Recent Book: The Principles of Policing
| Date | 01 October 1986 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8605900418 |
| Published date | 01 October 1986 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
during the miners' dispute, all of which are covered in the book, as are the changes
introduced by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984,and other new
legislation. Indeed, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act plays a major part in the
author's commentary.
One final comment must be made in view of the importance of the subject. The
author makes no attempt to sway the reader in any direction, but merely presents
material for examination: for this he is to be congratulated. E.D.
MOLLIE WEATHERITT: Innovations in Policing.
London: Croom Helm. £16.95.
The Police Service is an under-researched institution and such research that does
exist, whether carried out by practitioners from within or without the service, is all
too often shot through with simple methodological errors. Tests for reliability and
validity are more often absent than present and it is a rarity to find research into
the Police that really acknowledges such problems.
It
was, therefore, with some
pleasure that I approached a book written by an Assistant Director of the Police
Foundation which at first glance seemed to address the problem of research into
the service with a degree of thought and critical awareness.
Mollie Weatheritt considers the problem of change within the service and casts a
critical eye over efforts made to identify problems and react to them. Of necessity
she looks closely at research techniques used in each example and, if they are
flawed, little support is forthcoming for the particular change examined.
Unfortunately, this is as far as her work goes. Innovations in Policing quickly
degenerates into a rather nasty and cynically critical examination of change within
the service. This approach could be forgiven if it were founded upon a reasonable
methodology of its own but Mollie Weatheritt is no better than those she criticises.
Her approach is partial, narrow and limited in the extreme - her research
technique is as poor as any she calls into disrepute and
the
value of her contribution
suffers accordingly.
I had hoped for something constructive from the Police Foundation. Something
that would perhaps have shown a way forward and helped the service to come to
grips with its role in society and decide how best to research its problems when
faced with the many competing demands placed upon resources. Such a work can
be written and Mollie Weatheritt might well be the person capable of doing it, but
this would only be a guess on my part.
This expensive volume adds little to the body of knowledge concerned with
policing. Perhaps its real contribution lies in the warning bell it rings concerning
"constructive" criticism - a clear statement of research techniques and
methodological approach should be asked of anyone seeking to carry out research
from within. If this is not forthcoming then any subsequent work is likely to be
negative and insubstantial. G. R. MARKHAM
M. S. PIKE: The Principles of Policing.
London: Macmillan. £7.95 (paperback); £22.50 (hardback).
It is appropriate that this book should have a foreword by Lord Scarman because
it makes extensive use of his "Report on The Brixton Disorders April 10 - 12,
1981"(Cmnd. 8427) as a basic text. The author adopts Lord Scarman's "two well-
known principles of policing a free society" - "consent and balance" and
"independence and accountability" as both starting point and conclusion. Between
chapters on "The Search for Principles" and "The Application of Principles", there
are punctiliously annotated surveys of the literature concerning such subjects as
police ethics, discretion and accountability. The range of sources reflects the
author's background: he is an experienced senior police officer who has studied law
October 1986 367
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