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Policing - new material (60)

01 May 2002

The Transformation of Policing? Understanding Current Trends in Policing Systems, T Jones & T Newburn. British Journal of Criminology vol 42 no 1, 2002, pp129-146.

This paper considers that policing systems in developed economies are undergoing radical change. A number of significant shifts have occurred including major reforms in public policing, and a substantial expansion of the private security industry. It concludes by arguing that it is helpful to locate changes within the framework of policing in a wider context. Rather than view current developments as a fragmentation of policing, they can be seen as part of a long-term process of formalisation of social control.

The police have lost the plot, Penny Wark. Times 21.5.02., pp4-5.

Interview with former National Crime Squad head, Bob Taylor, who retired last year. Taylor argues for the "common sense" of a national police force, an end to trial by jury ("too complex for people to understand"), a national DNA register ("civil liberties issues are outweighed by the protection and security of the public") and a clampdown on drugs ("The idea of legalising drugs is irresponsible"). Taylor concludes, “We don't want a return to Victorian values, but....."

Policing as forestry? Re-imagining policing in Belgium, Ronnie Lippens & Patrick van Calster. Social & Legal Studies vol. 11 no. 2 (June) 2002, pp283-305.

Wrong man, Bob Woffinden. Guardian G2 14.6.02., pp.4-5.

Article on the miscarriage of justice case involving Dudley Higgins, a black man arrested and convicted in connection with an £8,000 robbery in the West Midlands. Higgins met the man who carried out the robbery, and who had confessed to it, while serving his sentence, before being released on appeal in January. At his appeal the judge expressed "extreme concern" at the conviction and the actions of the police.

The Police National Computer and the Offenders Index: can they be combined for research purposes, Brian Francis, Paul Crosland and Juliet Harman. Findings 170 (Home Office) 2002, pp4.

"This study investigates the feasibility of merging relevant police records held on the Police National Computer into extracts from the Offenders Index in order to maximise the information available to researchers."