A Case of Arrested Development? Some Consequences of Inadequate Management in the British Police
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 1 February 1993
Abstract
The unreflective adoption and use of technology by the police, combined with inadequate management, have helped to cause decline in the relations between the police and the public in Britain. Divides the recent history of the police into four periods: “traditional policing” (1945‐1960); “mechanized policing” (1960‐1972); “fire brigade policing” (1972‐1985); and “contemporary policing” (1985‐present). Traces the impact of technology on police practice and the contribution of management for each period. Argues that the development of reactive policing, following the adoption of cars and radios, disrupts the traditionally stable relations between the police and the public, and this is made worse by the administrative centralization subsequently adopted. The result has been widespread resentment of the police, and in some communities organized resistance to their initiatives. In the contemporary period, there are only the beginnings of the development of suitable management practice.
Keywords
Citation
Ackroyd, S. (1993), "A Case of Arrested Development? Some Consequences of Inadequate Management in the British Police", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 6 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513559310028243
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1993, MCB UP Limited