The “not so new” plans to privatise policing

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how the police service has reacted to the policy of privatisation from its introduction in the 1980s. It seeks to suggest that there has been considerable reluctance to implement the policy in any depth up to the present, but that new budget constraints are now requiring a radical rethinking by the police service.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview of policy developments and their practical implementation by the police. It examines the initial philosophical theories of the “new right” as it applied to policing and the adjustments made by government to implement this policy. It considers the response by the police service, which it suggests was gradual and the various attempts by government and other agencies to force change which was met by reluctance from the service to fully accept the implications. It also considers how the introduction of league tables and performance measurement assisted in motivating some movement, but that fundamental change was still resisted.

Findings

It would now seem that the driver for increased privatisation has arrived in the form of severe budget constraints, which are to be implemented over a number of years and will in turn force the police service to implement a radical approach rather than minimum rate of change which has been the hallmark of previous years.

Originality/value

The paper traces the uphill struggle which the policy of “privatisation” has been subject to given the evident lack of enthusiasm by the police service and its eventual acceptance when faced with overwhelming financial restraint.

Citation

Houghton, J. (2012), "The “not so new” plans to privatise policing", Safer Communities, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 191-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/17578041211271454