Commentary
| Date | 01 June 2009 |
| Published date | 01 June 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2009.82.2.478 |
| Subject Matter | Commentary |
The
Police
Journal
COMMENTARY
In what is proving to be a very critical period for policing, it is of
interest to note that the new CHMIC Dennis O’Connor appears able
and willing to rise to the challenge. In a relatively short period of
time he as Chief Inspector has had to respond to a range of issues
which are likely to change significantly policing styles and the way
policing is measured and evaluated by the Inspectorate. The devel-
opment of a single measure of public confidence in local police
forces as the key element to judging their efficiency and effective-
ness is likely to prove to be a significant but positive challenge to
police forces by replacing top–down performance targets with
bottom–up qualitative assessments. The CHMIC is known to be
committed to taking the public experience of policing much more
into account than has ever been contemplated to date. There will be
an increasing engagement with the public which will be supported
by regular use of public opinion surveys (Bebbington, 2009).
It is, however, his most recent report Adapting to Protest (July
2009), a highly critical evaluation and analysis of the policing of
the G20 summit in London earlier this year, that provides clear
evidence of the approach that will be adopted by the new CHMIC.
Responding to the policing of the ‘protest groups’ in London he
has given clear warning that public confidence in policing will be
dangerously eroded unless there is urgent reform of the way
police officers deal with protests. The public relations disaster
which the G20 conference proved to be for the police forces
engaged in tackling perceived ‘disorder’ was explained by a num-
ber of factors. The report was to find that many commanders
planning for the protest were unaware of the legal situation sur-
rounding the use of ‘kettling’ or containing protesters. This might
be thought surprising given the public debate about the use of this
tactic which was initiated during the commissionership of Lord
Stevens some years ago. In effect denying large groups of people
their basic human and civil rights for extended periods of time
never looked like policing by consent and it deeply alienated those
subject to these tactics by the police. Additionally the death of Ian
Tomlinson, a passer-by rather than a protester, as officers tried to
clear the streets was to highlight a new dimension to public order
The Police Journal, Volume 82 (2009) 93
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2009.82.2.478
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