Unpacking the Blue Box: structure, control and education in policing

Research addressing the relationship between Higher Education (HE) and police officers tends to fall into one of three camps. First, that which explores the relationship between police institutions and academic institutions, second, those which explore the appropriateness of the HE setting for the delivery of police-specific knowledge, and, finally, research which investigates the impact of police higher education engagement upon police officer attributes and practice (Brown. 2018. Do graduate police officers make a difference to policing? Results of an integrative literature review. Policing: a journal of policy and practice, policing, 1–22. doi:10.1093/police/pay075). Thus far, little research has discussed the impact HE has on the relationship between officers and the police organisation. This research, derived from interviews with 31 police officers who undertook in-service degrees, explores police officers’ engagement with HE study and the consequent changes to their perception of their relationship with the profession. This is contrasted with the relatively unchanged structural and cultural expectations the organisation places on officers regardless of their newly acquired graduate status as reported in the extant literature (Hallenberg and Cockcroft. 2017. From indifference to hostility: police officers, organisational responses and the symbolic value of ‘in-service’ higher education in policing. Policing: a journal of policy and practice, 11 (3), 273–288). The discrepancy can be explained through the recent scholarship on public sector isomorphism and the police’s transformation into a hybrid organisation (Noordegraaf. 2015. Hybrid professionalism and beyond: new forms of public professionalism in changing organizational and societal contexts. Journal of professions and organization, 2, 187–206), as well as the competing knowledge paradigms within policing (Williams and Cockcroft. 2018. Knowledge wars: professionalisation, organisational justice and competing knowledge paradigms in British policing. In: L. Huey, and R Mitchell, eds. Evidence-based policing: an introduction. Bristol: Policy Press, 131–141). Importantly, however, the current paper takes this discussion deeper. It argues that the police’s unique role in serving not just the public but also state interests inevitably shapes and constrains the process of professionalisation, the relationship between the police and HE, and officers’ ability to use knowledge and skills gained through HE study

Police and higher education

The paper reports on a small pilot study which explored the above themes through semi-structured interviews of police officers and staff with higher education experiences

The Impact of Dispersal Powers on Congregating Youth

Purpose: To present research which evaluated the impact of Dispersal Orders in an English town. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used a mixed method design to, qualitatively, explore the impact of the intervention on young people and, quantitatively, the impact on recorded crime/anti-social behaviour. Findings: The use of Dispersal Orders in the town being studied highlighted a number of issues detrimental to young people. Powers appeared to be used to control the congregating rather than anti-social behaviour of young people and their use could increase young peoples’ feelings of vulnerability. Practical Implications: The findings suggest that Dispersal Orders (and the newer Public Spaces Protection Orders) may be ineffective if they are used without the focus of a specific anti-social behaviour issue. Social Implications: The findings suggest that the use of Dispersal Orders to deal with non anti-social behaviour issues are likely to alienate young people and have the potential to inadvertently place them at further risk. They also suggest that the Public Spaces Protection Order could very well exacerbate the substantial issues which have been identified in the present research. Originality/Value: This research is original and suggests that the negative findings of earlier pieces of research into Dispersal Orders can be replicated in very different geographical environments and in areas with low levels of general deprivation where no substantial anti-social behaviour issues were identified. Furthermore, it uses original data to contextualise contemporary developments in anti-social behaviour, namely the introduction of Public Spaces Protection Order

Reproduction and larval distribution of the penaeid prawn Macropetasma africanus (Balss) in Algoa Bay

Breeding adults and larvae of Macropetasma africanus were sampled over a two-year period in Algoa Bay, South Africa. Gonadal macro- and microscopic examination enabled classification of breeding females into four stages of development. Breeding females were present throughout the study with a summer peak of late maturing and mature females. Larvae were present in the plankton throughout the study with peak abundance in summer. Protozoea, mysis and post-larval stages were recorded with the mysis stage most abundant. Significantly higher numbers of the mysis and post-larval stages were taken at shallow stations (5 m) off sandy beaches than at the deeper stations (18 m). The presence of breeding females in the mature stage of ovarian development and the increase in larval abundance in summer indicates spawning throughout the year with peak intensity in summer.S. Afr. l. Zool.1987, 22(3

From Indifference to Hostility: Police Officers, Organisational Responses and the Symbolic Value of ‘In-Service’ Higher Education in Policing

