Policing - The Next Generation

Following a decline in public confidence in policing in the late 1980s, the Association of Chief Police Officers undertook an in depth ‘Operational Policing Review’ to ascertain perceptions of policing both internally and externally.  The review resulted in a strategic policy document (SPD) called ‘Setting the standards for policing: meeting community expectation.’  The SPD identified a disconnect between the police and communities that can be broadly described as policing arrogance resulting in the police setting community priorities instead of the public.  There was also a lack of focus on customer expectation and a general lack of consistency in relation to fairness, courtesy and sensitivity.  

The SPD made a number of recommendations, but perhaps the main issue to come out of the research was the development of the Quality of Service Initiative (QOS).  The QOS led to many police forces introducing European Foundation of Quality Management, Total Quality Management or similar processes in order to improve performance across a range of areas.   According to Waters (1996) the QOS approach was determined in order to promote a caring service and repair the damage image of the police (the reason for the damaged image is worthy of another blog at a later date).

However, as with any reform agenda, the success or failure would depend on the leadership that it attracted.  Within a short period of time, the attention of police leaders was stimulated by the fact that HMIC declared that it would …‘rigorously purse indications that all forces are pursuing measurement of quality of service to the public…’  Measurement was always going to stir activity!

However, there was an enlightened air developing.  Chief HMI Sir John Woodcock wrote of the police having to develop from ‘…a nominal service to one with a passion for service.  A passion for the customer as an individual, not a view of what the [police] service thinks the public needs as and when the organisation can deliver it.’  (1990).

However, to do this it was accepted that there had to be a change of culture.  Woodcock again referred to a cultural change that had to occur at all levels, although he acknowledged that penetration was not happening.  The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Michael Hurst addressed a seminar at the national police college in 1991 and also stated that ‘the challenge is to translate our intention into measureable action at street level……It means changing the ethos of policing, its values and standards, from regulations and enforcement to service and protection.’ Now where have I heard those words before?  Ah yes, 1829, Peel, Rowan and Mayne in developing the New Police! So almost 200 years later it seems that the police are trying to get back to the principles of 1829.

Let’s fast forward to the 2000s; 2010 to be precise.  Jon Murphy QPM is appointed as the new Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and seeks to implement a strategy called ‘Just Talk.’  The idea is that uniformed officers stop and speak to people about everyday issues rather than stopping them and asking them to account for themselves.  The Police Minister the Right Honourable Nick Herbert MP also espouses returning to the values of policing developed by Peel.  So why does policing seem to be caught in this cycle of late modernity whereby reform is repeated quickly over a short time period and seem to return to the same issue – the standard and manner of service to the public.

Some of the reasons are politicisation of policing; new governments with new agendas; crises in policing resulting in a lack of confidence; a focus on performance and ticking boxes, rather than dealing with people as people and finally, a lack of understanding of what citizens or communities want or expect from the police.  This is not an easy nut to crack as there are too many distractions in modern day society.  Or are there?  We have the EDL – Rowan and Mayne had large scale disturbances in their time.  We have changes in government and a lack of clarity on the Big Society – yet political turmoil in the 1800s resulted in changes of policy and personnel on a much larger scale.

It is also too easy to say that inconsistency is down to poor leadership.  Many leaders of the modern police force have a focus on their career rather than policing communities, but whose fault is that? 

The bigger worry, is whether those identified by Woodcock and Hirst, the front line personnel who are responsible for direct communication with citizens, have the skills and abilities to be able to ‘Just Talk’ or more importantly  develop a passion for customer service.  This will become a bigger issue once police forces start to recruit again and the Y Generation starts to play a bigger role in policing our society, especially as many forces have disbanded their training schools and academies to cope with the cuts.

As outsourcing starts to play a bigger part in policing there is a clear need for some form of regulation to ensure consistency in delivery, especially in relation to training recruits.  It will be interesting to see what part NPIA, or what is left of it, will play in the development of police recruits in the future.  Bring on the next generation

Chicago Police Chief defends his strategy

The passage of time does not seem to help to solve the issues being faced by Chicago Police.  Rarely does a week go by without negative comment or tit for tat media communication about internal politics, external programmes and strategies and Police Superintendent who appears to be under fire from the politicians and his own staff.

This is a letter published in September 2010 in which Superintendent Weiss found it necessary to defend his tactics, decisions and actions as well as comment of the lack of support from staff associations. - http://tinyurl.com/6glqhx2. 

This letter is fascinating from two points. Firstly, Superintendent Weiss defends the action taken against former police officer William Cozzi who is caught on CCTV beating a man shackled to a wheelchair with a leather weighted start called a sap..  This assault, viewable on You Tube, not only shows the assault, but shows four other officers standing watching the beating taking place.  None of the officers step forward to stop the assault.  Cozzi later appeared before a discipline committee and was found guilty of numerous charges.  His punishment, as a result of a review of his previous good and meritorious conduct, was a two year suspension.  It seems that the case was later picked up by a civil court and Cozzi received a 40 month prison sentence.  The issue is that the police of Chicago seem to put the blame for this on the shoulders of Superintendent Weiss who, they allege, referred this case to the FBI.  

In the letter detailed above Weiss refutes this allegation, stating that he “...forwarded the internet link of the footage to the Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Chicago and asked him if he had seen it. I did not "refer" the case in any sense of the word to the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In fact, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had already been investigating the matter.”  

