209: Where The Evidence Takes Us | Kevin O' Leary

The Leadership Enigma

This episode was filmed in front of a live studio audience at Vorboss in central London. Kevin O'Leary spent 30 years as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police retiring as a Chief Superintendent. Kevin was also, now famously, episode No.1 of The Leadership Enigma which started during the pandemic.

This episode is a fascinating insight into the world of crime and punishment including undercover policing, hostage negotiation, stolen vehicles, riots, serial killers and more.

Kevin decided to become a police officer after he was robbed at knife point at 14 years old and the police solved the crime and actually recovered his bicycle.

As a very young probationary police officer Kevin found himself policing the miner's strike in the 1980's during the time Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and also the Broadwater Farm riots which involved the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, all providing Kevin with a baptism of fire into the world of policing.

Kevin's time with the Stolen Vehicle Squad was his initiation in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and learning how to carry a case load of allocated reactive investigations.

In 1999 Kevin became involved in the Admiral Duncan Pub bombing. He was around the corner on an unrelated surveillance operation when the bomb was detonated. At the scene, Kevin was faced with chaos and destruction. As one of the first on scene his ability to make quick decisions and prioritise were tested to the max.

As a police officer and leader, picking up on 'weak signals' is a must in a world of constant change. Kevin tells the story of dealing with a High Risk missing person which turned into uncovering the actions of an international serial killer, John Sweeney, who is currently serving life in prison and will be the focus of a recent television documentary.

Kevin as a senior officer held the role of Head of Undercover Policing for the Metropolitan Police and explains the iconic investigation he was involved in that was headlined in the newspapers as 'The Hip Hop Cop Shop.' Kevin had to make a series of difficult and at times unpopular decisions for the ranks and file officers in order to help protect them from the rigours and stresses of undercover operations.

One of Kevin's final roles in his career was as Bronze Commander during the London 2012 Olympics with a funny story of the cycle protest group 'Critical Mass' that had been infiltrated and decided to see if they could intercept the Queen!

Kevin is also the 'referee' for the award winning TV show 'Hunted' which is on our screens each year.

www.kevinoleary123.com

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