Chief Police Officers Research Articles

Lobbying and Representation: An Analysis of the Emergence of the ‘Senior Police Voice’ during the Late Twentieth Century

This paper charts the history and emergence of the ‘senior police voice’ within the UK. Before the 1990s, that voice was fragmented, hostile and contradictory. Cultural and political change plus a desire from within the senior echelons of the police service to professionalise began a long process of acceptance of the centrality of politics and the media within policing. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO, representing the senior ranks of the police service) in particular moved from the relative safety and anonymity of a ‘private’ organisation to a body, which was much more centre stage within criminal justice policy making. This paper analyses the development of a more corporate senior police voice through the Association's media activity and cultural change. It does this through an analysis of interviews with the members of ACPO, in particular its Presidents, who served as ACPO members from the late 1950s onwards.

An analysis of digital forensic examinations: Mobile devices versus hard disk drives utilising ACPO & NIST guidelines

The aims of this paper are to compare and contrast the current guidelines involved in the forensic examinations of mobile devices and hard disk drives. The paper then identifies areas of mobile device examinations where current guidelines are different and could be lacking strength and solidity. Guidelines and research into the forensic examination of hard disk drives is much more established when compared to that of mobile devices. Both the United Kingdom and the United States of America have published guidelines for the forensic analysis of mobile devices; these guidelines are examined throughout this paper. In the United Kingdom they are issued by ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) Good Practice Guide for Computer-Based Electronic Evidence. In the United States of America these are issued by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Special Publication 800-101, Guidelines on Cell Phone Forensics.

Miscarriages of justice: the role of homicide review

Miscarriages of justice within the United Kingdom have received much publicity since the early nineties and served to undermine confidence in the Criminal Justice system. One fairly recent activity on the part of the Association of Chief Police Officers which has served to reduce the likelihood of such miscarriages is the principle of the review of major crime investigations and in particular murder inquiries. This paper reflects upon the possible causes of flawed investigations which have led to miscarriages of justice over the recent past and refers to the major academic work which supports the principle of reviewing murder inquiries.

Sustaining the crime reduction impact of designing out crime: Re-evaluating the Secured by Design scheme 10 years on

Secured by Design (SBD) is an award scheme that aims to encourage housing developers to design out crime at the planning or concept stage. The scheme is managed by the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Reduction Initiatives (ACPO CPI) while the day-to-day delivery of the scheme is conducted by Architectural Liaison Officers (ALOs) or Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDAs) working for individual police forces throughout the United Kingdom. The scheme sets standards for compliance that developments must meet to be awarded SBD status. This article presents the findings of research conducted over a 10-year period (1999–2009) into the effectiveness of the SBD scheme as a crime reduction measure. Utilising a variety of methods, the research aims to establish whether residents living within SBD developments experience less crime and fear of crime than their non-SBD counterparts; whether SBD developments show less visual signs of crime and disorder than their non-SBD counterparts; and finally, whether properties built to the SBD standard are able to sustain any crime reduction benefits over a 10-year period.

Selecting Scotland's Police Leaders: A ‘Crisis' Revisited

Traditionally leadership in the senior ranks of the police organisation has been regarded as a key factor in producing effective police performance. The aim of this article is to revisit Scott and Wilkie's (2001) analysis of whether or not there is a ‘crisis' in Scottish policing regarding the appointments to top police jobs, especially at chief constable level. An update is provided of the background of current ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland) ranks, and comparisons are drawn between the situations in 2001 and 2010. Developments in Scottish policing which relate to senior leadership appointments are discussed, and a review of these developments is used to cast light on the extent to which there continues to be a ‘crisis' in police leadership in Scotland.

Rape – myth and reality: no ordinary crime

Rape – myth and reality: no ordinary crime

RESPONDING IN A MODERN WORLD

With an evolving and increasingly integrated range of domestic threats, reform of the UK police is long overdue. Margaret Gilmore investigates calls for a smaller number of larger forces, and examines the status of the Association of Chief Police Officers – an increasingly influential private company, which its own senior officers believe would benefit from more independent oversight.

DNA reviews: low level DNA profiling

Low copy number (LCN) DNA profiling has recently been scrutinized in the United Kingdom following the comments of Mr Justice Weir made during the trial of suspected terrorist Sean Hoey. Mr Hoey was acquitted of all charges related to the Omagh bombing of 1998, following the inadmissibility of key DNA evidence during this trial. The Association of Chief Police Officers and Crown Prosecution Service, initially suspended the use of this technique, but quickly reinstated its use following an internal enquiry. This review describes the low copy number technique and the sample types that are now routinely collected from suspects, victims, and crime scenes for examination by this method.

