Introduction
Policing is in crisis! That appears to be the consensus from many observers primed with a plethora of real-time examples where the service has at times, catastrophically failed the public. Likewise, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) are currently concerned about the performance of at least six forces in the UK and have therefore ‘engaged’ with them in a more formal manner.
For the Metropolitan Police Service, the charges made by HMICFRS are particularly irksome, not least because it has traditionally identified itself (though many may disagree) as Britain’s leading police force and the Commissioner as the UK’s premier chief officer. And yet, with six police forces, to be placed in ‘special measures’ it is particularly difficult for the service to offer any effective defence of its role and status [Dodd 2022b].
This period must feel demeaning for hard working and committed members of the policing family who deserve more. Equally, the relationship with the public is under strain. In the Crime Survey for England and Wales 2018/19 only 58% of the public rated the police as Good or Excellent. That figure hovered between 61 and 63% between 2011/12 and 2017/18. That number has fallen again to 55% in 2019/20. (ONS/CSEW, 2019). This is dispiriting for the public and demoralising for the officers who are trying their best.
Critical Context
We will argue through a series of subsequent blogs that rather than create a general hysteria around policing, this is a moment when a laser like focus is required on those areas of service that can provide the public with some disproportionate positive returns on investment. We necessarily want to explore some specifics areas of concern, recognising the connectivity they have in the broader production of policing provision. These include:
- Lack of funding since 2010/12, 16% in real terms to 2018/19. (IfG) if we are to look at the impact on both Officers & the Public – this needs to be addressed.
- Closing & selling approximately 500 police stations (Pratt, A. 2019).
- Reducing officer numbers by 20% and losing almost as many PCSOs & support staff.
- The lack of Detectives is an acute problem in almost every force. Increasing complexity regarding technology in investigations slows everything down & there is a complete lack of resources to deal with it.
- Failing, unfit I.T. – a dearth of (quality) training and poor infrastructure becoming increasingly common in most forces.
- The public are unhappy with the worsening 999 and 101 call-centre services.
- Prioritising more serious & violent crimes is necessary given the resources available and these decisions need to be explained to the public. (BBC News, 2017).
- Difficult questions need to be asked about the sustainability of the present governance model (see below).
Likewise, police officers and staff cannot continue to spend up to 15% of their time on Mental Health patients (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2018, p. 1). College of Policing (COP) themselves estimate that 2-20% of all incidents reported relate to Mental Health (COP, 2015. P.10). This is a perfect example of an issue which for years has had significant detrimental impact (cost & time) and has not been addressed at strategic level. Whilst the NHS & Social Services are overstretched, they must step up: they are trained and they are the right people to deal with these cases. Police officers are not.
Recruitment & retention continues to be problematic. Officers are leaving earlier, and in greater numbers than ever and with police recruitment being threatened, particularly in London, the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has warned this will impede crime reduction. Police Officers have also taken a real-term pay cut of 13% since 2009 (ONS, Guardian, 2019). Officer Health & Wellbeing needs more recognition & resources, the prevalence and dangers of single-crewing is still a significant issue for front line officers despite its normalisation since the initial funding cuts.
The Conservative led Austerity programme, which cut the budgets of all public sector organisations, affected the police service particularly badly. By 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service alone, will have been forced to make £1 billion of savings. This follows almost a decade of austerity. These cuts come at a time when the population of London has continued to grow, placing extra strain on far fewer resources. The promised “extra” 20,000 officers is a target which is unlikely to be hit, largely due to the numbers currently due to leave and the volume of applications that would be necessary (500K) to cover that alone. (Dearden L, 2019)
The combination of austerity cuts, political interference, poor leadership, an unclear role definition, plummeting morale and a working culture that discourages openness, tolerance and change, has created a ‘perfect storm’
Political Impact:
The introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in 2012 changed the landscape of police governance in a significant way. Politics is a dominant feature of the new governance model, with 85% of current PCCs being Conservative Party activists. PCCs are powerful figures and their principal role is to hold Chief Constables to account. Ironically, apart from under-resourced and impotent Police and Crime Panels (PCPs), there is little effective scrutiny of PCCs (Bailey, 2015, 2017) It is also the case that PCPs have politics at their core, with the majority of panel members being active local councillors. Where the PCCs and PCPs share the same political affiliation, there is scope for less effective scrutiny (Bailey, 2017).
At national level, the front runner to be the next Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has indicated that we can expect a return to the bad old days of performance league tables and multiple targets which together are known as tried and tested methods in corrupting service delivery as the ends immediately justify the means in reaching the targets. This of course is not confined to policing as target culture overwhelmed many public services in the 1980s and 1990s. The best evidence against their use is of course the tragic waste of ambulance and paramedic time as these now spend hours outside hospitals which refuse to take immediate responsibility for their patients.
