This paper presents a review and interpretation of the apparent inertia and resistance to change that has characterised the last twenty-five years of UK policing. We argue that attempts to introduce New Public Management to policing have not proved as effective as in other public services. Most of the activities of the police have explicitly spatial consequences yet, we argue, the slow diffusion and adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) and other technical innovations has been a particular issue. The current round of political aspirations to reform policing depend in large part on a rapid increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of police management information systems and their deployment at strategic and tactical levels. Generic opportunities and constraints arising in the field of geographic information science are identified and summarised followed by a critical appreciation of current GIS deployment in policing. Direct practical experience in GIS policing applications is used to outline observed barriers to progress and also forms the basis for a number of strategic recommendations.
References
1.
ACPO, The Police Superintendents' Association, Police Federation, 1990Operational Policing ReviewAssociation of Chief Police Officers, 25 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EX (originally limited circulation only)
2.
AldersonJC, 1979Policing Freedom (Macdonald and Evans, London)
3.
AscherK, 1987The Politics of Privatisation (Macmillan, London)
4.
AshbyDI, 2005, “Policing neighbourhoods: Exploring the geographies of crime, policing and performance assessment”Policing and Society15413–447
5.
AshbyDILongleyPA, 2005, “Geocomputation, geodemographics and resource allocation for local policing”Transactions in GIS9(1) 53–72
6.
Audit Commission, 1993Helping with Enquiries: Tackling Crime Effectively (HMSO, London)
AustRCondonJ, 2003, “Geographical variations in drug use. Key findings from the 2001/2 British crime survey”Home Office Statistical Bulletin15/03Home Office, London
9.
BeckettIHartJ, 1981, “Neighbourhood policing: A system and behavioural study of police operations in the urban environment” unpublished BSc dissertation, Systems Science, The City University, London
10.
Bichard Inquiry, 2004Report of the Bichard Inquiry (The Stationery Office, London)
11.
BowersKHirschfieldA, 1999, “Exploring links between crime and disadvantage in north-west England: An analysis using geographical information systems”International Journal of Geographical Information Science13159–184
12.
BroadbentJLaughlinR, 2002, “Public service professionals and the New Public management: Control of the professions in the public services”, in New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects Eds McLaughlinK.OsborneSPFerlieE, (Routledge, London) pp 95–108
13.
BrownPJBHirschfieldAFGBateyPWJ, 2000, “Adding value to census data: Public sector applications of the super profiles geodemographic typology”Journal of Cities and Regions1019–32
ButterfieldREdwardsCWoodallJ, 2005, “The New Public Management and Managerial Roles: The case of the police sergeant”British Journal of Management16329–341
16.
CainesE, 1994, untitled, in Changing Policing: Business or Service Ed. MartinC, Report of a conference organised by the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency, London, 21 September 1993, pp 6–9
17.
ChainySRatcliffeJ, 2005GIS and Crime Mapping (John Wiley, Chichester, Sussex)
18.
ChanJBL, 2003, “Police and new technologies”, in Handbook of Policing Ed. NewburnT, (Willan, Cullompton, Devon) pp 655–679
19.
CopeN, 2003, “Crime analysis: Principles and practice”, in Handbook of Policing Ed. NewburnT, (Willan, Cullompton, Devon) pp 355 et seq
20.
CopeSLeishmanFStarieP, 1997, “Globalization, new public management and the enabling state. Futures of police management”International Journal of Public Sector Management10444–460
21.
CoxBShirleyJShortM, 1977The Fall of Scotland Yard (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middx)
22.
DoddTNicholasSPoveyDWalkerA, (Eds), 2004Crime in England and Wales 2003/2004 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/04, Home Office, London
23.
EdenCAckermannF, 1998Making Strategy: The Journal of Strategic Management (Sage, London)
24.
FarringtonDPWelshBC, 2004, “Measuring the effect of improved street lighting on crime: A reply to Dr Marchant”British Journal of Criminology44448–467
25.
FaulknerDIrvingB, 1994Crime Management by Reducing Repeat Victimisation: A Strategy for ChangeThe Police Foundation, First Floor, Park Place, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
26.
FerlieEAshburnerLFitzgeraldLPettigrewA, 1996The New Public Management in Action (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
27.
