Restoring public confidence through the delivery of improved community policing in Rackhamshire
ISSN: 1757-8043
Article publication date: 15 February 2022
Issue publication date: 6 May 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Neighbourhood policing is central to supporting public confidence in England and Wales. However, the delivery of neighbourhood policing models is increasingly fragmented and under pressure from austerity measures and from changes to demand and priorities. This research aims to understand the current state of neighbourhood policing in the county of “Rackhamshire” and its ability to support public confidence.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted six focus groups, three with officers who were part of Community Policing Teams (CPTs) and three with members of the community who were actively engaged with community policing and local concerns. These were supplemented by two interviews with senior officers (35 participants in total).
Findings
Austerity-driven changes to policing in Rackhamshire have damaged the capacities of CPTs and residents have begun to lose confidence in the ability of the police to respond to their fears. The authors argue that reforms intended to make policing more efficient and effective appear to have the opposite effect on community policing, by preventing it from working in a way that can support public confidence and that this could have longer-term consequences.
Originality/value
The effects of austerity on the mechanisms by which neighbourhood policing supports confidence have been relatively neglected. By exploring the state of these mechanisms in one English constabulary, this research has exposed serious weaknesses in the way that community policing is able to support public confidence and suggests practical operational responses. In light of these findings, this study argues for the urgent reinstatement of earlier models of neighbourhood policing.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to first thank the police officers and community members who took part in this research, who generously shared their time and insights with us. The authors would also like to thank the funders of this study, the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for making this research possible.
Funding: This work was supported by the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner under the Academic Research for (Force name removed) Police Grant [2017/044].
Citation
O’Reilly, C., Agnew-Pauley, W. and Lundrigan, S. (2022), "Restoring public confidence through the delivery of improved community policing in Rackhamshire", Safer Communities, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 69-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/SC-03-2021-0008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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