Evidencing a 'Good Practice Model' of Police Communication: The Impact of Local Policing Newsletters on Public Confidence

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between police-public communication and public confidence in policing. It draws on several years of research within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), including two qualitative studies that explored public information needs, and a collaborative effort between MPS and the London School of Economics to conduct a ‘real world’ experiment that tested the impact of newsletters on public perceptions and confidence. A good practice model of information provision is put forward, and evidence for its positive impact on public confidence and perceptions of policing, specifically on perceived police community engagement, is presented. The implications of these findings for the police are discussed with reference to the concepts of police legitimacy, trust and confidence.