Trust in the police and policing by consent in turbulent times

When we direct our attention away from public sector occupational cultures per se and towards police occupational cultures, perhaps one of the first facts that needs to be acknowledged is the level of interest that they continue to generate. The subject area has attracted substantial academic attention over a relatively sustained amount of time and, as Westmarland (2008) notes, has achieved the somewhat distinguished position of being one of the few terms in police studies used by academics and lay audiences alike. Amongst academics, suggest O’Neill and Singh (2007, p. 1), it has become ‘an inescapable, controversial, surprisingly stubborn and recurring theme’. That police occupational or organizational culture (the two terms can be used interchangeably in most respects), seemingly above all other such cultures, still generates new literature, debate and disagreement indicates that police behaviour and values, and the drivers behind these, remain contested and of significant social interest. This chapter will highlight the social and political undercurrents that have informed much work into police culture before identifying three key eras of police culture research. For each of these eras of research a small number of key works will be discussed and the main themes outlined. Whilst the chapter presents some definitions of police culture, a selection of works will be drawn on to highlight the difficulties associated with defining this complex area.

This thesis examines police officers’ attitudes toward neighbourhood policing and the customer-focused ethos it embodies. The support of police officers is essential to the effective delivery of neighbourhood policing. Whilst much has been written about the low status afforded to this style of policing within the occupational culture, more empirical evidence is needed to understand the ‘drivers’ of officers’ attitudes and how police managers might encourage support for such strategies. The research is informed by the voices, experiences and perspectives of officers serving in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Using a mixed methods approach drawing on survey and interview data, the study assesses the cultural, organisational and wider contextual determinants of officers’ alignment to neighbourhood policing. In so doing, this study makes an important contribution to the existing literature, extending our knowledge about the barriers and conduits to the implementation of neighbourhood policing and the factors shaping the variations in officers’ cultural attitudes. Findings suggest that most MPS officers consider neighbourhood policing to be ‘real’ policing. Positive attitudes are strongly linked to officers’ organisational justice perceptions, attitudes toward serving the public and openness to their involvement. Senior ranking officers, women and those deployed in neighbourhood roles are highly supportive. Nevertheless, the results also expose that neighbourhood policing is often considered an inferior form of police work relative to other ‘specialisms’ and that rank-and-file officers do not always embrace the language of customer focus. It is argued that several organisational and contextual factors are undermining the positive sentiments most officers’ hold toward neighbourhood policing. This includes systems of performance measurement; specialisation opportunities; the composition of neighbourhood teams; training provision; role ambiguity; a perceived de-prioritisation of the neighbourhood function and declining organisational justice perceptions in the context of austerity. Ultimately, this has implications for officers’ commitment to their role and service provision.

This research delves into the intricate interplay between political trust, political efficacy, and engagement in the political process. Analysing survey data collected from 530 participants during the 2022 elections in Israel, at a time of heightened political instability, the study aims to uncover the nuanced relationships underlying citizens’ engagement behaviours. Grounded in political efficacy and political trust theories, the investigation explores the roles of trust in politicians and in the political system as predictors of offline and online political engagement. The mediating influence of political efficacy on these relationships is analysed. The findings reveal distinct patterns of influence for trust in politicians and trust in the political system in different modes of political engagement. Political efficacy emerges as a robust predictor, mediating online and offline engagement. This mediating role elucidates the intricate dynamics between trust variables and engagement pathways, offering insights into the complexities of civic participation in times of political turbulence. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of how trust and efficacy shape citizens’ interactions with the political realm. They underscore the need for continued investigation into the multifaceted dynamics of political engagement.

The COVID-19 pandemic extended interest in the relationships between citizens and governments in turbulent times of crises and emergencies. While the pandemic generated a critical existential threat to the lives of many, it also had a significant effect on the quality of life and on the wellbeing of even larger populations. This paper deals with the relationship between the wellbeing of citizens and three types of trust in governance (i.e. trust in political institutions, trust in public administration, trust in enforcement institutions) during the pandemic. We aim at advancing knowledge on both wellbeing and trust during crises, and more specifically on direct and indirect patterns of these important relationships. To do so, we suggest alternative models and a series of hypotheses aimed at examining them empirically. Two datasets on Israeli citizens are used. They were collected over two points in time during the heat of the pandemic and toward its decline and end (Study 1/t1; N = 1026 and Study 2/t2; N = 3024) and largely represent major sectors and ethnicities in the population. The findings generally support a positive relationship between wellbeing and trust, but more importantly indicate that during crisis, trust in public administration and enforcement institutions mediates the relationship between wellbeing and trust in political institutions. We thus argue that the public service may act as a bridge between citizens’ wellbeing and political trust. In our view, the findings testify to the complexity of the wellbeing–trust relationship, especially in challenging times. Implications and directions for future studies are suggested. Points for practitioners Trust in governance is different for various political institutions and for different public administration organizations, especially in turbulent times Civil servants should be aware of citizens’ wellbeing during crises as it affects trust in governance Citizen trust and wellbeing are significantly related in times of emergency and crises

