Recent Book: Police: Organisation and Command
| Published date | 01 July 1979 |
| Date | 01 July 1979 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X7905200326 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
contribute anythingtowards reform. The
author
concludes
that
for some offenders
aperiod of "recovery" in an environment
where responsibility is learned and trust
regained is the "only hope", and utilizes
his research to suggest a policy to
capitalize on the positive aspects of
borstal experience.
The research inevitably betrays all the
weaknesses of "surveys" but the answers,
surprisingly rich in opinion and
expression, and quoted at length, seem to
transcend the limits of the questionnaire
by which they were prompted and reflect
the variety of ways the same environment
may be
interpreted
by
different
individuals.
The two fundamental nuggets of
positive inmate experience gleaned by
the
author
are the sense of trust inherent
in some often simple incident of staff-
allowed
latitude
and
Authority's
recognition of an individual's dawning
maturity. The simple
human
belief
that
people often live up (or indeed down) to
expectations appearsjustified in the light
of answers frequently stressing the
importance of an individual gesture of
trust. Whilst a variety of possible
influences from religion to learning a
trade come under scrutiny the recurrent
theme is the contribution of such an
individual relationship (often enough
with a borstal officer to give some
grounds for optimism) to the
reclamation of personal identity.
If the
author
is right, and the evidence
is strongly suggestive that he is, there
remains the apparent contradiction that
trust must be earned in the context of
"being in custody". Whilst some would
view this as warrant to examine radical
alternatives to incarceration, the
author,
committed to the existence of borstal-
like institutions, has developed his own
programmic philosophy which is aimed
at humanizing the borstal environment
by introducing areas of choice and
responsibility. One might add that any
truly rehabiliative regime within a
custodial institution must be progressive
in the specificsense ofacknowledging the
human
development of its charges if for
no other reason
than
that one day the
doors must open.
This peep behind the doors of borstal
through the eyes of the apparently
reformed is only one perspective on such
institutions (it would have been
interesting to hear from the "failures"!)
but
it is a valuable one not least for
focusing our attention on an issue the
book
does not claim to address, the
validity of custodial sentences for the
young. P.W. CAREY
BUREAUCRACY
JOHN
O.
TRUITT:
"Dynamics
of
Police Administration".
Anderson Publishing Company
Most books on the subject of police
administration are American in origin,
and this publication is
another
to add to
the list. However, Mr. Truitt, who is a
Research Assistant at the Criminal
Justice Centre of the
John
Jay
College of
Criminal Justice, has avoided the pitfall
of the theoretician's instant solutions to a
multitude of problems. His approach,
although not new in the teaching field, is
to present the student with problems in
case study form and to invite solutions.
The preface to the cases is concerned
with the logical
approach
to problem
solving, together with an example of how
the system suggested should be applied.
There are five broad areas for the student
to tackle - development planning;
departmental
organisation
and
structure; personnel administration;
deployment and selective enforcement,
and the general administration of law
enforcement. There are included those
problems of direct political involvement
with which we do not, happily, have to
contend. There are many and varied
problems to solve, and one can only
assume that the level of College
instruction is of a high order.
Most of the American books on police
administration are oflimited interest and
application here, but Mr. Truitt's
approach is certainly one which would
have a broader appeal for all Police
Forces face many if not all the problems
he describes.
This is a refreshingly interesting book
upon
asubject which is not generally
thought by police officers to be the most
absorbing of tasks. W.
PULLINGER
R. S. BUNY
ARD:
Police: Organisation and Command
MacDonald and Evans. 388 pp £5.50
Changes in society demand changes in
The
changes in policing affect the
organisations. The organisation of the attitudes of Police personnel to the duties
Police Service has changed in response to they are required to perform. These two
environmental changes over the years. themes are explored by Mr. Bunyard
302 July /979
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