The 1990s have been punctuated with a series of debates, reports and inquiries into the policing function. The Conservative Government instigated far-reaching reforms of the police service which have impacted upon accountability and objectives. Prior to the Conservative Government reforms, the police service itself pre-empted externally imposed reform by launching the ‘Quality of Service’ (QOS) programme. This paper is based upon empirical research which focused on the origins, development and impact of the QOS programme. Interviews with, and a survey of, senior police officers revealed the perceived equal importance of ‘service’ and ‘force’ dimensions of policing. It is concluded that the service periodically balances the scales of ‘care and control’, and indeed that this lies at the heart of securing the efficacy and legitimacy of British policing.
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