Richard Hobbs

Professor Richard Hobbs is a specialist in organised crime at the University of Essex

How London’s Docklands became the Eton of the crime world

When Hatton Garden Heist ‘mastermind’ Brian Reader died aged 84 in 2023, it was estimated that he had made £200 million during his long criminal career. Reader shared his origins with other members of British criminal royalty, such as those behind the great train, Brink’s Mat, Security Express and Tonbridge cash depot heists – robbers