Policing - Advance Access

Reflections from a Police Research Unit--An Inside Job

Dawson, P., Williams, E. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:42:30 PST

While research can be of great benefit to the police, there has undoubtedly been a fractious relationship between the two. This paper outlines the experience of the only dedicated civilian research unit based within a police force in the country. In particular, the paper highlights a number of unique challenges conducting research within this environment; such as police culture, or the range of different customers we work with, each presenting differing views on research. Key learning around our methods used to overcome these issues is also presented. Whilst embedding change within the police will always be a slow process, by gently nudging and teasing our research outputs into policing via a range of techniques we can facilitate improvement to the way that policing is delivered in London. This also holds clear implications for other police forces throughout the UK and beyond in how they utilize and ensure research is an integral part of their service.

Please Mind the Gap: Satisfaction with the Police within London

Keenan, M. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:42:30 PST

Within policing in the UK the citizen focus domain continues to take on a greater significance, specifically highlighting the value of responding to the needs of communities, particularly those from a non-white origin. The recent Green paper ‘Engaging Communities in criminal justice’ and Cabinet Office report ‘Engaging Communities in fighting crime’ similarly assert the role for communities within Criminal Justice. A controversial finding from the previous literature is the disparity in satisfaction with the police between white and non-white groups. Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) data reveal a current satisfaction gap of 4.7%. Through survey data and quantitative research undertaken by the Strategy Research & Analysis Unit (SRAU), opinions of police, victim age, contact method used and deprivation levels are posited as contributors to this gap. This paper aims to explore these contributors in more detail and discuss tactics that have been developed in the MPS that aspire to reduce this gap.

Evidencing a 'Good Practice Model' of Police Communication: The Impact of Local Policing Newsletters on Public Confidence

Wunsch, D., Hohl, K. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:17 PST

This article examines the relationship between police–public communication and public confidence in policing. It draws on several years of research within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), including two qualitative studies that explored public information needs, and a collaborative effort between MPS and the London School of Economics to conduct a ‘real world’ experiment that tested the impact of newsletters on public perceptions and confidence. A good practice model of information provision is put forward, and evidence for its positive impact on public confidence and perceptions of policing, specifically on perceived police community engagement, is presented. The implications of these findings for the police are discussed with reference to the concepts of police legitimacy, trust and confidence.

Surveys in the MPS: a Journey of Change in Understanding and Practice

Harrison, A., Dawson, P., Walker, A. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:17 PST

Recent government agendas have placed increased importance on capturing the views of the public to inform policy development. This growing recognition of public voices began with the publication of the White Paper ‘Modern Markets: Confident Consumers’ (Home Office, 1999) and signalled a change in policy decision making, rejecting the one-size-fits-all approach to delivery of public services and proposing mechanisms for greater direct consumer influence on Government policy. This bottom-up approach to policy making has grown over recent years and as a consequence public consultation has increased in importance within the public service arena. Surveys are identified as a useful and widely used research tool in obtaining public feedback and have been used within many large-scale organizations to deliver improved strategy and operational activity. Their use within police forces has not been as widespread until they became a requirement under the Policing Performance Assessment Framework. This paper will discuss the journey of the Metropolitan Police Service in public consultation and the evolution of its relationship with public surveys from one of mainly a ‘performance indicator’ to being used to inform strategy and operational delivery.

Confidence in Policing: A Hackney Case Study

Dann, S., Hinchliff, E. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:16 PST

In 2004 HMIC described Hackney as ‘one of the most challenging policing environments in the country’. Since then the borough has experienced a huge reduction in reported crime. The borough's police service has also experienced a huge gain in public confidence, increasing from just 22% in December 2006 to 77% in March 2009. This article provides a practitioner case study of action over the period 2006–2009 that led to this turnaround. Largely anecdotal, this article provides a practitioner's experience of what worked in one London borough.

Evidence-Based Policing and Crime Reduction

Bullock, K., Tilley, N. — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:00:16 PST

There have been calls for research evidence to be drawn into police practice. We examine evidence-based practice in the policing and crime reduction agenda, drawing on the experience of implementing problem-oriented policing in the UK and beyond. We suggest that that the development of such an agenda has been hampered by certain factors. Evidence is not routinely used by police officers (or partnerships) developing strategies to deal with crime problems who prefer to deliver traditional (law enforcement) responses. There is a limited knowledge base on which practitioners can draw in developing responses to crime problems, and the nature of evidence about what is effective is contested amongst academics. Whilst welcoming the moves to incorporate evidence in policing, we caution against excessive optimism about what can be achieved and make some recommendations for those engaged in developing evidence-based practice.

