Bringing Quality to Life — Policing Visions, Strategy and Structure
| Author | Neil Hall |
| Date | 01 July 1993 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9306600308 |
| Published date | 01 July 1993 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
NEIL HALL B.A. (Hons) Law
Chief
Superintendent, Northumbria Police
BRINGING QUALITY TO LIFE -
POLICING VISIONS, STRATEGY
AND STRUCTURE
Introduction
The 1990Statement of
Common
Purpose
from
theAssociation of Chief
PoliceOfficersIexpressed a
vision
forpolicing whichacknowledged the
need to reflect public priorities in determining policing actions and a
willingness to changein the light of well-founded criticism.
Anote tothestatement recognized thattheabilityof thePoliceService
todeliverthecontentdepended upontheco-operation andassistance of
societyin general- tacitadmission thatthe police, inevitably drawninto
conflictsituations by the natureof thejob - would notbe able to "please
all of the peopleall of the time".
Nevertheless, thestatement has beenaccepted nationally asa "vision"
or standard of policingapplauded by government and influential bodies
suchas the Audit
Commission.
Thestatement, of course, coincides with
the current accent on quality issues throughout the private and public
sectors in the UK, and is manifested by BS 5750, towardwhich many
organizations arestriving.
Unfortunately,
acceptance
ofa
standard
doesnotautomatically
guarantee
delivery, nonemore so thaninBritishpolicing withits diversestructure,
fmancial
arrangements andsomewhat indefinable "product". This istrue
intheintra- as wellas the inter-force
sense.
Somemightarguethat
forces
have implemented programmes incorporating the
ACro
message and
advice, but in a way whichmerelytinkers withthe existingorganization
andeffectively superimposes a "have a niceday" philosophy on
various
ranks
within
forces.
Operational personnel oftencannotdetermine therationale behindthis
type of "topdown" approach and
commonly
viewthe exhortations as to
qualityof performance as a twofold sopdesigned, first,to pay lipservice
tothelatestfad,and,secondly, to
reduce
complaints againstthepolice. A
common
reaction is "are they telling us we've been gettingit wrong all
theseyears?".
Where cynicism easily breeds, it is difficult to introduce new and
worthwhile concepts
without:
a clearly defmed programme which is
producedfromconsultation
within
andwithouttheorganization;
which
is
seen to be rational and achievable; and which clearly leads to a goal or
benefitto the individual, the organization and the customer.
Goalsand benefits inthiscontextmay include materialconsiderations
butare morelikelyto
involve
mattersofstatusand
efficiency,"
Qualityas
avisioncan
become
realityproviding thatthe strategy andstructure of the
organization arecalculated toensuredelivery.
July 1993 The Police Journal 291
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