FisherHAP, 1977Report of the Maxwell Confait Inquiry (HMSO, London)
28.
FotheringhamASBrunsdonCCharltonM, 2002Geographically Weighted Regression: The Analysis of Spatially Varying Relationships (John Wiley, Chichester, Sussex)
29.
GiddensA, 1991Modernity and Self-identity (Polity Press, Cambridge)
30.
GoldsteinH, 1979, “Improving policing: A problem-oriented approach”Crime and Delinquency25236–258
HarriesK, 1999Mapping Crime: Principles and PracticeUS Department of Justice, Washington, DC
33.
HirschfieldABowersK. (Eds), 2001Mapping and Analysing Crime Data (Taylor and Francis, London)
34.
Home Office, London1993aCriminal Justice Statistics 1882–1992Research and Statistics Department
35.
Home Office, London1993bPolice Reform: A Police Service for the Twenty-first Century: The Government's Proposals for the Police Service in England and Wales Cm2281 (HMSO, London)
36.
Home Office, London2001Policing a New Century: A Blueprint for Reform Cm5326 (HMSO, London)
37.
Home Office, London2004aBuilding Communities, Beating Crime: A Better Police Service for the 21st Century Cm6360 (HMSO, London)
38.
Home Office, London2004bThe Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2004/5 HC 277 (The Stationery Office, London)
39.
HoughM, 2003, “Modernisation and public opinion: Some criminal justice paradoxes”Contemporary Politics9(2) 143–155
40.
ImbertP, 1992, “Corporate Strategy 1992/93 to 1996/97”The Job Special 7 February
41.
InnesMHaydenSLoweTMacKenzieHRobertsCTwymanL, 2004Signal Crime and Reassurance Policing. Volume 1: Concepts and Analysis (University of Surrey, Guildford)
42.
IrvingB, 2003The Reassurance Policing Pilot Project: Interim Report on Independent Monitoring and Mentoring ActivityPolice Foundation, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
43.
IrvingB, 2004Police Reform Project—Interim Report Commentary unpublished response to a Home Office pre White Paper consultation exercise; available from the author on request
44.
IrvingBBourneD, 2002, “Enhancing performance in BCUs: The appropriateness of the strategic approach outlined”, in Policing A New Century: A Blueprint for Reform Appendix 12, House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Report on the Police Reform Bill HC 612 (The Stationery Office, London)
45.
IrvingBDixonB, 2002Hotspotting: Turning Police Theory into Practice in Thames Valley and NorthumbriaPolice Foundation, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
46.
IrvingBBirdCHibberdMWillmoreJ, 1989Neighbourhood Policing: The Natural History of a Policing ExperimentPolice Foundation, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
47.
IrvingBLFaulknerDFrosdickSToppingP, 1996Reacting to Crime: The Management of Police Resources (Home Office, London)
48.
IrvingBBourneDCollinsJ, 2001Crime Tracking: Developing a Community Safety Intelligence System for the West Ham and Plaistow New Deal ProgrammePolice Foundation, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
49.
KilroyL, 2004, “Crime-busters go mobile with GIS”GEO:connexion3(6) 52–53
50.
LovedayBReidA, 2003Going Local: Who Should Run Britain's Police (Policy Exchange, Clutha House, 10 Storey's Gate, London SW1P 3AY
51.
McLaughlinEMurjiK, 1993, “Controlling the bill: Restructuring the police in the 1990s”Critical Social Policy1395–103
52.
MaguireM, 1997, “Crime statistics, patterns and trends: Changing perception and their implications”, in The Oxford Handbook of Criminology Eds MaguireMMorganRReinerR, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 135–188
53.
ManningP, 1977The Social Organisation of Policing (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA)
54.
MarchantPR, 2004, “A demonstration that the claim that brighter lighting reduces crime is unfounded”British Journal of Criminology44441–447
55.
MawbyRCWrightA, 2003, “The police organisation”, in Handbook of Policing Eds NewburnT, (Willan, Collumpton, Devon) pp 174–175
56.
Mirrlees-BlackCMayhewPPercyA, 1996The 1996 British Crime Survey Home Office Statistical Bulletin 19/96, Home Office, London
57.