Measuring the Impact of Fraud in the UK: A Conceptual and Empirical Journey

This article examines the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of data on the cost of fraud—collected for a study conducted for the Association of Chief Police Officers and summarized in the article—and reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the data collection processes. It also raises broader questions about the relationship between crime control ideologies, institutional responsibilities, and what data on crime are kept and not kept; and concludes by reviewing the implications of recent strategies for enhancing fraud data collection.

Police commissioners, presidents and the governance of security

ABSTRACTAfrica's police are usually assessed in terms of their adherence to democratic criteria. This results in inaccurate analysis because the police are actually governed according to presidential preference. This article uses the role of Africa's chief police officers to explore the relationship between presidents and their police, and the location of influence within the police. It identifies the significant variables shaping police governance in four countries with comparable institutional structures – Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe – and confirms the negligible role played by public accountability.

News

News

An audit of compliance with motor traffic regulations and use of green warning lights by consultants recalled to hospital to attend emergencies

Objectives: To determine consultants’ compliance with motor traffic regulations on recall to hospital to attend emergencies, and ownership and use of green warning lights (GWLs). To determine the views of...

The Policing of Young Offenders

In order to reduce the level of youth offending in England and Wales, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Youth Justice Board have emphasized the importance of multi-agency work. Recent years have witnessed the introduction of ‘robust’ community interventions for young offenders, including the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP). This paper assesses the involvement of the police in ISSP, as well as the wider contribution of police officers to youth offending teams (YOTs). Whilst the study identified ‘good practice’ in relation to intelligence-led policing and joined-up youth justice intervention, there was some variability amongst ISSP schemes and YOTs. In some contrast to the findings of Burnett and Appleton (2004), the specific contribution of police officers to youth justice work was regarded by civilian practitioners and police officers themselves as unique and specialized. Following de Lint (2003), it was found that the police are key in terms of ‘brokering access’ to young offenders.

Computer forensics and records management – compatible disciplines

PurposeTo explore the meaning, methods and techniques associated with the subject of computer forensics and consider the implications of computer forensics for records managers and recordkeeping.Design/methodology/approachCritically analyses the principles of computer forensics in the context of records characteristics – authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability – and the UK Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) principles and procedures for the collection of digital evidence.FindingsThe disciplines of records management and computer forensics are potentially mutually compatible. Computer forensics allows for identification of incidents, gathering of evidence, analysis of evidence and potentially recovery of records. Records managers can utilise computer forensics principles to positively enhance records management and have valuable knowledge and expertise to share with their computer forensics colleagues; e.g. metadata expertise, functional requirements for electronic records management, recordkeeping systems design and implementation methodologies, digital preservation and retention management.Research limitations/implicationsDiscusses how computer forensics can be used to highlight inadequate recordkeeping and provide a different perspective on records management based on an analysis of principles and concepts rather than empirical data.Practical implicationsHighlights the need for records managers to understand computer forensics and computer forensic scientists to understand recordkeeping to support better records management in the electronic environment; raises the implications for educators, trainers and professional societies.Originality/valueVery little has been published on the discussion of the potential implications of computer forensics for records managers or how computer forensics can enhance the records management discipline; this paper addresses the gap.

Fingerprint Evidence in England and Wales – The Revised Standard

Evidence of personal identity, often based solely on the comparison of a single finger impression, or fragment of an impression, has been accepted by courts of law at all levels in England and Wales since 1901, when the fingerprint system of identification was first adopted by police forces. Fingerprint identification is used by police forces world-wide, not only for the identification of latent fingermarks left at crime scenes, but also as the basis for ensuring accuracy in the criminal record system. For more than a century fingerprint evidence has been shown without doubt to be the best form of personal identification yet devised and millions of comparisons and subsequent identifications have been effected world-wide without any flaw in the system having been detected. From 1953-2001 it was the usual practice in England and Wales for the police to proffer fingerprint evidence showing 16 common matching characteristics, or features in agreement, between the two impressions being compared. In 1996 the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) commissioned a review of the existing methods of presenting fingerprint evidence before the courts and on 11 June 2001 a new standard of fingerprint evidence was adopted by the police forces of England and Wales. This paper describes how the new standard was developed and implemented and why it was considered necessary to move away from the existing 16-point standard.

The Nature and Outcome of Going Missing: The Challenge of Developing Effective Risk Assessment Procedures

Drawing on information from a random sample of over 1,000 cases this paper highlights the variety and complexity of missing person cases, reported to the police. The overwhelming majority of missing persons are found safe and well or are no longer considered as missing. Most return within a short space of time. Some cases, however, are not concluded quickly or with such favourable outcomes. A further sample of cases, which had caused problems for the police, was examined. These cases also revealed a variety of situations, backgrounds and outcomes. Many were immigration cases or had other reasons for wishing to remain ‘missing’. Some missing persons, unfortunately, were found dead but many of them had died of natural causes and had died before the police were notified. In view of the variety of cases and the rarity of adverse outcomes it is difficult to develop statistical risk prediction scores as an aid to decision-making. Instead the Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance to strengthen police officers' professional judgement in dealing with MISPER (missing person) cases.

