Providing victims of crime with information on police response activity: The challenges faced by the police non-emergency call-handler
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X17731685 |
| Author | Andrew B Stafford |
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Providing victims of crime
with information on police
response activity: The
challenges faced by the
police non-emergency
call-handler
Andrew B Stafford
School of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire,
Cheltenham, UK
Abstract
Police policy in England and Wales is to always explain to a member of the public who
contacts the police what will happen as a result of them doing so. During initial contact
between a victim of crime and the police, this task often falls to police call-handlers. This
article examines information on police response activity provided to victims by police
non-emergency call-handlers during such instances of contact. Empirical analysis high-
lights the importance that call-handlers place on providing accurate information on
response activity to those who call the police, and the various challenges that they can
encounter when attempting this.
Keywords
Police non-emergency call-handling, victims of crime, police response activity, contact
management
Introduction
The contact that a person has with the public police often plays a part in shaping their
judgement of this institution (Bradford et al., 2009a; Skogan, 2006). There is a
Corresponding author:
Andrew B Stafford, School of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Francis Close Hall,
Swindon Road, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK.
Email: astafford1@glos.ac.uk
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2018, Vol. 91(4) 297–315
ªThe Author(s) 2017
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X17731685
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substantial and rapidly growing body of literature on the relationship between public/
police contact and public trust in the police and judgements of police legitimacy (Brad-
ford, 2011, 2014; Bradford and Myhill, 2015; Bradford et al., 2009b, 2014; Hough et al.,
2010, 2013; Jackson and Bradford, 2010; Jackson et al., 2011, 2012; Myhill and Brad-
ford, 2012; Sargeant et al., 20 16; Sunshine and Tyler, 2003 a, 2003b; Tyler, 2006, 2011;
Tyler and Huo, 2002). There is evidence in many of these studies to suggest that when
members of the public experience contact with the police that they judge to be unsa-
tisfactory their opinion of the police is often less favourable as a consequence. More-
over, the public have been found to be primarily concerned with the way in which they
are treated during their contact with the police, often viewing respectful, legitimate and
fair treatment as more important than obtaining a favourable outcome (Elliott et al.,
2011; Engel, 2005; Mastrofski et al., 1996, 2002; McClusky, 2003; McClusky et al.,
1999; Murphy and Barkworth, 2014; Skogan, 2006; Tyler, 1990, 2001). It is therefore
important that the police behave fairly, are respectful and instill trust and confidence in
their behaviour through the contact that they have with the public, as when the public
trust the police and judge this institution positivelytheyaremorelikelytocooperate,
report matters and provide information, without which the police would struggle to
operate effectively (Jackson et al., 2013; Koskela et al., 2016; Mawby, 2007; Murphy,
2015; Murphy and Cherney, 2012; Murphy et al., 2008, 2009; Tankebe, 2013; Tyler
and Fagan, 2008).
Contact between the public and the police is unceasing. Roughly half of the British
population initiate contact with the police at least once in any year (Waddington, 1993),
and the police are generally the first representatives of the state that a victim of crime
will come into contact with (Joutsen, 1987). This contact can occur for a variety of
reasons; for example, public-initiated contact can take place when a person wishes to
report a crime, ask for advice or information or report lost property, and police-initiated
contact can occur when an officer makes enquiries as part of an investigation, makes an
arrest, performs a stop and search or provides information on activity or policy in a
public setting. The recent police and government drive to encourage the public to bring
the issues that concern them locally to the attention of the police, to cooperate further
with the police and to generally get more involved with policing (Home Office, 2010,
2012, 2016) has played a part in the diversification of platforms for contact, and social
media, text messages, electronic crime reporting and community meetings are now all
standard fora for police/public interaction.
In addition to the general efforts made by the police in recent years to increase
quality of service (Reiner, 2010), the police have also made concerted efforts to
improve the ease of contact for the public and ‘make every contact count’ (NPIA,
2012: 4). This included making improvements to their non-emergency call-handling
functions and introducing a single non-emergency telephone number for England and
Wales: 101. In England and Wales, 80 million calls a year are made by the public to the
police for assistance (HMIC, 2007). For many victims and witnesses of crime, the first
contact that they have with the police takes place when they phone and speak to a
police call-handler (Leeney and Mueller-Johnson, 2012). As Pov ey (2001: 154) notes,
‘first impressions count ...[and so i]t is vital that 21st century technology is employed
to provide the public with swift and easy access to police services’.
298 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 91(4)
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