Paul Hogan

This article is part of the Undercover Research Portal at PowerBase - investigating corporate and police spying on activists.

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Part of a series on Police Officers
Paul Hogan
Police Units:	Metropolitan Police Special Branch,
Police Forces:	Tayside Police,Metropolitan Police
Issues:	Undercover Policing: National Public Order Intelligence Unit,
Dates Active:	1992 to 2015, NPOIU 2003-2007

Paul Hogan is a police officer from Scotland who worked for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit in London between January 2003 and July 2007, before returning to the Tayside Police in Scotland, and leaving the force in February 2015.

As NPOIU Field Officer, he coordinated the deployment of undercovers during the protest against the G8 in Heiligendamm, Berlin, in 2007 (this included the activities abroad of the known NPIOU officers Mark Kennedy and Marco Jacobs). Hogan also visited many EU member states to share his knowledge on the workings of animal rights activism and to set up protocols for the exchange of intelligence.

The profile of Hogan's career is exclusively based on his expansive LinkedIn profile, that was taken down a day after it started circulating on Twitter in April 2016 and the press got word of it. As such this profile s a work in process, if you have more detail to share please get in touch.

Also see:

• National Public Order Intelligence Unit
• Paul Hogan: LinkedIn profile

Background

The amount of detail in Hogan's LinkedIn profile was quite asthonishing and breached the policy of Neither Confirm Nor Deny that Scotland Yard adopted since the first undercover was exposed late 2010/early 2011 Mark Kennedy. The police continues to refuse acknowledging the identity of exposed undercover officers. Though the Metropolitan Police eventually apologised to the eight women who had discovered to have been in longterm intimate relationships with undercover officers, and settled the Court case, the police holds on to their NCND policy.

Hogan's résumé was discovered just as the police was making a huge effort to keep the Undercover Policing Public Inquiry behind closed doors (Chairman Judge Pitchford's ruling on this is expected 3th May) in a further effort to prevent disclosure of operational details and the methods of the undercover units.

Police Career

• August 2013 – February 2015 Detective Inspector - HOLMES Incident & Resource Manager Police Scotland - Tayside / Grampian / Highlands & Islands. With the conception of Police Scotland, HOLMES became part of the Specialist Crime Division. Hogan was one of two DI's appointed to pool HOLMES resources together and develop a corporate response across Scotland. Also Senior Investigating Officer within the Major Investigation Team for the North of Scotland.

• November 2010 – August 2013 Police Inspector - Police Incident Officer / Critical Incident Manager - Tayside Police / Police Scotland. Managed a team of 60 officers ensuring an appropriate response to all calls across major urban and rural areas. Also Certified Spontaneous Firearms Incident Officer and trained negotiator.

• January 2009 – November 2010 Detective Inspector - Crime & Intelligence Manager, Criminal Investigation Department Tayside Police, Police Scotland. Head of Crime Management,keeping track of crime records and investigations, statistics that informed decision making on future resources.

• July 2007 – January 2009 Police Sergeant - Team Supervisor, Tayside Police, Police Scotland. Led a team of up to 45 on a rotational shift basis, providing a visible policing presence within the City of Dundee. (Hogan: 'I inherited a team of individuals who were all performing well yet lacked team spirit and unified purpose.')

National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU)

• January 2006 – July 2007 Detective Sergeant - Intelligence Manager / Field Officer Administrator, National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) 'Maintaining my previous responsibilities I operated at a strategic level developing opportunities to improve our covert capabilities and enhance our intelligence gathering.' Specific interest in Animal Rights, visiting conferences in Finland and other EU member states, developing information sharing protocols. (see below)

• March 2005 – January 2006 Temporary Detective Inspector - Intelligence Gathering Manager NPOIU. National. 'Leading a team of 19 with a 1/4 million budget I controlled all the department's covert intelligence assets and ensured legislative compliance.' Set up collaboration between German authorities and the NPOIU in the run up to the G8 summit in Berlin. (see below)

• September 2003 – March 2005 Detective Sergeant - Intelligence Manager / Field Officer Administrator, NPOIU, London. 'Coordinated the activities of five Field Officers who had liaison responsibilities across all Police Forces within the UK. Managed the collection, assessment and dissemination of Domestic Extremism intelligence received through covert operations.' Helped prepare intelligence gathering for the G8 Summit (Glenneagles, Scotland)

• January 2003 – September 2003 Detective Constable - Intelligence Coordination / Field Officer NPOIU, London. Helped preparing 'any operational policing response to planned demonstrations where there was potential for extremist activity'...throughout the UK. Presentations to 'law enforcement bodies within the UK and interested commercial partners such as the pharmaceutical industry,often the victim of unwanted Animal Rights extremism.'

Early career

• January 1999 – January 2003 Detective Constable - Intelligence Management, Tayside Police, Scotland. Was responsible for the acquisition and development of information / intelligence into matters which could have an impact on local and national public order. Was deploy in complex covert operations and exercises locally and throughout the UK. Trained as an Authorised Firearms Officer and completed the National Bodyguard Course.

• August 1997 – December 1998 Detective Constable, Tayside Police, Scotland, Angus. Investigation into serious crime. Trained as a Crime Scene examiner; trained in the use of HOLMES.

• November 1992 – July 1997 Police Constable, Tayside Police, Scotland, Dundee and Angus. Following attendance at Scottish Police College, Tulliallan, performed uniform beat duties within both urban and rural areas.

