Suchergebnisse

This article critically evaluates proposals made within HMIC's 2004 Thematic on modernising the police service. It identifies the significance of these by reference to the more general framework of New Labour's commitment to modernising public services and the implications of this for the police service. It contrasts the response on the part of the police service to the current modernisation programme with that of police associations to the earlier Sheehy Inquiry and Posen Review in the early 1990s. The article assesses the role and status of civilian staff in the police service and draws on comparative data collected by HMIC on the use of such staff in police services around the world. It draws attention to the current use of 'sworn' and 'non-sworn' officers in a number of police forces abroad which may well provide some insight into the future structure of police services planned for England and Wales. The article thereafter considers the modernisation programme that is currently being piloted within Surrey Police. It considers the potential impact of recent party political competition over police numbers, particularly in relation to any planned reduction in police establishment occasioned by full implementation of Workforce Modernisation within police forces.

The government plans to amalgamate the 43 police forces of England and Wales into 17 larger ones. Size Isn't Everything argues that since small forces perform at least as well as larger forces, and since amalgamations would reduce accountability and take resources from neighbourhood policing, the government should abandon this misguided attempt to introduce regional government by the back door. Instead, the government should allow forces voluntarily to federate where necessary, extend the remit of national policing agencies and/or re-establish Regional Serious Crime Squads, devolve more responsibilities to Basic Command Units, and make them genuinely accountable to local communities.

This article considers the current status of police reform and the many problems associated with it. It argues that the current proposals are very largely producer-driven rather than consumer-led and if implemented would serve to undermine the Prime Minister's policy commitment to both public service reform and the encouragement of greater consumer choice. Recent public opinion polls indicate that consumer perceptions of police amalgamations are almost wholly negative. It is also argued that the criteria for determination of 'stand-alone' forces set by the Home Office has proven to be highly arbitrary. It argues for the need for more effective collaboration between forces and for much closer local authority involvement in the delivery of local police services. It highlights possible local government reform proposals within the forthcoming White Paper and the need to link reform of local government structures with those of police forces. It concludes with an evaluation of neighbourhood policing strategy and the need for joint responsibility and oversight between police and local authority to both anchor and sustain this important initiative.