NCJ Number
99841
Journal
Political Quarterly Dated: (April-June 1985) Pages: 122-131
Date Published
1985
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the state of and factors influencing police-community relations in England from the 1950's through the early 1980's.
Abstract
In the 1950's, British police were accepted by the community as politically neutral agents of the law committed to the protection of the public from forces that threatened social peace and harmony. This state was achieved through policies that depoliticized the police, mandated a minimal use of force, and encouraged the police service role. Events in the late 1960's and 1970's repoliticized the police. Revelations of widespread police deviance and the escalation of police force in handling civil disorder marred the image of the police as neutral, incorruptible servants to the community. Police involvement in politics took the form of an active lobby devoted to gaining support for tough law enforcement policies. Riots in 1981 and the subsequent Scarman report urging improved policy-community relations have stimulated police officials to adopt policies designed to reduce police-community conflict. However, government policies divide the community by creating unemployment among minority youth and alienate the working class from the political order, thereby undermining police efforts. The disorder fostered by such policies must be addressed by the police, which inevitably increases police-community conflict. 14 footnotes.