Too Little Too Late: Assessing Vulnerability

Williams, E., Norman, J., Wunsch, D. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:43 PDT

This paper is based on findings from three victim-focused research projects, which explored the characteristics of victims that report sexual and other violent crime to the police and the impact these issues have on attrition. It will challenge current police practice and broader legal discourse centred on the support of ‘vulnerable’ victims. The findings indicate that the presence of particular victim vulnerabilities is more likely to result in cases dropping out of the criminal justice system. We argue that current legal decision-making processes concerning victim credibility and consent need to be grounded in observable information held by the police.

Seen and Not Heard: Young People's Perceptions of the Police

Norman, J. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:25:18 PDT

This article presents findings based on research commissioned by the Metropolitan Police Service in 2008 that explored young people's perceptions of the police in London. All participants had previous contact with the police, in both positive and negative circumstances. In order to inform more effective police engagement strategies, the research sought to understand what young people thought of the police and how their opinions were established. The findings emphasize the importance of supportive, consistent and direct personal contact between officers and young people. Where this existed, perceptions of the police were positive or shifted from negative to positive. However, negative perceptions were also apparent, and these were facilitated by perceptions of unfair targeting and treatment from the police. Consequently, young people felt less able to access the police for protection and vulnerable to being victims of crime. However, despite this the majority of participants wanted to feel safer and experience more support from the police.

The Hammersmith Initiative: An Example of How to Impact and Improve Public Confidence in Policing

Rehman, U.-u. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:25:16 PDT

At a time when the Green Paper has called on all police services to improve public confidence in policing, this paper will evidence how this target can be practically achieved. This paper outlines a research evaluation, the Hammersmith Initiative. Established in 2007, this initiative delivered two Safer Neighbourhoods (SN) teams in two wards of West London to operate 24 hours, seven days a week, for two years. The research shows that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) delivered a service designed for, and around, local people and their concerns of crime and disorder, positively addressing local concerns around crime and disorder, while significantly improving public confidence in policing. The paper concludes by discussing what lessons may be gleaned for achieving an improvement in people's confidence in policing.

Dale, W. M. and Becker, W. S. (Eds) (2007). THE CRIME SCENE: HOW FORENSIC SCIENCE WORKS

Sutton, R. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:25:14 PDT

Practitioner-Researcher Collaboration in Policing: A Case of Close Encounters?

Wuestewald, T., Steinheider, B. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:25:11 PDT

Todd Wuestewald is Chief of Police at the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Police Department. He is a 28-year law enforcement veteran, a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and the Senior Management Institute for Police, holds Master degrees in criminal justice and public administration, and is presently completing doctoral studies in workforce education. Dr. Brigitte Steinheider is Associate Professor and Director of the Organizational Dynamics graduate program at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. She holds an M.S. in psychology, as well as an M.B.A, and received her Ph.D. from the Technical Institute in Dresden, Germany. Together, Chief Wuestewald and Professor Steinheider have conducted research and consulting for a number of law enforcement agencies in the USA and have published several articles on organizational democracy in policing. In this article, the authors argue that collaborations between police practitioners and academic researchers are challenging due to differences in perspective, method and culture. Consequently, such collaborations are infrequent and tenuous, thereby inhibiting knowledge sharing between the two fields. The authors’ experience is that while these relationships can prove innovative and rewarding, they can also occur in unplanned ways and may have unexpected outcomes. The methodology of action research, which equally values the perspectives of practitioners and researchers as they jointly analyze and address problems, can be a useful tool for managing the inherent challenges of collaborative inquiry. This paper describes a case study that used this approach for a police organizational development project and serves as an illustration of its implementation and outcomes.

Worlds Apart? On the Possibilities of Police/Academic Collaborations

Marks, M., Wood, J., Ali, F., Walsh, T., Witbooi, A. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:25:06 PDT

This paper is co-authored by a group of researchers and practitioners who have worked together for sustained periods of time, having learnt that new wisdoms result as much from sharing knowledge and expertise as it does from forging relationships that are deeply personal. It explores ways in which police and academic researchers can work together to bring about new ways of thinking and acting within police organizations, using a research approach referred to as Participatory Action Research (PAR). The authors argue that small changes are significant and that real collaborations require both police and academic researchers to define themselves as actors with fluid identities and modes of intervention. They argue that the personality one brings to joint research endeavours is an essential transmission mode to ensure enduring change and influence.

Beyond Measuring 'How Good a Job' Police Are Doing: The MPS Model of Confidence in Policing

Stanko, E. A., Bradford, B. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:51:43 PDT

In England and Wales, the ‘public confidence agenda’ has enjoined the police service together with their key local partner, local authorities (Home Office, 2008). Yet before the police can consider this partnership to reduce crime and local disorder, they must know what people think about policing itself. This paper presents a model built around the question ‘do police do a good job in your local area?’, which serves as the foundation of the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) strategic direction for achieving local confidence. This model is derived from a multi-layered analysis of the MPS's local survey, the Public Attitude Survey. Four key elements—perceptions of police effectiveness, fairness of personal treatment, the level of police engagement with the community, and local people's concerns about local disorder—have strongly significant effects on ‘overall’ confidence. Taken together these four elements indicate that public confidence can be influenced by ‘what police do’. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the model and how it can be used as a strategic guide for improvement.

