Despite a long tradition of pessimism regarding the scope for meaningful change in police practices, recent structural reforms to police organizations in several European countries suggest that significant change in policing is possible. Drawing on recent research into the establishment and consequences of a national police force in Scotland, this article uses instrumental, cultural and myth perspectives taken from organization theory to examine how change happened and with what effects. It highlights how police reform involves a complex interplay between the strategic aims of government, the cultural norms of police organizations and the importance of alignment with wider views about the nature of the public sector. The article concludes by identifying a set of wider lessons from the experience of organizational change in policing.
BayleyD (2008) Police reform: who done it?Policing and Society18(1): 7–17.
2.
CairneyPRussellSSt DennyE (2016) The ‘Scottish approach’ to policy and policymaking: what issues are territorial and what are universal?Policy & Politics44(3): 333–350.
3.
ChristensenTLaegreidPRonessPGRovikKA (2007) Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth. London: Routledge
4.
DonnellyDScottK (2010) Governance and accountabilities and Scottish policing. In: DonnellyDScottK (eds) Policing Scotland. Cullompton, UK: Willan, 175–200.
5.
FyfeNR (2014) A different and divergent trajectory? Reforming the structure, governance and narrative of policing in Scotland. In: BrownJ (ed.) The Future of Policing. London: Routledge, 493–506.
6.
FyfeNR (2015) Policing Scotland post-reform: a new politics of policing and a shifting culture of control. In: CroallHMooneyGMunroM (eds) Criminal Justice and Society in Scotland: Critical Perspectives. London: Routledge, 167–181.
7.
FyfeNR (2018) The changing ecology and equity of policing: reconfiguring police organisational boundaries in an era of police reform. In: FyfeNGundhusHRonnK (eds) Moral Issues in Intelligence-Led Policing. London: Routledge, 246–261.
8.
FyfeNRHenryA (2012) Negotiating divergent tides of police reform in the UK. Journal of Police Studies2012-4(25): 171–190.
9.
FyfeNRRichardsonN (2017) Police reform, research and the uses of expert knolwedge, European Journal of Policing Studies, 5(3), 147–61.
10.
FyfeNRScottKB (2013) In search of sustainable policing? Creating a national police force in Scotland. In: FyfeNRTerpstraJTopsP (eds), Centralizing Forces? Comparative Perspectives on Contemporary Police Reform in Northern and Western Europe. The Hague: Eleven, 119–135.
11.
FyfeNRTerpstraJ (2018) Special Issue on Police Reform: introduction and overview. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. DOI: 10.1093/police/pay071.
12.
FyfeNRAndersonSBlandNGouldingAMitchellJReidS (2018) Experiencing organizational change during an era of reform: Police Scotland, narratives of localism, and perceptions from the ‘frontline’. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. DOI: 10.1093/police/pay052.
13.
FyfeNRTerpstraJTopsP (eds) (2013) Centralizing Forces? Comparative Perspectives on Contemporary Police Reform in Northern and Western Europe. The Hague: Eleven.
14.
GarlandD (2001) The Culture of Control: Crime and Social order in Contemporary Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15.
GiacomantonioC (2015) Policing Integration: The Sociology of Police Coordination Work. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave
16.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) (2015) Independent Assurance Review Police Scotland – Call Handling. Final Report. Edinburgh: HMICS.
17.
LoaderISparksR (2011) Public Criminology. London: Routledge.
18.
MarshallC (2014) Edinburgh sauna raids show police culture clash. The Scotsman30 May.
19.
MendelJFyfeNden HeyerG (2017) ‘Does police force size matter? A review of the evidence regarding restructuring police organisations. Police, Practice and Research: An International Journal18(1): 3–4.
20.
MurrayKHarkinD (2016) Policing in cool and hot climates: legitimacy, power and the rise and fall of mass top and search in Scotland. British Journal of Criminology57(4): 885–905. DOI: 10.1093/bjc/azw007.
SavageS (2007) Police Reform: Forces for Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
24.
Scottish Government (2011a) Sustainable Policing Project Phase Two Report: Options for Reform. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
25.
Scottish Government (2011b) Renewing Scotland’s Public Services. Edinburgh: Scottish Government
26.
Scottish Police Authority (2014) Scrutiny Review – Police Scotland’s Stop and Search Policy and Practice. Glasgow: Scottish Police Authority.
27.
Scottish Police Authority (2015) Inquiry into the Public Impact of Police Scotland’s Firearms Standing Authority. Glasgow: Scottish Police Authority.
28.
Scottish Police Authority (2016) Review of Governance in Policing. Glasgow: Scottish Police Authority.
29.
SIPR, Scotcen and What Works Scotland (2016) Police and Fire Reform Evaluation: Year 1 Summary Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
30.
SIPR, Scotcen and What Works Scotland (2017) Police and Fire Reform Evaluation: Year 2 Summary Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
31.
SIPR, What Works Scotland and Scotcen (2018) Evaluation of Police and Fire Reform: Year 3 Thematic Case Study – Partnership, Innovation and Prevention. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
32.
SIPR, What Works Scotland and Scotcen (2019a) Evaluation of Police and Fire Reform: Year 3 International Perspectives on Police and Fire Reform. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
33.
SIPR, What Works Scotland and Scotcen (2019b) Evaluation of Police and Fire Reform: Year 4 – Summary of Key Findings and Learning Points from the Evaluation. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
SparrowM (2016) Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back and the Keys to Reform. Washington DC: Brookings institute Press.
36.
TerpstraJFyfeNR (2013) Introduction: a ‘transformative moment in policing’. In FyfeNRTerpstraJTopsP (eds) Centralizing Forces? Comparative Perspectives on Contemporary Police Reform in Northern and Western Europe. The Hague: Eleven, 1–22.
37.
TerpstraJFyfeNR (2014) Policy processes and police reform: examining similarities and differences between Scotland and the Netherlands. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice42(4): 366–383.
38.
TerpstraJFyfeNR (2015) Mind the implementation gap? Police reform and local policing in the Netherlands and Scotland. Criminology & Criminal Justice15(5): 527–544.
39.
TerpstraJFyfeNRSaletR (2019) The Abstract Police: a conceptual exploration of unintended change of police organisations. The Police Journal: Theory, practice and Principle. DOI: 10.1177/0032258X18817999.
