The evolution of “entrepreneurial policing”: a review of the literature
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Published date | 04 October 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-03-2019-0005 |
| Date | 04 October 2019 |
| Author | Robert Smith |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,Entrepreneurship,Business climate/policy |
The evolution of “entrepreneurial
policing”: a review of
the literature
Robert Smith
Independent Scholar, Aberdeen, Scotland
Abstract
Purpose –In the past decade, the concept and theory of “Entrepreneurial Policing”has emerged in academic
and policing circles, particularly in a UK context. The purpose of this paper is to collect salient articles from
extant but diverse literatures such as policing and criminology to synthesise a literature on it, focussing upon
conceptual, theoretical and practical elements.
Design/methodology/approach –The approach is based on synthesising a literature using an in-depth
review methodology and on analysing it to develop new insights into theoretical elements.
Findings –The findings are that the literature base is diverse and comes from a variety of policing,
criminology, entrepreneurship, management, leadership and policy journals. There is a protean literature but
at present little conceptual or theoretical clarity.
Research limitations/implications –There is a need for further empirical research in the form of
qualitative face-to-face interviews to be conducted to develop typologies, taxonomies and topographies of
entrepreneurial policing (EP). Developing illustrative case studies and teaching cases will educate new
generations of police officers into the power and potential of EP as a change agent. This necessitates a change
of policing structures, philosophies, processes and practices. From such theoretical groundwork, it is possible
at a universal theory of what constitutes EP can be developed and tested. There is a need for commissioned
research into the potentially revolutionary phenomenon; a text book and for training courses and seminarson
the topic.
Practical implications –There are a number of practicalimplications for policing and policy practitioners
and for its application in the future. From a policing perspective, an increased awareness of EP and criminal
entrepreneurshipcan have positive outcomes in termsof new policing structures, philosophies,methodologies,
practicesand processes. From a criminalperspective, it heralds a betterunderstanding of entrepreneurialcrime,
entrepreneurial criminals and organised crime groups. This could result in entrepreneurship educational
programmes for police officers, senior officers and other law enforcement personnel and entrepreneurship
awarenesstraining for prisonersand ex-offenders and newavenues for utilising entrepreneurship as a diversion
out of crime.
Social implications –There are also a number of social implications including the need for policy makers
and politicians to be aware of the policing–entrepreneurship nexus and to award financial grants to
encourage enterprising behaviour across the criminal justice system; encourage entrepreneurs to give back to
their local communities; and increase the number of social enterprises in under-privileged communities.
Originality/value –This review is the first of its kind to deal specifically with EP and its evolution.
Keywords Criminal entrepreneurship, New public management, Entrepreneurial policing,
New entrepreneurialism, Public service entrepreneurship
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
In his 2008 report, Sir Ronnie Flanagan made a plea for Chief Constables to take an
“entrepreneurial approach”to policing whilst identifying “Risk Aversion”culture in policing
as being a major obstacle in achieving such transformation (Flanagan, 2008). Flanagan
called for a national debate on risk aversion and a culture change at a central government
level. Furthermore, Neyroud’s (2011) Report identified the need for major changes in the way
Leadership and Training issues are addressed in England and Wales, and in Scotland, a
single police service for Scotland is now established. This change has not materialised.
Thus, although “Entrepreneurial Policing”(EP) has emerged as a protean area of academic
study (see Hobbs, 1991; Hobbs, 1988; Palmer, 2005; Smith, 2008; Smith, 2009), it has yet to
make a significant impact on policing processes and practices. This review provides an
Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Public Policy
Vol. 9 No. 1, 2020
pp. 1-20
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2045-2101
DOI 10.1108/JEPP-03-2019-0005
Received 6 March 2019
Revised 21 August 2019
Accepted 21 August 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2045-2101.htm
1
The evolution of
“entrepreneurial
policing”
overview of extant academic literature relating to the rise of this concept in a public service
context (Klein et al., 2010). It focusses primarily on a UK perspective and on policy issues
where appropriate and considers entrepreneurship from an academic, conceptual and
theoretical context as an emerging body of knowledge with the potential to influence the
pragmatic dynamics of British policing institutions. As such, it fits this call for papers on the
theme of public entrepreneurship and law enforcement activity via the application of
market-based concepts to the public domain and the application of entrepreneurship,
innovation theory and entrepreneurial activities as applied in the public sphere (Ostrom,
2005). It contributes to the aims of the special issue by providing scholarly analysis of
entrepreneurial activities within the institution of policing. It evidences Ostrom’s claim that
(hierarchal) top-down approaches are not the only valid approaches and that
(individualistic) bottom-up approaches can bring about institutional change and practices
by promoting alternative ideologies (North, 1981). For North, such change is only possible
when people’s experiences do not line up with their ideology and such “ideological
entrepreneurs”(Storr, 2008), or “intrapreneurs”(Pinchot, 1985; Burns, 2008) use their
experience to introduce institutional and positive social change.
The post-recession period (after 2008) brought about an onslaught of austerity and
change in the form of enforced budgetary cuts, thrusting often unwanted reform on the
police service. Such recessionary times necessitated protecting the frontline (Neyroud, 2010)
at the expense of planned development. At present, the term EP is used “loosely”by a group
of enlightened chief officers, politicians and policing scholars for whom it means different
things. It is an example of “Coffee Table”policing –an intellectual ideology which aspiring
police leaders must have a passing awareness of. As a concept, it is in its infancy, so much
so that Newburn and Neyroud (2008) did not mention it in their highly acclaimed Dictionary
of Policing. In many respects, EP is very much an intellectual concept trapped in academia
where it exists as a muted conversation amongst a small band of policing scholars. Thus,
although the terminology is in vogue, it remains little more than meaningless rhetoric
because traditionally, the term “entrepreneur”itself lies out with the pragmatic lexicon of
policing. Consequentially, the power of entrepreneurship to act as an organisational change
agent remains untapped. Nevertheless, in academia and in criminological circles, EP has
promise as a niche, low profile area of study. The focus of this review is on the emergence of
EP into the lexicon of policing.
Therefore, in this review, the focus is upon identifying and exploring theoretical,
conceptual and practical implications relating to whether entrepreneurship has a place in
the new police service as it strives to re-professionalise its twenty-first century identity
(Lester, 2007). Confusingly, EP can be explained as a social concept, a philosophy of
practice, or as an intellectual label. In terms of strategic entrepreneurship, Public
organisations create and capture value in the private and public sectors and as they do so,
they can act entrepreneurially by creating, or leveraging, bundles of capabilities, which then
shape subsequent entrepreneurial action. Such processes can involve complex interactions
among public and private actors (Klein et al., 2010).
This review highlights a new area of policing research, innovatively using theories of
entrepreneurship and management, to illustrate a different perspective on policing. It
identifies a number of areas where entrepreneurial activity is developing not only of police
activity, and its relation to public service, but also as a business that needs to adapt to new
public management (NPM) ideals. This review provides a systematic review of the literature
on EP, focussing on the conceptual, theoretical and the practical. Its overarching aim is to
synthesise material and arguments separated across disparate literatures. It also provides
an explanation of the term and articulates why an understanding of the concept of
entrepreneurship is vital in encouraging necessary changes such as the implementation of
transformational leadership in the police service. It is essential to elucidate why EP is both
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