In recent years, Black Police Associations (BPAs) have become key forces of change within the police service, involved in minority ethnic recruitment and retention initiatives, working closely with senior management, and also serving as mechanisms of support minority ethnic constabulary members and recruits. Most police services in England and Wales now have an officially recognised BPA, making it essential to consider the effect these groups have on the police occupational culture. Using data from our recent research project on BPAs, we explore issues such as the decreasing importance of rank and grading in the police culture; whether a parallel, ‘black’ occupational culture is emerging alongside the traditional ‘white’ one; the indirect influence BPAs have had as part of a wider process of change and the interplay between changing individuals and changing the institution as a whole.

Danger and trauma in police work have long been linked to the development of a suspicious and cynical ‘street cop’ culture. Nevertheless, there is evidence that stress among police officers in Western democracies is more likely to be produced by organisational pressure and management practices than by actual traumatic experience. This chapter uses data from a follow-up study of police recruits to examine the relationship between police stress and occupational culture. In particular, it analyses the impact of organisational changes on officers’ perception of their work and culture. The chapter demonstrates the way changes in the field of policing can modify some aspects of the occupational habitus while reinforcing others. INTRODUCTION: STRESS AND CULTURE The notion of ‘police stress’ has been the subject of many research studies (e.g. Stinchcomb, 2004; Deschamps, Paganon-Badinier, Marchand, & Merle, 2003; Brooks & Piquero, 1998; Brown, Cooper, & Kirkcaldy, 1996), most of which are concerned with identifying sources of stress and ways of reducing Police Occupational Culture: New Debates and Directions Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Volume 8, 129–151 Copyright r 2007 by Elsevier Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1521-6136/doi:10.1016/S1521-6136(07)08005-0

Since foundational work in the 1950s, researchers have described a variety of dimensions of the occupational culture of police. In an effort to integrate the disparate works, a theoretical model has been constructed depicting the ways in which the stressful features of the police work environment produce coping mechanisms and outcomes. While this model usefully organizes the vast literature on police culture, it has yet to be empirically tested. The current study addresses this void. Path analyses of officer survey data reveal support for several of the propositions set forth by the monolithic model, although the magnitude of the statistical associations was not very powerful and overall model fit was marginal. The implications of these findings are especially relevant given recent concerns over police-community relations and the renewed interest in the police occupational culture expressed by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The English and Welsh police epitomise organisations that are steeped in tradition. As a result, instituting any meaningful and lasting reform has always been a major challenge. Over the past two decades, attempts at reform have arisen in response to Government and public concerns over perceived inadequacies of particular police practices and procedures, which in turn has resulted in new legislation. Running in parallel there have been greater levels of external scrutiny with issues of value for money and performance measurement being central to the reform process. Such has been the scale of these changes that it has increased the resolve of many officers to resist further attempts at reform. Police occupational culture and its perpetuation are identified as key barriers that have substantially impeded the success of the reform agenda. It is argued that in order to mediate the influence of this strong occupational culture there is a need for intervention at different stages during a police officers' career in the form of independent mentoring and training. Finally it is argued that it is the failure of both Government and senior police managers to pay sufficient attention to these areas that has resulted in the apparent failure of the many initiatives at police reform.

Government competence in delivering outcomes is often regarded as foundational to political trust. However, in this article, a different competence dynamic is proposed; specifically, whether political trust is related to government efficiency in achieving promised policy objectives. This article argues that when policy objectives are polarizing, the effect of efficiency on political trust is conditional on whether individuals support or oppose the objective. Using the case of Brexit, where the promised policy objective of leaving the European Union was polarizing, it is hypothesized that Leave voters relative to Remain voters became more trusting in cases of efficiency and less trusting in cases of inefficiency. The predictions are supported through a difference-in-differences analysis of unique real-world data over time from the British Election Study. The findings have important implications for our understanding of Brexit and also inform how political trust relates to government competence in the case of polarizing political issues.

