I find you get two types of police, those that don’t want to know and those that do. Unfortunately, dealing with things you don’t want to know about … - Ben Aaronovitch

Have you ever been to London?" I asked.
"No," said Ash. "I've never even been in town before. Our dad doesn't hold with that sort of thing."
"Don't worry, it's basically just like the country," I said. "Only with more people.

From a policing point of view, 3-D printers were your classic new technology. Everybody knew they were going to be used by criminals for something, but nobody was sure what.

Five hundred years ago the notoriously savvy Henry VIII discovered an elegant way to solve both his theological problems and his personal liquidity crisis—he dissolved the monasteries and nicked all their land. Since the principle of any rich person who wants to stay rich is, never give anything away unless you absolutely have to, the land has stayed with Crown ever since.