1,721,007 research outputs found
Introduction:a 'transformative moment in policing'
Full text linkThere is a long tradition of claims regarding the transformation of policing and of radical change in systems of crime control. While the authors do not want to fall into the trap of overexaggerating the degree of change, the reforms to the structure and organization of public police institutions discussed in the further chapters of this book clearly demonstrate significant attempts by government at large-scale and comprehensive police reform. Furthermore, while there are some important similarities and degrees of convergence in the types of reform being implemented in many of the countries examined in this book, there are also important differences and divergences that need to be recognized. The question mark that appears in the title of this volume is quite deliberate: not all police forces are being centralized and even for those that are, the nature, meaning and processes of centralization may be experienced very differently across jurisdictions. The caveats that are normally applied in discussions of globalization in relation to policing are just as relevant to considerations of centralization, namely that "police policies, legal systems, organizations and cultures continue to be national entities, bound to national traditions and circumstances" (Verhage et al., 2010: 9). In addition, while some of the chapters in this book do illustrate a degree of at least 'lesson learning' if not 'policy transfer' between particular countries, it is important to acknowledge that the reform of policing, like policy making more generally, rarely follows the neat logical stages of a rational choice model, but is messy, contingent, and often the product of compromises and political expediency (Newburn & Sparks, 2004a: 12). This book, then, is very much a starting point in understanding and thinking about the nature of contemporary police reform in northern and western Europe and lays the foundations for future comparative analysis. It provides a snap shot of a remarkably dynamic policing landscape in which lots of questions remain to be answered regarding the implementation, impact and implications of reform and, in particular, whether these changes achieve their intended goals
In search of sustainable policing?:creating a national police force in Scotland
Full text linkReform and policing have become familiar companions in the UK over the past couple of decades, even if the nature, scope and pace of this reform have evolved differently in the three main jurisdictions. Ever since the Sheehy Inquiry (Home Office, 1993) into Police Responsibilities and Rewards established by a Conservative Government and that covered England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the attempts at changing the landscape of 'British' policing that emanated from that Inquiry have been quite distinctive in the different areas of the UK. Much of the police legislation of the 1990s and 2000s that promoted change was applied only to England and Wales and focused vigorously on the prevailing liberal doctrines of 'value for money', performance and accountability, and efficiency and effectiveness within a public service. The police in Scotland were sometimes included in this legislation passed by the UK Parliament at Westminster, but in a minimal way. Nonetheless, the Scottish police service kept a watchful eye on developments in its southern neighbours and not infrequently imported models of business practice developed there, such as the use of the National Intelligence Model, the concept of 'Best Value' and the use of performance indicators. Even with the coming of the new Scottish Parliament and government, created by the 1998 Scotland Act, such moves were rarely embodied directly in legislation, but emerged from the close interactions between chief constables, politicians and civil servants encouraged by devolution (Scott, in press). Meanwhile, the complex and troubled issues around policing in Northern Ireland had been addressed by the Patten Report (1999), leading to the creation of a new police service and with it a wholesale series of reforms of everything from insignia to governance, from operational structures to human rights compliance. The close cultural and operational links with the new Police Service of Northern Ireland were to make it an obvious comparator when police reform came onto the agenda in Scotland
The urban geography reader
No full textDrawing on a rich diversity of theoretical approaches and analytical strategies, urban geographers have been at the forefront of understanding the global and local processes shaping cities, and of making sense of the urban experiences of a wide variety of social groups. Through their links with those working in the fields of urban policy design, urban geographers have also played an important role in the analysis of the economic and social problems confronting cities. Capturing the diversity of scholarship in the field of urban geography, this reader presents a stimulating selection of articles and excerpts by leading figures. Organized around seven themes, it addresses the changing economic, social, cultural, and technological conditions of contemporary urbanization and the range of personal and public responses. It reflects the academic importance of urban geography in terms of both its theoretical and empirical analysis as well as its applied policy relevance, and features extensive editorial input in the form of general, section and individual extract introductions. Bringing together in one volume ‘classic’ and contemporary pieces of urban geography, studies undertaken in the developed and developing worlds, and examples of theoretical and applied research, it provides in a convenient, student-friendly format, an unparalleled resource for those studying the complex geographies of urban areas.</p
Centralizing forces? Comparative perspectives on contemporary police reform in northern and western Europe.
Full text linkPolice organizations in several Northern and Western European countries have recently witnessed fundamental reforms to their structures as well as to their relationships with governments. Many (but not all) of these macro-level reforms can be understood as forms of centralization. New or strengthened national police organizations have been created, with new territorial arrangements for delivering police services, involving the establishment of new structures of police governance and accountability. Written by highly experienced researchers, the essays in Centralizing Forces? Reveal intriguing similarities and differences in police reform in eight European countries: France, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, England and Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands and Sweden. The chapters examine the nature and dimensions of police reform and the importance of the political, cultural, social and economic contexts in which reform is happening. Despite some significant similarities in the reform process, the book also illustrates that there are important differences in the backgrounds, nature and consequences of police reform. Police reform is therefore strongly context dependent, not only in its underling drivers and motives, but also in its cultural meaning and the resulting problems and challenges. The cumulative product of these insights is evidence of how police reform is strongly linked to changing views about the role of the police in contemporary society, the shifting balance of power relations between key actors, and on political assumptions about the preferred relationships between the public police and national governments. This book therefore provides critical insights into police reform in different national contexts and a snapshot of a dynamic European policing landscape in which the contours of the relationships between police organizations, governments and citizens are being redrawn
The urban geography reader
No full textDrawing on a rich diversity of theoretical approaches and analytical strategies, urban geographers have been at the forefront of understanding the global and local processes shaping cities, and of making sense of the urban experiences of a wide variety of social groups. Through their links with those working in the fields of urban policy design, urban geographers have also played an important role in the analysis of the economic and social problems confronting cities. Capturing the diversity of scholarship in the field of urban geography, this reader presents a stimulating selection of articles and excerpts by leading figures. Organized around seven themes, it addresses the changing economic, social, cultural, and technological conditions of contemporary urbanization and the range of personal and public responses. It reflects the academic importance of urban geography in terms of both its theoretical and empirical analysis as well as its applied policy relevance, and features extensive editorial input in the form of general, section and individual extract introductions. Bringing together in one volume ‘classic’ and contemporary pieces of urban geography, studies undertaken in the developed and developing worlds, and examples of theoretical and applied research, it provides in a convenient, student-friendly format, an unparalleled resource for those studying the complex geographies of urban areas.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The abstract police: critical reflections on contemporary change in police organisations.
Full text linkOver the past ten to fifteen years the police in many Western European countries have undergone a series of profound organisational changes. The police now appear to operate at a greater distance from citizens, they are more impersonal and decontextualized and have become more dependent on digitalised data systems. These changes are captured through the concept of the ‘abstract police’ and in this international collection of essays, leading policing scholars use this concept to make sense of contemporary changes to police organisations. Drawing on empirical evidence from a wide range of policing contexts, the individual chapters address major questions about current developments in policing: 1) How are police organisations being shaped by the social, cultural, technological and political contexts in which they operate? 2) How does the concept of the abstract police help understanding of the complex interplay between change and continuity in policing? 3) Is the emergence of an abstract police the unintended outcome of processes of rationalization or a deliberate response to the new complexities of late modernity
Police reform in England and Wales:a new dimension in accountability and service delivery in the 21st century
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