The relationship between Higher Education (HE) and the knowledge and skill requirements of police officers remains a contentious policy area in England. This paper addresses experiences of 31 officers from a large urban force who have undertaken HE level study whilst in service. Overwhelmingly, officers reported a sense of indifference on the part of the organisation to their successful completion of an HE level educational programme. In addition, some participants experienced tokenistic acknowledgement of their achievement whilst others perceived outright hostility. In light of the findings we argue that, for the police organisation, there is a danger that the value of HE appears in its symbolic cultural capital rather than in the substantive knowledge and skills graduate officers could bring to the organisation and practice of policing. Moreover, the lack of structural and cultural integration has a detrimental effect on how officers with ‘in-service’ degrees view their work, career prospects and the organisation as a whole

Occupational Culture and Policing

When we direct our attention away from public sector occupational cultures per se and towards police occupational cultures, perhaps one of the first facts that needs to be acknowledged is the level of interest that they continue to generate. The subject area has attracted substantial academic attention over a relatively sustained amount of time and, as Westmarland (2008) notes, has achieved the somewhat distinguished position of being one of the few terms in police studies used by academics and lay audiences alike. Amongst academics, suggest O’Neill and Singh (2007, p. 1), it has become ‘an inescapable, controversial, surprisingly stubborn and recurring theme’. That police occupational or organizational culture (the two terms can be used interchangeably in most respects), seemingly above all other such cultures, still generates new literature, debate and disagreement indicates that police behaviour and values, and the drivers behind these, remain contested and of significant social interest. This chapter will highlight the social and political undercurrents that have informed much work into police culture before identifying three key eras of police culture research. For each of these eras of research a small number of key works will be discussed and the main themes outlined. Whilst the chapter presents some definitions of police culture, a selection of works will be drawn on to highlight the difficulties associated with defining this complex area

The Role of Cultural and Tacit Knowledge in Police Training and Education

Police scholars have consistently drawn attention to the importance of informal or cultural knowledge in influencing the professional practice of police officers (see, e.g. Chan, 1997). Recent years, however, have seen many police organisations embark upon programmes of professionalization, often based upon collaboration with Higher Education providers and aimed at limiting the scope for inappropriate or unprofessional practice. Simultaneously, the Evidence Based Policing agenda (see, for example, Sherman, 2013) has provided further impetus for more formalised modes of police knowledge. This paper will draw on empirical data drawn from two research studies to explore the tensions in policing between cultural knowledge and that which is more formal (or ‘codified’ according to Eraut, 2000). In doing so, it will identify some of the challenges of embedding formal police knowledge within police structures. Furthermore, it will seek to highlight some of the implications, for both practice and professionalization, that might arise from such challenges

Social, Organisational and Cultural Change: Contemporary Challenges for Policing

Contemporary policing is often perceived as being in a state of change. Discourse on such matters largely focuses upon changes to the challenges facing the police in terms of operational complexities of law enforcement, the harshening of the financial landscape and the demands of providing legitimate policing to increasingly complex communities. Such issues are undoubtedly significant, and this paper will adopt a slightly different focus with which to engage with them. Taking as its starting point the concept of late modernity, it will explore the growth of neo-liberalism as a driver for wholesale changes in the way that police organisations orientate themselves to both the state and wider society. In doing so, it will detail changes to the remit of policing, the organisational structure of policing and the new cultural context in which it exists. In doing so, it will pay particular attention to the growth of broadly managerialist functions within policing and the increasing influence of professionalisation agendas

Police Cybercrime Training: Strategies, Delivery and Perceptions

This paper reports on a piece of HEFCE/College of Policing funded research exploring police officers’ experiences of undertaking cyber training in a large English police force. A number of issues emerged from the analysis of the data and, whilst police organisations are increasingly seeking to embed cyber knowledge and techniques as core generic skills amongst police officers, the data suggests that this has not been wholly successful. This is for a number of reasons. First, there remains some resistance from officers who believe that cyber knowledge and skills lie beyond the remit of non-specialist officers. Second, that some modes of learning delivery are viewed as substantially more effective than others. Third, that there remain some structural barriers to effective cyber training delivery at the organizational level. These findings are discussed within a context that acknowledges the tension between tacit and codified knowledge in police organisations and the subsequent debate between acquisitive and participatory models of police learning