LOCAL POLICING IN SCOTLAND: A CASE STUDY APPROACH Dr Kenneth Scott Dr Elizabeth Aston The University of the West of Scotland

Scottish Policing ‘a local service, locally delivered, locally accountable’ Previously –Banton (1964) The Policeman in the Community

Fundamental question: what is involved in policing at a local level? –Community policing –‘Core’ policing –Neighbourhood policing –Problem-oriented policing –Reassurance policing ‘Policing the community in Scotland is at a historic crossroads.’ [Donnelly, 2005: 151]

Research project aim To investigate local policing in three communities in Scotland in terms of –police activity –policing priorities –and public expectations

Research methods  Literature review and documentary analysis of force documents  Analysis of existing data at case study and force level  Interviews with police managers  Questionnaires and interviews with police officers  Focus groups with community representatives

Selection of case study areas An appropriate mix of city, suburban, large town and rural areas Within forces ‘to reflect the diversity of populations served and policing problems encountered, and to produce a spectrum of socio-economic, class and race dimensions’ (McConville and Shepherd 1992: 2) Avoiding ‘over-researched’ areas

Case Study approach Different environments across Scotland: –Urban /suburban –Large and small towns –Rural and village policing

Data collection timetable July/August 2009 Time 1 Strathclyde Police Force November/ Dec 2009 Dumfries & Galloway March/April 2010 Grampian Police July/August 2010 Time 2 Strathclyde Police Force

Themes: 1) policing of local areas Structure of policing teams Key ingredients of ‘community policing’ –Problem-solving; consultation; active citizenship; visibility and accessibility; reassurance; accountability; affixed to geographic units. What police officers do on the ground Models of CP – at the core or an ‘add on’ –(Lloyd & Foster 2009; Justice Committee)

2) public consultation The public and priority setting (Flanagan 2008) Public Reassurance Strategy: public consultations, signal interviews and KIN groups Representative of the community? Performance and public perceptions

3) police-community relations Contact with the police… perceptions/ attitudes, trust… public cooperation… intelligence gathering (Brogden & Nijhar 2005, McConville & Shepherd 1992, Friedmann 1990) reactive policing /enforcement V problem solving / community policing and consultation (Skogan & Hartnett 1997)

‘Both the police and the public would benefit if there were more informed and independent opinion in the universities and among the public at large about the police and their duties.’ [Banton,1964: 268]

References Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (2007) Public Reassurance Strategy. Banton, M. (1964) The Policeman in the Community. London: Tasvistock. Bayley, D. H. (1985) Policing for the Future. New York: Oxford University Press. Brogden, M. and Nijhar, P. (2005) Community Policing: National and international models and approaches. Willan Publishing. Crawford, A. (2007) ‘Reassurance Policing: Feeling is Believing’ in Henry, A. and Smith, D. J. [eds.] Transformations of Policing. Aldershot: Ashgate. Donnelly, D. (2005) ‘Policing the Scottish community’ in Donnelly and Scott [eds.] Policing Scotland. Devon: Willan Publishing. Flanagan, R. (2008) The Review of Policing: Final Report.

Goldstein, H. (1990) Problem-oriented Policing. New York: McGraw- Hill. Justice Committee (2008) Report on the Inquiry into Community Policing. Home Office (1995) Review of Core and Ancillary Tasks. London: The Stationery Office. Lloyd, K. and Foster, J. (2009) Citizen Focus and Community Engagement: a Review of the Literature. The Police Foundation. Mawby, R. I. (2000) ‘Core policing: the seductive myth’ in Leishman, F. et al. [eds.] Core Issues in Policing, 2 nd edition. Harlow: Pearson Education. McConville, M. and Shepherd, D. (1992) Watching police, watching communities. London: Routledge. Myhill, A. (2006) Community engagement in policing: Lessons from the literature. Home Office.

Redshaw, J., Mawby, R. I and Bunt, P. (1997) ‘Evaluating core policing in Britain: The views of police and consumers’, International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 25: Schaffer, E. B. (1980) Community Policing. London: Croom Helm. Shanks (1980) Police Community Involvement in Scotland. Scottish Office Central Research Unit Papers. Skogan, W. G. and Hartnett S. M. (1997) Community Policing, Chicago Style. New York: Oxford University Press. Stephens, M. (1988) Policing: the critical issues. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf: London. Tilley, N. (2003) ‘Community policing, problem-oriented policing and intelligence-led policing’ in Newburn, T. [ed.] Handbook of Policing. Devon: Willan Publishing. Wright, A. (2002) Policing: An Introduction to Concepts and Practice. Devon: Willan Publishing.

Contact details Centre for Criminal Justice and Police Studies University of the West of Scotland Hamilton Campus Hamilton ML3 0JB Tel: extn. 8622