Police community support officers (PCSOs) have become an integral part of neighbourhood policing teams (NPTs) in England and Wales since the national roll-out of neighbourhood policing in 2008. Most research on PCSOs examines their outward-facing role, such as in the extent to which these police staff have become community engagement or enforcement-orientated. While this is important to consider, what is also important is the manner in which PCSOs have been accepted by the police organisation internally. This can have a bearing on the degree to which PCSOs are able to fulfil their roles in neighbourhood policing. The research reported here is based on a six-month observational study of PCSOs in England. Using Goffman's dramaturgical framework and concept of performance teams, this article argues that PCSOs and police constables (PCs) comprise separate performance teams within each NPT group, although the degree of separation between PC and PCSO teams varied from one NPT to another. One element of this relationship which was generally consistent was that police officers and supervisors tended to value more highly PCSO work which was enforcement-orientated. This challenges PCSOs to enhance this side of their performances in spite of their limited statutory powers. Some PCSOs experienced this as a daily pressure to justify their existence to police colleagues, leaving them as disillusioned and unsatisfied staff. This was clearly expressed in the use of space in these police stations in that PCSOs sought out spaces where they could relax in their own exclusive ‘back stage’ areas, away from police colleagues.

In the 1970s, Elinor Ostrom and her colleagues found that neighborhood policing works better than metropolitan policing. Though Ostrom articulated design principles for self-governance, the early studies of neighborhood policing did not. In this paper, we articulate the design principles for self-governing policing, which we term Ostrom-Compliant Policing. We then apply this framework to an understudied case: policing on American Indian reservations. Policing in Indian country generally falls into one of three categories – federal policing (by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Federal Bureau of Investigation), state policing (by municipal and state police departments), and tribal policing (by tribal police departments) – that vary in the degree of centralization. Our main contribution is to show that tribal policing as it is practiced in the United States, which claims to be self-governing, is not Ostrom-Compliant. Thus, our approach offers insight into why high crime remains an ongoing challenge in much of Indian country even when tribes have primary control over policing outcomes. This does not mean centralization is better, or that self-governance of policing does not work. Rather, our research suggests that a greater tribal autonomy over-policing and meta-political changes to federal rules governing criminal jurisdictions is necessary to implement Ostromian policing.

In British politics, it is clear that the idea of the ‘Big Society’ encompasses many aspects of state activity and civil society, including the work of constabularies. Implications of ideas related to the Big Society implemented in police policy and practice, particularly in the area of police race relations, are considered in this article. No matter what changes that may take place, they will be mediated by the police occupational culture, which itself might be changed by Big Society ideas and concurrent, significant cuts to police budgets. The article begins with a consideration of whether we adequately understand how police organizations change. Janet Chan’s use of Bourdieu’s ideas on the relationship between ‘field’ and ‘habitus’ is criticized. In light of this discussion, the article considers aspects of police race relations. In particular, the implications of ‘seeing like a citizen’ and ‘participative policing’, Big Society ideas identified by Martin Innes, are discussed.

Journal Article Police Occupational Culture: New Debates and Directions. Edited by M. O'Neill, M. Marks and A.-M. Singh (Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI Press, 2007, 393pp. £59.00 hb) Get access POLICE OCCUPATIONAL CULTURE: NEW DEBATES AND DIRECTIONS. Edited by M. O’Neill M. Marksand A.-M. Singh (Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI Press, 2007, 393pp. £59.00 hb) Philip Stenning Philip Stenning Keele University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The British Journal of Criminology, Volume 49, Issue 6, November 2009, Pages 916–918, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azp056 Published: 07 August 2009

Using studies from Australia, Britain, the United States, Africa and Canada, this book offers a contemporary look at police culture from an international perspective by questioning established silos in topics, by presenting new ways of thinking about police culture and suggesting forms that police culture is likely to take in the future.

Taking an evidence-based approach to understanding police culture, this thorough and accessible book critically reviews existing research and offers new insights on theories and definitions. Tom Cockcroft, an authority on the subject, addresses a range of contemporary issues including diversity, police reform and police professionalisation. This invaluable review: - Identifies and discusses differing conceptions of police culture; - Explores the contribution of different disciplinary and methodological approaches to our understanding of police culture; - Assesses how culture relates to many different operational aspects of policing; - Contextualises our understanding of police culture in relation to both contemporary police agendas and wider social change. For students, researchers and police officers alike, this is an accessible and timely appraisal of police culture.