The academic and the practitioner: Pragmatists' views of offender profiling.

Pragmatic psychology,as outlined by D. Fishman (1999), serves as the inspiration for this article’s recommendation to integrate the currently opposing factions within offender profiling. These factions have variously been referred to as “inductive/ deductive,” “statistical/clinical,” or “academic/practitioner” approaches. This article outlines how the separation into different factions is both misrepresentative and needlessly divisive and thus undermines the potential contribution of behavioral science to the investigative endeavor. Through a case study, the article illustrates how a pragmatist’s approach would encourage a more productive and synergistic dialogue between the camps. This, in turn, may lead to the creation of a useful and productive archive that would facilitate the professionalization of what has too often seemed an ill-formed forensic discipline. Recent practical and academic concerns have emerged both in the United States (Prentky & Burgess, 2000) and in the United Kingdom (Association of Chief Police Officers [ACPO], 2000) in relation to the type of advice given by a range of individuals claiming some expertise in “offender profiling.” Despite these developments, recent legal concerns (Ormerod, 1999) and concerns over the lack of ethical guidelines for profilers (Alison & Canter, 1999a) suggest that there is an urgent need to formulate detailed ethical, professional, and practical guidelines for both the construction, evaluation, and implementation of psychological advice to police investigations. This article outlines how a proposed synergy of the kind recommended in the therapeutic arena by Fishman (2000) between academics and practitioners may be of direct relevance to the field of profiling. Fishman refers to this synergy as pragmatic psychology, in which he calls for “the development of databases of systematic, rigorous, solution-focused case studies of human service programs of all types” (Fishman, 2000, p. 1). Although still in the embryonic stage, Fishman’s approach has been preceded and influenced by various incarnations of philosophical pragmatism, exemplified in the works of Toulmin (1958), Rorty (1991),

Building for Burglars?

This paper reports on a study conducted into the factors, other than location, which influence homebuyers to purchase a particular property. The study was prompted by a consistent failure over time by private housing developers to embrace the principles of the Association of Chief Police Officers ‘Secured By Design’ (SBD) award scheme, or even the major elements of that scheme, to ensure parity of security with newly built social housing. Many private housing developers have expressed the view, without supporting evidence, that they avoid building to SBD standards because the majority of house buyers regard a property with enhanced security as one that has reduced appeal. It has been these developers' expressed opinion that purchasers equate enhanced security with high-crime areas, and would therefore be turned off by rather than attracted to an SBD property. Without evidence to the contrary, developers have had little incentive to adapt their building practices, and individuals concerned with crime reduction have been unable to offer a convincing argument for them to do so.

Influencing the Police: Local Autonomy in Policy and Practice in England and Wales

This article assesses the influence of the Home Office; Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary; the Association of Chief Police Officers; the Audit Commission; the Local Police Authority and the Chief Constable, on policy makers and implementers of policy from various levels of a police organization. It is based on three policy areas: the Citizens' Charter; Annual Policing (now Performance) Plans; and Domestic Violence Policy in England and Wales. Both policy makers and policy implementers believed that, with the exception of the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the Local Police Authority, there was a strong influence from all these groups in all the policy areas examined. However for police officers directly involved in the implementation process, the Citizens' Charter and Annual Policing (now Performance) Plans had made little difference to the way they carried out their day-to-day work. In these more generic policy areas they saw less influence from these groups, with greater influence coming from consumers, public opinion, colleagues and immediate supervisors. But in the tighter policy area of domestic violence, where there is greater top-down control, the influence of these groups was the strongest, with local autonomy, both in policy and practice, hard to find.

Genetics and Forensics

This paper is based on a current study of the growing police use of the epistemic authority of molecular biology for the identification of criminal suspects in support of crime investigation. It discusses the development of DNA profiling and the establishment and development of the UK National DNA Database (NDNAD) as an instance of the ‘scientification of police work’ (Ericson and Shearing 1986) in which the police uses of science and technology have a recursive effect on their future development. The NDNAD, owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales, is the first of its kind in the world and currently contains the genetic profiles of more than 2 million people. The paper provides a framework for the examination of this socio-technical innovation, begins to tease out the dense and compact history of the database and accounts for the way in which changes and developments across disparate scientific, governmental and policing contexts, have all contributed to the range of uses to which it is put.