Serious and Organised Crime, said in response to the publication of the white paper, “As NPCC Lead for Serious and Organised Crime, I welcome this White Paper as a timely and authoritative contribution to ongoing discussions on policing reform and system design. It provides a clear framework for aligning ownership, capability and partnership effort to where harm occurs and sets out practical priorities to move from insight to action. Where harm hits home, our response must do the same. This publication offers a clear direction for doing so.”
Reflecting on the value of the event, Co-Chair Chief Constable Steve Jupp, Sovereign Base Areas Police, said, “The roundtable at this year’s SOC conference was one of the best I’ve participated in. Whether it was the deliberately provocative questions posed, or the breadth of experience in the room, the outcome was an energised, passionate, and well-articulated debate. It has provided the ingredients for a White Paper that will help shape and inform law enforcement going forward.”
Detective Superintendent Andy Farrell, NPCC SOC Local Programme Lead on the value of the partnership with the University stated, "The University has become a strong and valued partner to the NPCC SOC local programme, helping to create the space for honest discussion, collaboration, and the development of ideas that support the ongoing evolution of the SOC response nationally.”
Professor John Synnott, Director of the Research Centre for Defence, Security and Leadership at the University of Huddersfield, said, "The University of Huddersfield continues to play a leading role in supporting policing, defence, and national security through applied research, professional education, and operational partnership working. We are home to more than 50 senior leaders undertaking advanced study and research across both National Security and Defence.
“I am proud to lead this work on behalf of the University through the newly established Research Centre for Defence, Security and Leadership. I remain committed to creating the space for ideas to be explored, challenged, and developed in a balanced and robust way by supporting empirical-informed approaches to tackling significant local, national, and international security challenges.”
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