‘Changing policing and policing change’: placing Scotland in a comparative context

Nick Fyfe

Why? Forces for Change

• Economic – the search for ‘affordable policing’;

• Social/managerial – responding to changing patterns of criminality;

• Political/ideological – reshaping relations between state and civil society.

How? Strategies for Change

• Mergers/centralization/nationalization;

• Decentralization/localism – rolling out the ‘Boris model’?;

• Enhanced collaboration;

• Savings from privatization/co-production.

What is the impact of change? Some cautionary tales about limited research evidence

• The evidence for [restructuring] making a difference, let alone demonstrably improving productivity or outcomes is surprisingly slender… there are no randomized trials, no longitudinal studies of multiple restructuring events or time-series designs and little scientifically acceptable cross-sectional work. (Braithwaite et al, 2005).

What is the impact of change ? Some cautionary tales about the unintended and unexpected…

• Short –term risks to local policing;

• Concerns of partners;

• Governance, accountability and decision-making;

• Careers, competence and culture.

How does reform relate to wider changes and challenges?

• Political sensibilities and professional independence - negotiating the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of policing;

• ‘Policing by consent’ in a world of growing inequality;

• Reducing crime in an era of austerity.

Conclusions

• Profound shifts occurring in the economic. social and political environments of policing across Europe;

• ‘Adapting the Blues’: a long history transitions and transformations;

• Need for a strong narrative about what kind of policing we want in the 21st century.