Key themes in policing

The police increasingly need to work with other government agencies, the third sector, community organisations and the private sector, an approach known as "Plural Policing". This book critically analyses the rise of this approach in England and Wales over the past decade, giving examples of national and international practice. Written by an author with experience in both practice and academia, it discusses the consequences of this approach for the historical model of policing provision and challenges views on how policing should be delivered in the future. Part of Key themes in policing, a textbook series designed to fill a growing need for research-informed policing within Higher Education curriculums and in practice, edited by Megan O'Neill, Marisa Silvestri & Stephen Tong, this accessible text, aimed primarily at undergraduate students, will appeal widely across different modules and tie into important issues covered on all policing courses.

Although police intelligence is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, it remains a human activity. This is the first textbook to offer a comprehensive and up-to-date account of police intelligence work based on current research, and to assess how intelligence may be used wisely and ethically to influence policing policy and practice. After explaining the basic tenets of intelligence, the author, who has extensive experience in the field, critically examines the development of intelligence structures and governance of contemporary intelligence collection. He goes on to assess the threats and opportunities to policing in the digital age, including the widespread use of social media and the emergence of 'Big Data'. Part of a new series for students and practitioners designed to reflect the importance of incorporating 'evidence based policing' within the curriculum and practice, this much-needed textbook covers not only the technical aspects of intelligence work but also encourages reflexivity in practice.

Taking an evidence-based approach to understanding police culture, this thorough and accessible book critically reviews existing research and offers new insights on theories and definitions. Tom Cockcroft, an authority on the subject, addresses a range of contemporary issues including diversity, police reform and police professionalization. This invaluable review: - Identifies and discusses differing conceptions of police culture; - Explores the contribution of different disciplinary and methodological approaches to our understanding of police culture; - Assesses how culture relates to many different operational aspects of policing; - Contextualises our understanding of police culture in relation to both contemporary police agendas and wider social change. For students, researchers and police officers alike, this is an accessible and timely appraisal of police culture.

In a critical analysis of conventional understanding, leading authors Claire Davis and Marisa Silvestri present bold new conceptualisations of police leadership. Drawing on empirical research in criminology, sociology and leadership studies, they present a thoughtful critique of the nature and practice of leadership in contemporary policing. The book: - Critically explores the identities of leaders and their positions within wider organisational structures and processes; - Provides a critique of contemporary reform to police professionalisation, training and education, equalities and diversity by situating these developments within wider historical, social and political context; - Draws on critical theory to offer an alternative, challenging and novel interpretation of police leaders as not simply the result of individual experiences and attitudes, but of the social, institutional and historical processes of policing and the cultures that exist within it; - Points towards future directions and a reimagining of leadership in the police. Accessible and stimulating, this is an essential text for policing students and valuable reading for current leaders and those interested in policing, criminology and leadership.