But for Liz truss the planned performance regime for police will be more comprehensive than ever before. Targets to be set will include cuts in murder, violent crime and burglary by a fifth in every force area and publication of league tables to identify how each force performed against the national trend with a set of ‘key crime’. Failing chief officers can expect to be required to explain their failure to the National Policing Board, chaired by the Home Secretary, and thereafter provide a future plan to identify how improvements would be made, to allow local residents to assess their performance. In addition, every force will be required to send an officer to every burglary and by so doing’ boosting the chance of identifying suspects and restoring faith in local policing’ [Dathan 2022]. It is also clear that Truss appears to place primary importance on prioritising funding to recruit 20,000 ‘new’ police officers. These of course will only replace those officers so casually disposed of by the then Tory Home Secretary, Theresa May.
Policing Role:
Currently, there is no clear definition of the police role. Muir notes that:
‘Most observers reject the idea that the police are simply crime fighters. According to the College of Policing non crime related incidents make up 83% of calls to police Command and Control.”
This is clearly problematic, not least because of the increasing clamour from mainly Conservative politicians (including PCCs) that the police should confine themselves to crime fighting. All the available evidence suggests that policing necessarily involves a myriad of other services that cannot be readily disentangled from crime investigation and detection. Indeed, without the support of the public, the crime detection rate would fall significantly. It is only by investing in community policing and restoring the trust and legitimacyfrom the public that the police will be equipped to make inroads into fighting crime.
The police themselves are getting mixed messages and some maintain the time has now come for a Royal Commission, so that a working definition of the police role can be agreed. Once the police role has been clarified, the Commission should review recruitment and selection criteria, supervision, training and leadership. Given the recent egregious examples of police gross misconduct and the crtical reports from HMIC, such a review is urgent. The Royal Commission should also look closely at police governance and the evidenced need for reform (Bailey, 2017). Political interference is a major concern.
So, what about leadership:
It’s not good enough! That would seem to be the common belief from observers of policing services. There is plenty of evidence to support this lack of leadership viewpoint. Policing failures are rightly well-rehearsed in the media, are organisationally embarrassing and demonstrate both systemic and individual failure. But let’s also remember that there are brilliant police officers who risk their lives on a daily basis. These informal leaders are the key to future success.
There is no place for individuals who behave in a deviant manner and there can be equally no organisational acceptance of formal leaders who fail in their responsibilities! Genuine lapses in judgement in high-risk environments may develop into learning events; but patterns of deviant behaviours need to be crushed. As James Kerr states in his book about the All Blacks, “there is no room for dickheads.” Poor organisational ethical standards are evidence of myopic leadership that looks away from, rather than confronts the causes and perpetrators of problematic conduct.
Leadership comes at a price. The organisation as well as those who lead are looking for higher standards of integrity and courage. Colleagues need to be forgiving when genuine leadership mistakes are made, but they also need to be reassured that in those difficult moments, when critical issues need addressing, that their leaders will step-up and step-forward into the fracas. Through the leadership lens, you are what you tolerate. Arguably, difficult conversations are the core competency required of leaders – there are not enough of them taking place!
At organisational level, this lack of leadership can have political connotations. The issue of how the MPS dealt with Party- gate is problematic. Its belated decision to investigate the allegations of law breaking in Downing Street was to be matched by the discovery that the circulation of individual questionnaires to participants did not include the PM, Boris Johnson.
It has most recently resulted in the MPS being accused of ‘deferential policing’ by deliberately excluding the PM from a potential list of respondents. This decision, internal to the MPS, was only to be made public following a legal challenge by the Good Law Project and a subsequent judicial review [Mason 2022]. The recent appointment of Mark Rowley may, however provide an opportunity for the MPS by way of fresh leadership to both re-engineer its internal structure and communications while also seeking to re-establish public confidence in the force by improving its efficacy, transparency and public integrity. It will do this against a backdrop of an ongoing ‘power grab’ by the Home Office to take back powers currently exercised by city mayors and PCCs. This will be undertaken by way of the National Policing Board [NPB] set up in 2019 by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Home Secretary.
Conclusion
Policing may appear to be in a crisis and many critics argue this is the case. However, there are also brilliant leaders, officers and staff who perform to the highest of standards. We believe that at the same time there is a requirement to urgently focus on those areas that are undermining the reputation of the service whilst harnessing vital data around ‘what works’. This means understanding the complex and competing requirements of the service. There is currently an opportunity to develop real progress within policing and it will require even more critical leaders to step-up and step-forward into this current environment. Those leaders who don’t achieve, need to move-out with dignity. Through our interaction with specific forces across the UK we are aware some forces are already recognising this scenario and are purposefully moving the provision of services forward at pace. This approach needs to be universally embraced. The public and employees deserve it.
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