The police service in England and Wales is facing major challenges in its financing, political oversight and reorganisation of its structures. Current economic conditions have created a wholly new environment whereby cost saving is permitting hitherto unthinkable changes in the style and means of delivery of policing services. In the context of these proposed changes Lord Stevens, formerly Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service was asked to chair an Independent Commission looking into the future of policing. The Commission has a wide ranging remit and the papers in this book offer up-to-date analysis of contemporary problems from the novel perspective of developing a reform agenda to assist the Commission.
Bringing together contributions from both key academic thinkers and police professionals, this book discusses new policing paradigms, lays out a case for an evidence-based practice approach and draws attention to developing areas such as terrorism, public order and hate crime.
Policing is too important to be left to politicians, as the health of a democracy may be judged by the relationship between the police and the public. The aim of this book is to question and present analyses of problems offer new ideas and propose realistically achievable solutions without being so timid as to preserve the status quo. It will be of interest to both academics and students in the fields of criminology and policing studies, as well as professionals in the policing service, NGOs and local authority organisations.
Table of Contents:
Introduction, The challenges of contemporary policing, Part 1: Purposes, 1. Peel's principles, police principles 2. Policing: privatizing and changes in the policing web 3. Why do the police matter? Beyond the myth of crime fighting 4. What are the police for? Re-thinking policing post-austerity5. Reinventing the office of constable: progressive policing in an age of austerity6. Police futures and legitimacy; redefining good policingPart 2: Culture 7. Police culture and the policing context8. Race and policing 9. Women police; potential and possibilities for police10. A diversity stone left unturned? Exploring the occupational complexities surrounding lesbian, gay and bisexual police officers,The practice of policing, Part 3: Relationships 11. The police, policing and the future of the "extended policing family" 12. A blended model for the police-private provision of policing in England and Wales13. Playing nicely with others: lessons from successes in partnership work for the police service 14. Beyond rhetoric: establishing academic-police partnerships that workPart 4: Delivery 15. From Sir Robert Peel to plts: adapting to liaison-based public order policing in England and Wales16. Landscaping the policing of organised crime; some design reflections17. The role of police in counter terrorism18. Intelligence-led policing and the national intelligence model 19. Holding the line: the sustainability of police involvement in crime prevention20. Hate Crime, Supporting policing, Part 5: Professionalising 21. The promise and perils of police professionalism,22. The pursuit of professionalism: lessons from Australasia23. The police as professional problem solvers24. Police training and education: past, present and future25. Leading by example: the untapped resource of first line police supervisors Part 6: Governance 26. Engaging the citizen 27. Making police accountable; governance and legitimacy28. The rise and rise of independent police complaints bodies, 29. Ethics and policing30. Great expectations and complex realities: assessing the impact and implications of the police reform process in Northern Ireland 31. Different and divergent trajectories? Reforming the structure, governance and narrative of policing in Scotland.
About the Author :
Jennifer M. Brown is a co-director of the Mannheim Centre for Criminology at the LSE. She is also the deputy chair of the Independent Commission looking at the future of policing in England and Wales. She is a chartered forensic and chartered occupational psychologist and has been an active researcher in the areas of police occupational culture and police decision making in the investigation of serious crime.Professor Brownpreviously worked as research manager for the Hampshire Constabulary where she undertook pioneering studies of stress amongst police officers and sex discrimination experienced by women police.
Review :
‘A comprehensive collection of essays provocatively and imaginatively probing all aspects of contemporary policing. The authors are a well-chosen, excellent mix of highly respected, well-established authorities and brilliant new talents, all writing at the top of their game, with lucidity, freshness, and panache. This book is the essential entry ticket for understanding and contributing with credibility to policing debates, and is vital reading for politicians, policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, academics and their students.’ - Robert Reiner, Emeritus Professor of Criminology Law Department, LSE, UK
‘Policing is always topical but never more so than today. Just when crime trends are declining, the police face daunting new challenges in securing public confidence, the support of policymakers, and the resources they need to do "the job". Jennifer Brown has assembled a genuinely stellar team of authorities on every dimension of policing’s contemporary dilemmas, who deliver a substantial step further in our evidence-based understanding of this vital field.’ - Nigel Fielding, Professor of Sociology, University of Surrey, UK
"…the breadth of research in this collection provides a wealth of insight and experience." - Sam Frost in The Howard League for Penal Reform
"There is much to be gained from a close reading of Brain’s book, not least a deeper understanding of the contours of the recent developments in policing, and the politics of policing in recent decades. As a former chief constable with academic credentials, Brain writes with authority and insider status. The certainty that characterises many senior police officers is evident, balanced with academic rigour and good style. The book, I predict, will be valued as much as a history and analysis of the present as a forecast of possible futures." — Rob C. Mawby, The Howard Journal