• September 1991 – November 1992 Fitter, GTC Gas Turbines, Dundee

• April 1981 – September 1991 Artificer Apprentice through to CPO MEA(ML), Royal Navy. Enrolled as an Engineering Artificer Apprentice; served on a number of surface vessels; achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer Marine Engineering Artificer. Maintainance work, no intelligence related work given.

Post-police career

• May 2015 – Present (Aprl 2016) Sales Engineer, Alba Power. Alba Power is the self-acclaimed 'leading global independent for the provision of dedicated support services' and is specialised in industrial turbines, controls and rotating equipment markets.

Undercover policing

National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) (2003 - 2007)

Paul Hogan's first experience with intelligenc gathering was as a Detecitive Constable with Tayside Police in Scotland. He says he was working 'within a specialised department ... responsible for the acquisition and development of information / intelligence into matters which could have an impact on local and national public order.' He would 'deploy in complex covert operations and exercises locally and throughout the UK.'

After that, Hogan worked for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) for four-and-half year, including as a senior manager within the unit. He describes it as 'a National Unit responsible for gathering, assessing and disseminating intelligence relating to Domestic Extremism, including Animal Rights, Left & Right Wing Extremists and Environmental Extremism'.

During this first secondment, he claimed to have worked with covert assets throughout the UK 'to assist with the planning, preparation and implementation of any operational policing response to planned demonstrations where there was potential for extremist activity'. One step up, promoted to 'Intelligence Manager / Field Officer Administrator', Hogan would then coordinate five Field Officers who had liaison responsibilities across all police forces within the UK. 'Managed the collection, assessment and dissemination of Domestic Extremism intelligence received through covert operations. Ensured through regular audit that appropriate legislation was adhered to for all covert assets.'

During this period, he also contributed to 'critical plans' for the G8 Summit in Gleneagles 'to ensure maximum intelligence dividend'.

Hogan reveals in great detail how in 2007 the NPIOU was invited to Germany to export its experience of spying on anti-G8 activists accrued at the 2005 Gleneagles summit in Scotland, to help colleagues there prepare the infiltration of similar protests in Heiligendamm.

This was the first of a meaningful collaboration between the NPOIU and the German authorities and contributed to their strategic planning leading up to the event in 2007.

Questions raised in the German Parliament confirmed that German undercovers came to Gleneagles for the G8 protests in 2005; and that British undercovers Mark Kennedy and Marco Jacobs were involved in the preparations leading up to Heiligendamm, and attended the demonstrations. (Cooperation between German police and the British spy units stretches at least as far back as 1995, when undercover SDS officer Peter Francis was infiltrated into a Youth Against Racism in Europe group, which went on a summer camp to the Bavarian Forest (with his cover officer Bob Lambert travelling over as well.)

Colleagues at the NPOIU

The Sunday Herald revealed in March that Eleanor Mitchell, who was head of Police Scotland’s Professional Standards Department before retiring in 2016, was also linked to the NPOIU. Her biography says she was an expert in animal rights and environmental extremism who was seconded to the London force for six years until 2006. This makes the two Scottish officers Hogan and Mitchell colleagues in the NPIOU at management level between 2003 - 2006.

Mitchell’s New Year Honours List biography offers some details of her decorated 27 year career as an officer.

She joined Grampian Police in 1989 and became acknowledged “nationally and internationally as the leading expert in policing professional standards and tackling extremist groups”.

Until 2006, she advised the UK and Scottish Governments on “environmental extremist and animal rights protest, acting as strategic, tactical and operational lead”.

The biography added: “Her contribution in shaping how the Police service and partner law enforcement agencies across the UK now approach and tackle such protest organisations cannot be underestimated.”

Grampian Police literature elaborated by noting that she “worked in New Scotland Yard in London”, while a third biography provided further details by stating she was “seconded down to the Met Police in London where she worked for six years”.

She resurfaced in newspaper articles relating to the Grampian force in 2007 and was promoted three years later to superintendent.

Overseeing undercover officers

The timeline below shows the undercover officers exposed so far on infiltration missions while Hogan served with the NPOIU January 2003 - July 2007.

Cooperation with Finland & other European countries, and with corporations

Hogan started spreading the word early on in his career, first in his capaciy in Intelligence Management with the Tayside Police, 'presentations to colleagues and key industry partners on the work of the department in order to develop intelligence sharing opportunities and maximise opportunities'. He continued to do so with the NPOIU:

As part of my remit I would provide presentations on the capabilities of the unit to a wide range of partner agencies and interested parties including all law enforcement bodies within the UK and interested commercial partners such as the pharmaceutical industry, often the victim of unwanted Animal Rights extremism.

Hogan also presented on behalf of NPOIU at a European conference on animal rights, which took place in Finland sometime between January 2006 and July 2007. As Hogan notes, 'given our experience, UK police were considered to be significant leaders in combating this type of extremism', and he was subsequently invited to other European member states to develop information sharing protocols.

Criticism & Controversy

Undercover work crossing the border

Hogan's work as an undercover specialist took place in Scotland and all over the UK. His own career path shows that there is flawless cooperation between the Scottish police and the undercover units. Scottish MPs have been pushing for quite some time to have Scotland included in the Pitchford Inquiry, or to have a separate national investigation. Not only is there a long list of exposed undercovers who have been active on Scottish soil, current police chiefs have been responsible in the past for what the press north of the border calls the 'sex spy scandal'.

Notes