Andrew Millie

Applying Reassurance Policing: Is it “Business as Usual”?

Public reassurance, and its importance as a function of policing, has recently gained prominence in England and Wales. “Reassurance” has been included as part of the 2002 Police Reform Act, successive National Policing Plans and the 2004 Police Reform White Paper. It has evolved from concern that while the crime rate has been falling, public perception has been that it has continued to rise. This disparity has been dubbed the “reassurance gap”, with reassurance policing seen as a way of filling that gap. This article discusses the implementation of the National Reassurance Policing Programme (NRPP) in England. It identifies conceptual and practical issues arising from its application, and discusses the trialling of this developing concept in an operational policing environment. The authors ask whether the perspective behind the approach—namely, signal crimes—has been adopted, or if reassurance policing is simply “business as usual”. Specifically, they consider a potential tension between a community- or citizen-driven policing style as promoted by the NRPP through the signal crimes perspective, and a policing regime driven by performance indictors and targets.

The policing task and the expansion (and contraction) of British policing

Over the past four decades the police service strength in England and Wales grew by nearly a third. This was at a time when the population grew by just 10 per cent. This sustained period of growth came to an end with the 2010 spending review which called for a 20 per cent cut in government funding of the police. In this paper the expansion of the state police is examined, expansion that is all the more remarkable coming at a time of increased competition and – from the mid-1990s onwards – falling levels of recorded crime. But not only did the number of police officers increase, so too their roles and responsibilities, reflective of Simon’s (2007) governing through crime meta-narrative and symptomatic of the criminalization of social policy – or more specifically the ‘policification’ (cf. Kemshall and Maguire, 2001). In this context it is argued that enforced contraction could be a positive opportunity to reappraise what the state police ought to be doing. The policing task is conceptualized as being either wide policing or narrow policing. Examples are given where narrowing may be both possible and beneficial. It is acknowledged that other agencies are facing similar cuts and may not be able pick up tasks left by the police. However, it is argued there are tangible benefits of having a state police that is more focused.

Does Tougher Enforcement Lead to Lower Reconviction

It is increasingly argued that vigorous enforcement improves probation outcomes and reduces reconviction rates. Based on a recent study of the link between enforcement and reconviction rates, this article argues that vigorous enforcement is not necessarily synonymous with effective enforcement. It also contends that ensuring compliance is at least as important as adherence to National Standards.

Rehabilitation and Resettlement A Study of Prolific Offender Case Management in Birmingham, United Kingdom

In 2004, the U.K. Home Office launched the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy in England and Wales. This includes a rehabilitative programme with the most prolific offenders case managed throughout their involvement in the criminal justice system. The strategy is a coordinated response by local partnerships, with the aim to reduce reoffending and overall crime rates. This article is based on a review of work in Birmingham to integrate the requirements of the new strategy into existing structures and offender management programmes. Although many of the management structures and referral processes needed for the new strategy were already well developed, there were concerns over communication and clarity of roles. Consistent identification of prolific offenders across all police areas was required. Once targeted, offenders needed equality of access to services. A clear exit strategy was also needed with clear rehabilitation and resettlement criteria for offenders leaving the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy.

Understanding the growth in the prison population in England and Wales

This study examines why the prison population in England and Wales has been rising steeply and progressively at a time when crime rates and court workloads have been falling. It concludes that while many factors are at work, the key drivers of the rise are sentencers’ increased readiness to pass custodial sentences, and when they do so, to pass longer sentences. The changes are a result of an increasingly punitive climate of opinion about crime and punishment, and inter-related changes to legislation, sentencing guidance and guideline judgments.