NewmanJ, 2002, “The New Public Management, modernisation and institutional change: Disruptions, disjunctions and dilemmas”, in New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects Eds McLaughlinKOsborneSPFerlieE, (Routledge, London) pp 77–91
58.
NolanJJContiNMcDevittJ, 2004, “Situational policing. Neighbourhood development and crime control”Policing and Society14(2) 99–117
59.
OsborneSPMcLaughlinK, 2002, “The New Public Management in context”, in New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects Eds OsborneSPFerlieE, (Routledge, London) pp 7–14
60.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act, 1984Public General Acts—Elizabeth II chapter 60 (HMSO, London)
61.
Police and Magistrates Courts Act, 1994Public General Acts—Elizabeth II chapter 29 (HMSO, London)
62.
Police Foundation, Policy Studies Institute1994Final Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Roles and Responsibilities of the Police Police Foundation, 12 Lawn Lane, London SW8 1UD
63.
PosenI, 1994Review of Police Core and Ancillary Tasks (HMSO, London)
64.
RatcliffeJH, 2000, “Implementing and integrating crime mapping into a police intelligence environment”The International Journal of Police Science and Management2313–323
65.
RatcliffeJH, 2002a, “Damned if you don't, damned if you do: Crime mapping and its implications in the real world”Policing and Society12211–225
66.
RatcliffeJH, 2002b, “Intelligence-led policing and the problem of turning rhetoric into practice”Policing and Society12(1) 53–66
67.
RatcliffeJH, 2004, “Geocoding crime and a first estimate of a minimum acceptable hit rate”International Journal of Geographical Information Science1861–72
68.
RatcliffeJHMcCullaghMJ, 2001, “Chasing ghosts? Police perception of high crime areas”British Journal of Criminology41330–341
69.
ReinerR, 1997, “Media-made criminality: The representation of crime in the mass media”, in The Oxford Handbook of Criminology Eds MaguireMMorganRReinerR, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 1008–1011
70.
Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure, 1980Report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure (HMSO, London)
71.
SampsonRJRaudenbushSW, 1999, “Systematic social observation of public spaces: A new look at disorder in urban neighborhoods”American Journal of Sociology105603–651
72.
ScarmanLord (1981) The Scarman Report (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middx)
73.
ScottJ, 1998, “Performance culture: The return of reactive policing”Policing and Society8269–288
74.
SheehyP, 1993Inquiry into Police Responsibilities and Rewards (HMSO, London)
75.
ShorttE, 1924Report of Proceedings of a Committee on Inquiry on the Police Service Cmd 2086 (HMSO, London)
76.
SimmonsJ, (Ed.), 2002Crime in England and Wales 2001/2002 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 7/02, Home Office, London
77.
SimmonsJDoddT, (Eds), 2003Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 7/03, Home Office, London
78.
SleightP, 2004Targeting Customers: How to Use Geodemographic and Lifestyle Data in Your Business3rd edition (WARC, London)
79.
SmithDGrayJSmallS, 1983Police and People in London (Policy Studies Institute, London)
80.
SquiresP, 1998, “Cops and customers: Consumerism and the demand for police services. Is the customer always right?”Policing and Society8169–188
81.
SylvesterR, 2005, “Market forces risk to pupils and patients, says BP chief”Daily Telegraph 12 February
TurnerTP, 1986Evaluation of Neighbourhood Policing: Final Report—Notting HillMetropolitan Police Service, London
84.
WalshK, 1995Public Services and Market Mechanisms: Competition, Contracting and the New Public Management (Macmillan, London)
85.
WebberR, 1975, “Liverpool social area study, 1971 data”, PRAG Technical Paper 14 (Centre for Environmental Studies, London)
86.
WebberR, 2004, “Designing geodemographic classifications to meet contemporary business needs”Interactive Marketing5219–237
87.
WillcoxLHarrowJ, (Eds), 1992Rediscovering Public Services Management (McGraw-Hill, London)
88.
WilliamsonT, 1988A Brief Description of Policy Analysis in the Metropolitan Police ACPO Spring Seminar reports, Metropolitan Police Service, London
89.
WilliamsonTAshbyDWebberR, 2005, “Young offenders and the neighbourhood: A new approach to data-analysis for community policing”Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology15203–228
