Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

OVERVIEW
“It is to be hoped that the issues
raised in this volume will influence
those involved in these tasks as
well as inform those outside.”
to preserve the role for chief officers
in operationalising policy after
the College of Policing is established
(Sir Hugh Orde, A new identity,
page 30);
impact and effectiveness, for example
a potential emerging “complacency”
on diversity (Julie Spence, The need for
diversity, page 48);
or the dangers of the new College of
Policing being a “rebranded Centrex”
(Peter Neyroud, Professionalising police
leadership and training’, page 46);
and the description of the changes
as “experimentation… the outcome
of which is uncertain,” (Timothy
Brain, Policing since 1964, see page 10);
in a similar vein “…impartiality that
was the hallmark (in the 2011 riots)
is now under threat…” (Shami
Chakrabarti, Preserving rights and
building legitimacy, page 82).
Inevitability
And yet as some of the writers
acknowledge, change is inevitable
because:
the money isn’t there to support the
existing operating model (see Sir Peter
Fahy, A broader workforce, page 52);
crime is now global (see Charles
Clarke, Policing Europe, page 98);
a communications revolution is
overtaking policing and security
(Charles Clarke and Shami
Chakrabarti).
Years ago, Wesley G. Skogan
reminded us why police reform fails, as
he put it, “In fact it [reform] is hard, the
political risks involved are considerable,
and efforts to change the police often fall
short or fail.”
There will always be objections in
principle and practice to significant
change. Yet as Chief Inspector of
Constabulary (2008-12) over two
governments, I was concerned that
policing was, to a degree, strangely
shut off from the life experiences of
too many people and fortified by
the observations of Hirschman, that
apprehensive reactions are inevitable
when significant changes are on
the table.
I also observed that successful
introduction and completion of reform
was heavily dependent upon the
quality of analysis that preceded it, the
degree to which the policy it framed
was compelling, and accompanied by
coherent actions.
The reforms in front of us are at
different points on that continuum of
tests and still incomplete in terms of the
critical issue of legitimacy.
It is to be hoped that the issues raised
in this volume will influence those
involved in these tasks as well as inform
those outside. This will lead to smarter
reform, surely a shared objective for all.
Maybe the next set of writings in this
series will then be able to move further
beyond anxieties to answers.
POLICING UK | 7