The interesting point is why does the Superintendent have to justify his actions?  Certainly there have been blogs from rank and file officers who feel that Weiss ‘does not have their backs’, but what message would it send to the people of Chicago, the people that Weiss is sworn to service, if he was to support the beating meted out by Cozzi and viewable by thousands on You Tube? (This clip has had in excess of 10,000 hits.)

The second issue relates to the Superintendents strategy of dealing with gang crime.  I have mentioned in previous blogs about the unhappiness of rank and file officers when the Superintendent ‘tricked’ gang members into meeting him - http://tinyurl.com/62wjow5.

The gang members were warned that if they continued their criminal activities they would face all law enforcement opportunities that were available.  Once again the rank and file posted blogs showing their lack of support for Weiss’s strategy, a strategy supported by academic research and tried elsewhere.  However, today the Chicago Sun Times has published an article which details a 40% reduction in gang related murders.  The article also states that civic leaders who were also critical of the strategy were ‘unavailable for comment.’

Leadership is about making decisions, sometimes tough decisions, and taking risks.  Despite the support of one detective who wrote to the Chicago Tribune (16.9.10) it appears that Weiss had had to lead Chicago PD in a hostile environment.  Perhaps this is best evidenced by the Mayoral candidates who have pledged to remove Weiss should they be elected.

There is no doubt that leadership, particularly leading a modern police force in a modern society is a complex issue.  But maybe it just boils down to a judgement call of doing what feels right.

New York Post comments on demise of community policing in Chicago

This article, published by The New York Post on 8.1.11 refers to the demise of community policing in Chicago - http://tinyurl.com/4pmaelg.  The article asks whether Community Policing is an effective strategy that needs to be revitalised, or whether it is public relations gimmick that should be phased out.  The article describes Community Policing as emphasising citizen involvement and preventative action.  This question at best can only be described as naïve, at worst plain stupidity. 

The article refers to the fact that crime levels have reduced in Chicago, but the perception of the public is that crime is rising.  This is a fact that is replicated the world over, but is not something that the police alone are responsible for.  Certainly core responsibilities for the police remain crime prevention and detection, however, the important fact is how they address this.  Since the time of Peel and the policing style that he advocated, a close liaison with communities has been an essential element of policing.  Police reformers such as OW Wilson and Herman Goldstein in USA and former Chief Constable John Alderson in UK have shown that community policing styles have a huge benefit when it comes to levels of public support and confidence in the police.  This is supported by research carried out by the UK Home Office resulting in the development of the Reassurance Policing project in the mid-2000s. 

Professor Nick Tilley stated that Reassurance policing is a response to the acknowledgement that anxiety about crime has not dropped in ways commensurate with the actual falls in volume crime since the mid-1990s in Britain. It is suggested that local fear of crime is a function of signals that are read by residents indicating that there are high levels of crime and disorder and that the risk of being a victim of crime is high.  This would suggest that community policing and engaging with communities is essential if the public are to be convinced that there is a reduced likelihood of them becoming a victim of crime.  This is supported by a line from the evaluation of the Reassurance Project carried out by the Home Office -“Interventions at a community level, much smaller than the whole of a Police Basic Command Unit or Local Authority area, can have significant sustained impact on improving the quality of life in these ‘micro areas’”

Perhaps the New York Times has asked the wrong question.  The question should be ‘Are there communities out there to be policed?’  Yes there are people who live in close proximity within a geographically defined area, but are they a community?  There was a comment on the UK radio yesterday where the caller stated that people live in neighbourhoods, but they are no longer communities.  Communities suggest that the people have an intrinsic interest in the area and each other.  But how many people actually talk to their neighbours let alone take an interest in what they are doing?  This seems to strike a discord with the New York Times piece that states that engagement with Community Cops is poor with only one or two people attending some of the meetings.  This is a key part of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) that is highly thought of in the UK.  However, my experience is that the public do not necessarily want to meet with police unless they have a specific issue or it is a time of crisis.

But this does not mean that the police should just turn around and give up.  People pay for their policing, so maybe it is time for a different strategy, one that encourages the citizens to take some responsibility for policing themselves and rely less on low level policing intervention. Perhaps this way citizens would have a vested interest in understanding crime levels and would glean a more accurate perception of crime levels.

I guess this is where the UK governments Big Society project comes in.  However, it is not yet ‘bobbing the boat’ of the British public.  Indeed in a political ‘stamping of feet tantrum’ Liverpool City Council has withdrawn from the project.  Not the best of starts.

What is needed is creative leadership that is willing to take some risks.  The work of Milwaukee and Green Bay and their innovative practices seems to be paying dividends.  The introduction of receptacles in police stations for dumping prescription drugs is a way that shows that the police have an interest in preventing harm within their neighbourhoods.  It is a way to bring people into a police environment in a non-confrontational situation that gives the police an opportunity to speak to people and build relationships and networks.  A recent article in the British press commented on how police in one area are refusing to go into a park at night as it is too dark and is a health and safety risk.  I accept that the true facts may be distorted in order to make good copy, however, at a base level, this is a great opportunity for the police in that area to engage with the citizens and develop a solution – I think that is called problem oriented policing. 

And so back to Professor Goldstein, the creator of problem oriented policing.  In a recent interview he told me that the police should always refer back to their core role.  Maybe it is time for citizens to work with police to see how that role can be developed to support each other.