What are the police for? Re-thinking policing post-austerity

In the context of the global financial crisis and after inheriting a record budget deficit, the British Coalition Government decided in 2010 that the best way forward was a programme of austerity. What followed were major cuts to public expenditure, including a substantial reduction in police budgets. Whether this was the right decision is beyond the remit of this chapter. However, the effect on the police has been substantial. The police in Britain had enjoyed a sustained period of growth – both in terms of police numbers and increased responsibilities undertaken by police personnel – despite increases in competition and falls in recorded crime (Millie and Bullock, 2012; Millie, 2013). This was to change. In Scotland cuts came through the merging of all eight forces into a single Police Service of Scotland (Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012). With the 2010 Comprehensive spending Review (HM Treasury, 2010) government funding of the police in England and Wales was reduced by 20 per cent through to 2015. The scale of these cuts was unprecedented and has required police services to reconsider their priorities. At the same time the police have had to deal with major change in governance structures with the introduction of elected Police and Crime Commissioners in November 2012 – albeit following an election where only 15 per cent of the electorate turned up to vote (Rogers and Burn-Murdoch, 2012). The new policing landscape of fewer resources and (assumed) greater democratic accountability has generated a lot of uncertainty among serving police officers and questions over what form policing will take post-austerity. In this context the question of what the police are for becomes pertinent and is the focus for this chapter.

Policing in a time of contraction and constraint: Re-imagining the role and function of contemporary policing

This special issue of Criminology and Criminal Justice takes as its starting point the nature and scale of the fiscal challenge facing state-funded police forces in Britain following the financial crisis. Public sector cuts need little introduction and whether fiscal constraint and contraction are the appropriate remedies to the financial crisis is open to debate (e.g. Davidson, 2009; Krugman, 2012; Skidelsky and Wigstrom, 2010). However, the immediate implications are clear enough and for the police service in England and Wales this has meant a 20 per cent reduction in funding by 2014/2015 (HM Treasury, 2010). This has led to widespread public and political debate regarding what the police service can realistically deliver at a time of austerity, the implications for ‘front line’ officers and ultimately for crime control (Millie and Bullock, 2012).

Urban interventionism as a challenge to aesthetic order: Towards an aesthetic criminology

This article is concerned with ideas of urban order and considers the scope for playing with people’s expectations of order. In particular, drawing on criminological, philosophical and urban studies literatures, the article explores the notion of aesthetic order. The power to dictate aesthetic order is highlighted. The example of urban interventionism is used to consider those that challenge an approved aesthetic order. Here the article draws on cultural criminology and visual criminology, with illustrations coming from research in Toronto, Canada. Influenced by Alison Young’s (2014a) conceptualisation of ‘cities within the city’, the article considers how different people using the same space have different or overlapping ways of understanding aesthetic order. Of relevance to criminology, it is contended that people or things that contravene an approved aesthetic order may face banishment and criminalisation. It is concluded that respect for such difference is required. An aesthetic criminology is suggested.

Vulnerability and risk: some lessons from the UK Reducing Burglary Initiative

Various police and partnership schemes claim to address vulnerability, either as an end in itself, or as a means of crime reduction. However, project staff do not articulate always what is meant by ‘vulnerability,’ or relate it necessarily to victimization risk. This paper considers what the notions of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘risk’ mean, and how they are tackled and prioritized. Some lessons are provided from the UK Reducing Burglary Initiative. The paper argues that un‐evidenced assumptions of vulnerability and risk need to be avoided. Additionally, a decision to focus on vulnerability is, mostly, one to reduce disadvantage rather than crime.

Reducing burglary by crackdown and consolidation

Purpose – To assess whether a programme of “crackdown and consolidation” could lead to measurable and sustainable reductions in domestic burglary.Design/methodology/approach – In 1998 the Home Office reducing burglary initiative was launched in England and Wales. Phase I comprised 63 projects; the evaluation of one such project based on crackdown and consolidation is considered here. The aim was to crack down on known burglary recidivists, and then consolidate any gains by engaging the local community and implementing various prevention measures. The article considers the background to the project, the history of the method and how it was applied in this instance. The plausibility of the view that this action led to reductions in offending is examined.Findings – The project did not follow its original plan of a continuous cycle of crackdown and consolidation. However, the approach undoubtedly has the potential to work, although in this instance the consolidation served only to prolong the impact of the in...