In this inaugural episode, Hemma invites her friend, Bruce Houlder, CB, KC, DL, a retired criminal court justice, and the founder of the charity, ‘Fighting Knife Crime – London’ to share his inspiring stories of service in action. Tune in to hear about Bruce's fascinating journey as a criminal trial lawyer and judge, his appointment as Her Majesty's first Director of Service Prosecutions for the joint military services in the United Kingdom, and much more culminating in his current mission to inspire collective action to create a supportive culture for today's youth.
Highlights include Bruce's reflection on the scourge of knife crime in the UK, the role of young people in the criminal justice system, how we sometimes do them a disservice long before they arrive in his courtroom, and how Bruce was personally moved to action to do something about that. Bruce shares his perspectives on building healthy cultures and the power of pooling talent and resources to create communities for collective action.
Timestamps
1:07 - Introducing Bruce Houlder 9:22 - Why did Bruce start 'Fighting Knife Crime - London'? 26:35 - Where does Bruce find his resilience? 32:45 - How is Bruce working with the government to have impact at scale? 40:11 - How do we drive ethical decision making in corporate culture?
Bruce's Biography
As the Founder of the charity, Fighting Knife Crime London June 2021 launched a broad-based online resource for all young people in Greater London and those wishing to help them. This project goes far beyond issues simply related to knife crime. He now devotes his life to this work and to helping to encourage joint action is finding solutions through encouraging projects leaders and others to work more closely together and by attempting to influence a more pro-active and pragmatic governmental approach.
Bruce has practiced criminal law as a Barrister in the UK for 52 years. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994. He sat as a part-time Crown Court judge from 1986- 2020, ending his judicial service at the Old Bailey. He was Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales in 2001. He served on the Bar Council for ten years. From 2008-2013, he served as Her Majesty‘s first Director of Service Prosecutions. He has done much work overseas, particularly in SE Asia, China and Mexico in an advisory capacity on matters affecting law and the development of human rights-based systems.
To listen to the podcast on Spotify here.
