Description
British policing is in crisis. Every day, in our papers and on our television screens, we witness disturbing images of police inefficiency and corruption. The crime rate is escalating. The government is demanding better value for money. The public's confidence, especially the trust of ethnic minority groups, has been severely stretched. The crisis for the police is one of legitimacy, authority and direction. Which way will they turn?
The police rank and file maintain that policing is first and foremost about control and public order - the use of legitimate force. But others. In particular, the more progressive chief constables define the future in terms of service and care - protection, reassurance and support for all citizens, including victims of crime. Critical decisions have now to be made. This book takes us to the centre of the debate.
A panel of eminent contributors provides a detailed examination of the boundaries between care and control, service and force, in a number of police domains: community policing, child sexual abuse investigations, domestic violence and sexual assault, work with juvenile offenders and interventions with the mentally ill. Other contributions discuss the implications of the debate for police organisation, culture, image and training. The issues raised cannot be ignored. The debate is at the heart of the future of British policing. Which way should the police turn: police force or police service?
ISBN: 9780333574843
