Dr. Goodhart Revisited: The Case for a National Police Force in the United Kingdom
| Published date | 01 October 1989 |
| Date | 01 October 1989 |
| Author | Kevin Patrick Bond |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8906200403 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
CHIEF
SUPERINTENDENT KEVIN PATRICK BOND
West
Mercia
Police,
Hereford
Dr. Goodhart Revisited: The Case
for a National Police Force in the
United Kingdom
It is more than a quarter of a century since the last thorough review of
the organizationandcontrolof the police in Britain was undertakenby The
Royal Commission on the Police, under the chairmanship of Sir Henry
Willink. In the [mal report of The Royal Commission it was stated:
"Our
recommendations are designed to secure three objectives; a
system of control over the police which will achieve the maximum
efficiency and the best use of manpower; adequate means of bringing the
policeto account; and proper arrangements for dealing with complaints."!
Of
course, as all students of police history know, the changes
proposedby The Royal Commission were evolutionary in nature and not
designed to upset what was seen as:
"...a political idea of immense practical value which has gained wide
acceptance in this country, namely the idea of partnership between
central and local government in the administration of public services.'?
The Report of The Royal Commission was not unanimous. In his
Memorandum
of
Dissent, Dr. A. L. Goodhart, an eminent jurist of
American background and Professor Emeritus of Jurisprudence in the
University of Oxford stated:
"I
regret that I cannot sign this report. I am convinced that it is
essentialtoestablish acentrally-controlledpoliceforce, administered
on a regional basis.
"The
demand", as our Interim Report stated, "is
for action now to check the grave increase in crime". I do not believe
that the recommendations made by the Commission show that "sense
of urgency" to which we referred, nor that they will play an adequate
part in what has been described as "the war against crime".'
In this paper we will re-examine the case for a national police force
in the United Kingdom. In short, the paperwill arguethat whilst The Royal
Commission may have assessed the mood
of
the nation correctly in 1962,
in that to have proposed anational police force would not have been
acceptable, it is suggested that Goodhart was correct in his statement that
the proposals
of
the commission did little to "stem the grave increase in
crime". In addition, the relationship which exists between central and
October 1989 275
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