Waving Not Drowning: Chief Constables and the New Configuration of Accountability in the Provinces
| Author | Barry Loveday |
| DOI | 10.1177/146135579900100204 |
| Published date | 01 May 1998 |
| Date | 01 May 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Theoretical Review Paper |
International Journal of Police Science &Management Volume 1 Number 2
Waving not drowning:
Chief Constables and the new
configuration of accountability in the
provinces
Barry Loveday
Institute of Police and Criminological Studies, University of Portsmouth,
Ravelin House, Museum Road, Portsmouth, P01
200;
tel: 01705 843458;
fax: 01705 843939; e-mail: barry.loveday@port.ac.uk
Received: 10th December,
1997
Barry Loveday is currently Director
of
Postgraduate Studies at the Institute
of
Police
and
Criminological Studies, University
of
Portsmouth. He has published widely in the
field
of
criminal justice
and
policing. Prior to
joining Portsmouth, he was Course Director
of
the Criminal Justice
and
Policing Degree at
UCE, Birmingham.
ABSTRACT
This paper looks at the relationship
between
Chie] Constables and
police
authorities four
years
after the
Police
Act 1994. It seeks to
explore
the
concept
of
managerial accountability
which,
as a
consequence
if
legislation,
re-
placed
electoral
accountability as a means
if
bringing
the
police
to
account
to the
local
community. The paper also
considers
the con-
tinuing
problem
of
establishing effeaive
police
community links.
Keywords:
Chief
Constables,
managerial accountability, manage-
ment
structures in
police
forces,
budgetary responsibilities,
com-
munity liaison.
INTRODUCTION
Four
years after
the
introduction
of
the
Police
and
Magistrates'
Courts
Act
(1994)
(PMCA)
it
might
be
appropriate
to
make
some
assessment
of
the
impact
of
the
reforms,
effected
by
the
legislation,
par-
ticularly
in
relation
to
new
forms
of
accountability
established
by
the
PMCA.
The
PMCA
represented
the
most
sig-
nificant
change
to
the
tripartite
struc-
ture
consisting
of
Chief
Officers,
police
authorities
and
the
Home
Secretary
since
the
1964
Police
Act.
It
was based
on
a
view
that
the
work
of
the
police
and
police
authorities
should
become
much
more
'businesslike'
and
that
a
contractual
relationship
should
be
established
in
fu-
ture
between
the
police
force
and
police
authority
on
the
one
hand
and
the
Home
Secretary
on
the
other.
This
was to be
achieved
by
the
introduction
of
local
policing
plans,
performance
targets
and
contracts
for
all
police
officers.
CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT
PLANS
It
could
be
argued
that
police
forces
had
been
directed
towards
improving
perfor-
mance
from
the
early 1980s (particularly
with
Home
Office
Circular
104/83).
The
Conservative
Government's
proposals
for
police
reform
in
1992-93,
however,
went
well
beyond
anything
before
experienced
by
the
police
service in
terms
of
prescrip-
tion
by
a
government
which
had
tradi-
tionally
supported
the
police
service in its
InternationalJournal of Police
Science and Management.
Vol. I
No.2,
1998.pp.133-147.
©Henry
Stewart Publications.
1360-8576
Page 133
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