Abstract
For the last ten years the police service has been undergoing a period of evolution, and scrutiny of its methods and ***answer-ability has been getting steadily stronger. The Police Reform Act 2002 capped off a number of significant changes, not least of which was to discard the Police Complaints Authority in favour of a new Independent Police Complaints Commission.
In the last few years several aspects of police organisation have been drawn in under the central control of the Home Office; Local Police Authorities exist for the benefit of the community but there are numerous examples of Chief Constables disregarding their wishes. The ease with which a constable can be called to account has gradually been tightened up, and yet to the observer it may be surprising to learn who really has the final say over how police work is conducted.
An abrupt wake-up call was delivered to the entire service in October 2003 when the BBC proved that the ghosts of police racism had by no means been exorcised, and a startling insight was given to the whole country as to who it is that dictates the nature of everyday policing.
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