Police Culture and the Need for Change
| Author | Ted Bellingham |
| Published date | 01 January 2000 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X0007300106 |
| Date | 01 January 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
TED BELLINGHAM
National Police Training, Bramshill, UK
POLICE CULTURE
AND THE NEED FOR CHANGE
"The (police) occupational culture has been characterized as extremely
powerful. Indeed it is often depicted as so uniform and sustained as to
exercise a monolithic authority which degrades the ability of senior
officers to manage and subverts attempts to exact greater accountability
of constables for their actions" (Fielding, 1988: 2).
Introduction
The police service is facing unprecedented pressure to change the face
of the organization. The Crime and Disorder Act, the Macpherson
Report, the potential loss of street patrol, Best Value and what will
follow in the wakeof localgovernment reorganization, is to list some of
the more clearly identified catalysts for change. Added to these is the
subtle underlying realization that an organization whose service
delivery mechanism has changed little for decades cannot survive intact
far into the next millennium. However, change for the police service has
never been easily achieved and its conservative nature is well
recognized. Many commentators speak of the affliction suffered by the
service due to the strength of the occupational culture. How resistance
spawned from the culture has thwarted attempts to introduce change in
the past and will continue to seriously handicap the service as it faces
the challenges ahead. This article proposes that the key to achieving
change at the operational face of policing rests with meaningful and
effective management intervention.
To identify a police culture and to note its characteristics is too
simplistic for the current debate. Waddington (1999) has recently
eloquently argued that one needs to ask why such a culture exists and
rightly points to the working environment of the street officer. But
again, he does not go far enough. Toboth gain an understanding of the
phenomenon and to hold out some hope for those who will have to
engage the police culture in earnest, it is necessary tomore fully explore
the complexities and dynamics involved. This article begins with a brief
overview of the traditional view of police occupational culture and the
overt conservatism and resistance exhibited. This view is then
countered by demonstrating that successful change is possible and by
providing a more detailed appreciation. This appreciation includes the
key question of causality and the unique role occupied by police
officers. Using this greater understanding an analytical model is
proposed which demonstrates the critical dimensions of operational
autonomy and management intervention as determining influences.
January 2000 The Police Journal 31
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