‘A New Beginning’ for Policing
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6478.00160 |
| Author | Clifford Shearing |
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 3, SEPTEMBER 2000
ISSN: 0263-323X, pp. 386–93
‘A New Beginning’ for Policing
Clifford Shearing*
The paper provides an idiosyncratic view of the framework developed
by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland in
response to the call for a ‘new beginning’ for policing in Northern
Ireland in the Belfast Agreement signed on 10 April 1998.
INTRODUCTION
In this paper, I explore the methodology and the framework employed by the
Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland. I do so on the
basis of what we, as a Commission, set out in our final report,
1
not on the
basis of any special knowledge and insight I might have as a Commissioner.
That others, including other Commissioners, may not agree with my reading
of the report merely confirms that what I have to say does not provide, nor
does it pretend to provide, privileged access to the intentions and agendas of
the Commissioners.
At the same time this paper is idiosyncratic. It focuses on those features of
the report that I believe are most innovative within a global context. That is,
the paper focuses on those aspects of the report that, in my view, have most
to offer to international debates about the governance of security. There is
much in the report that is extremely consequential for the transformation of
policing in Northern Ireland about which I have nothing to say – for instance,
our proposals on culture and symbols, the organization of the new policing
service, and the importance of partnerships in police. I do so because from a
global perspective these proposals, while very significant for Northern
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1 Patten Commission, A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland (2000).
* Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H1,
Canada
I am grateful for the helpful comments and suggestions of Les Johnston, Michael Kempa,
Philip Stenning, and Jennifer Wood.
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