Independent Commission on Future of Policing Report published
Mon, 25 Nov 2013 12:10:00 GMT
Lord John Stevens, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, today publishes the final report of his Independent Commission on the Future of Policing entitled 'Policing for a Better Britain'. The Commission was set up in 2012 to examine the roles and responsibilities of the police service in England and Wales in the 21st Century.
This wide-ranging, evidenced-based report, has looked at every aspect of policing from the underlying values and principles that define the very purpose of the police, to what the public expect of the police in a modern society, what its role, functions and responsibilities should be, police pay, management practices and morale and how far police officer recruitment should reflect the communities they serve. The report also considers democratic accountability and the future of elected Police and Crime Commissioners, raising standards, tackling misconduct and developing policing as a profession, police force re-organisation and how to get the most out of police spending.
This ground breaking study will inform policy and debate in the years ahead and show how the police service can meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
Professor Alex Hirschfield, Director of the Applied Criminology Centre, was appointed to the Commission's Academic Advisory Panel in 2012 and was involved throughout contributing to the Commission's deliberations, 
interviewing witnesses and producing a chapter in a book, "The Future of Policing” edited by Jennifer Brown and published by Routledge.
The book accompanies the Commission's main report and is also being launched today.
Pictured right: Professor Alex Hirschfield, Director of the Applied Criminology Centre:
"It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on this Commission and to work on such an important study".
Ray Dance from the University's Research and Enterprise Office, has project managed the work of the Commission. He has helped to ensure the success and smooth running of the different elements of the Commission's work over the past two years which have included witness hearings, one to one interviews and the 31 separate papers produced by 47 academics from 28 universities , both within the UK and overseas.Professor Hirschfield commented, "It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on this Commission and to work on such an important study.
The Commission has, in my view, managed to bring together practice-based knowledge within policing, the criminal justice system and government, the views of the public and academic thinking to distil the essential ingredients for ensuring a fair, representative and effective police service for the future".
Ray, a former West Yorkshire police superintendent, who has many years experience as a police officer, commented “an in-depth look at policing in this country has been needed for some time. What we have here is the largest study into the future of policing since the Royal Commission into Policing in 1962. You could say that this is Royal Commission that we needed but never had”.
The Commission's Report is available online.