Mazerolle, L. and Ransley, J. (2006). THIRD PARTY POLICING

Gilmour, S. — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:51:42 PDT

The Confiscation Investigation: Investigating the Financial Benefit Made from Crime

Bullock, K. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:08:59 PDT

The court-ordered confiscation order is the primary means of recovering a defendant's financial benefit from crime. Whilst becoming more prominent within the police service, little is known about the role of the financial investigator and the operational processes which lead to a confiscation order. This paper examines the role of the financial investigators in confiscation proceedings along with their day-to-day tasks, training, status and profile within the police service. It identifies how cases are selected for financial investigation, distinguishing between proactive and reactive referrals. It sets out the powers that financial investigators have to investigate defendants’ financial affairs and the information that they draw on in practice. The paper examines the difficulties in integrating confiscation investigations with mainstream policing activities, highlighting the role of competing targets, the performance management regime and potentially perverse incentives. The paper ends with a call for the development of a proactive rather than reactive asset recovery regime.

Community Policing in Practice: Ambitions and Realization

Terpstra, J. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:53:02 PDT

This paper deals with the question of the extent to which the ambitions of community policing are realized in practice. Five elements may be considered as the main ambitions of community policing: proximity, a focus on a wide range of problems in the neighbourhood, prevention, cooperation with other agencies and the promotion of citizen involvement. This observational study of community policing in the Netherlands shows that in practice, these ambitions are only realized to a limited extent. This implementation deficit is a result of several factors: the vague, blurred professional image of community policing (in many cases also for community police officers themselves), its open and indefinite nature, the way this work is often embedded within police organizations, the limited capacities, skills and expertise of community police officers and the increasing managerial emphasis in the Dutch police on so-called core business tasks.

Improving the UK's Contribution to International Policing

O'Shea, L. — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:45:57 PDT

International police reform missions have largely underestimated the time and resources needed to successfully transfer policing norms to recipient police forces. Successful reform is extremely complex and contingent on local norms of justice and political situations. It should not be taken for granted that UK officers, mostly on one-year secondments, have enough time or the right training to be able to successfully engender change. Furthermore, the UK's current contribution to international policing is limited by structural constraints and a fragmented deployment system. This paper argues that the UK must create a body, possibly an International Policing Agency, to deploy more officers and act as an ‘institutional home’ for international policing that develops and improves the UK's ability to transfer its policing norms. This should be run by development practitioners who understand how policing systems in the developing world operate and who appreciate the complexity of reform.

Plotting Crimes: Too True to Be Good? The Rationale and Risks behind Crime Mapping in the UK

Sampson, F., Kinnear, F. — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:31:53 PDT

Fraser Sampson L.L.B., L.L.M., M.B.A., Solicitor, is Chief Executive of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, and Fiona Kinnear B.Sc. (Hons) is Research Director at the Authority. Working closely with the West Yorkshire Police, the West Yorkshire Police Authority has been leading the way in crime mapping in England and Wales since 2005. Beatcrime, their award-winning website, is unique in using dots-on-maps to show recorded crimes and trends down to street level and to make that information available to the public. While this approach has been recognized by bodies such as the National Policing Improvement Agency, the question of how much detail the public are entitled to expect from their criminal justice agencies and how much those agencies should withhold remains a contentious area in the UK. This article considers some of the competing arguments against the backdrop of increasing demands for public access to civic data.

The Economy of Policing--The Impact of the Volunteer

Gravelle, J., Rogers, C. — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:21:43 PDT

This paper examines the use of volunteers within the police service in England and Wales in the light of the recent global economic downturn and examines the cost of providing such policing services. With reference to an economic costing model entitled VIVA, the paper clearly illustrates the economic advantages of utilizing volunteers whilst arguing that such use would increase public confidence and provide greater resonance in attempts by police agencies to engage with their communities. Resistance to this idea, both organizationally and culturally, is considered, and the paper concludes with the premise that whilst not being a panacea for resolving economic problems in providing police services, volunteers present a real and robust economic option that needs to be carefully considered.

Ten Ways to Blend Academic Learning within Professional Police Training

Peeters, H. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:31:06 PDT

How can we prevent academic understandings of policing from being at variance with the needs of the police profession? This article suggests a number of possible answers that have been implemented and reflected upon at the Police Academy of the Netherlands since 2002. A prominent feature of the Academy's approach is a systematic elaboration of a competency-oriented police training that not only affects the underpinning of occupational profiles, curricula and learning assignments with academic insights, but also connects the policing and research world by the way learning and police performance is organized, assessed and supported by the installation of thematic chairs. The link with societal developments or requirements is secured by the realization of diploma equivalence between police and non-police education and by the validation of bachelor and master programmes for the police by an agency that comes under the Ministry of Education.