A report outlined how volunteers could help in the fight against crime by supporting police officers with their investigations, freeing them to spend more time on the beat.
Source: Jo Hathaway, Tackling Crime Together ? Volunteers and the Police Services, Community Service Volunteers (020 7278 6601)
Links: Report | CSV press release
Date: 2006-Dec
A new book examined the increasing incorporation of surveillance technologies into the routine practice of criminal justice.
Source: Clive Norris and Dean Wilson, Surveillance, Crime and Social Control, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Nov
An inspectorate report in Northern Ireland examined community safety partnerships. It recognized the dedication shown by CSP members and co-ordinators to the concept of community safety. The void created by the lack of a statutory basis for CSPs was the root of many of the weaknesses identified.
Source: An Inspection of Community Safety Partnerships, Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (028 9025 8000)
Links: Report | CJINI press release | NIO press release
Date: 2006-Nov
A report said that local organizations with local knowledge were best placed to work with the prison and probation services to help cut re-offending rates. Councils in particular had a key role to play, with their experience and expertise in critical areas such as housing, education, employment, drug and alcohol treatment, and family support.
Source: Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood: Local action to reduce re-offending, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000) and others
Links: Report | LGA press release
Date: 2006-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government should improve road safety by encouraging the spread of roadside cameras, boosting the number of traffic police, and ensuring speed limits were enforced more strictly.
Source: Roads Policing and Technology: Getting the right balance, Tenth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 975, House of Commons Transport Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report examined how neighbourhood management pathfinders had 'added value' to the process of promoting safer neighbourhoods through preventing crime, solving crimes, reducing the fear of crime, and tackling anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods. (The pathfinders were designed to test out a new model of neighbourhood management.)
Source: SQW Ltd, Joining up for Safer Neighbourhoods: A theme report from the neighbourhood management pathfinder programme national evaluation, Neighbourhood Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (020 7944 8383)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report examined the ways in which police authorities sought to enhance accountability at local level, and the benefits that could be derived from building relationships with communities, partners, and police colleagues.
Source: John Raine, Eileen Dunstan and Roger Patrick, Enhancing Accountability in Local Policing: Lessons from twelve police authority projects, Association of Police Authorities (020 7664 3096)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Oct
An article examined the ways by which government had sought to progress and monitor its policy objectives through performance management of policing, and the ethical challenges this had posed. Performance accountability had been personalized on senior managers, and this had affected the delicate trust-control balance between national government and local frontline delivery.
Source: Peter Neyroud, 'Ethics in policing: performance and the personalisation of accountability in British policing and criminal justice', Legal Ethics, Volume 9 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Oct
The second annual police performance assessments, for 2005-06, showed that the police had reduced overall recorded crime by 2 per cent. Crime investigating had also improved significantly, with more than 1.3 million crimes solved - an increase of around 170,000 offences over the previous year.
Source: Police Performance Assessments 2005/2006, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Hansard | APA press release | Police Fed press release
Date: 2006-Oct
The government said that the national identity card scheme would cost £5.4 billion, including all set-up and operational costs, over the period 2006-2016. Researchers said that the report failed to disclose much information that would aid understanding of the process, and did little to increase public confidence in the scheme.
Source: Identity Cards Act 2006: First Section 37 Report to Parliament about the Likely Costs of the ID Cards Scheme, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | , Analysis of Home Office Costs Report of October 2006, Department of Information Systems/London School of Economics (020 7955 7060)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Conservative Party press release | IPPR press release | BBC report | Times report | Guardian report | LSE report | LSE press release
Date: 2006-Oct
A new book examined what could be achieved by problem-oriented policing, what conditions were required for its successful implementation, and what had been learned about resolving crime and disorder issues.
Source: Karen Bullock, Nick Tilley and Rosie Erol, Problem-oriented Policing and Partnerships: Implementing an evidence-based approach to crime reduction, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Sep
An article described the theory and practice of restorative justice, and examined it in relation to community policing. It analyzed the experience of police reform in Northern Ireland, and explored the dilemmas and opportunities inherent in transforming policing within communities in conflict.
Source: Margaret Martin, 'Restoring justice through community policing: the Northern Ireland case', Criminal Justice Policy Review, Volume 17 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that government plans to introduce identity cards were 'inconsistent' and 'lacking clarity'. It expressed scepticism about the estimated costs of the scheme, and said that there was public confusion about identity cards because of lack of information.
Source: Identity Card Technologies: Scientific advice, risk and evidence, Sixth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1032, House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Information Commissioner press release | LSE press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Aug
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on a proposed restructuring of police forces in Wales.
Source: Proposed Restructuring of the Police Forces in Wales: Government response to the Committee's second report of session 2005-06 fourth special report of session 2005-06, Fourth Special Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1431, House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jul
The government began consultation on a package of measures to enable law enforcement agencies to better target and disrupt the activities of organized criminals. Proposals included a new 'prevention order' to prevent organized criminal activity by individuals or organizations by imposing conditions on their movements and transactions.
Source: New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime, Cm 6875, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | Home Office press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
A new book examined how the community safety agenda had evolved and developed within local crime and disorder prevention strategies.
Source: Peter Squires (ed.), Community Safety: Critical perspectives on policy and practice, Policy Press, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs examined the restructuring of the police forces in Wales. It said that there remained a number of serious concerns over the financial arrangements for any new all-Wales police force.
Source: Current Restructuring of the Police Forces in Wales, Fifth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1418, House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jul
A Home Office spokeswoman reportedly said that the timetable for introducing identity cards in 2008-09 could be affected by delays in procurement, and by a fundamental review of the department begun by the new Home Secretary.
Source: The Guardian, 12 July 2006
Links: Guardian report | FT report
Date: 2006-Jul
The government announced that a National Policing Board was to be created to drive improvements and strengthen the governance of policing in England and Wales. The main functions of the Board would include: agreeing the Home Secretary's annual national strategic priorities for policing; setting key priorities for the National Policing Improvement Agency; and setting agreed priorities for the police reform programme.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 3 July 2006, columns 30-31WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release | Minutes of first meeting
Date: 2006-Jul
An audit report examined how well police forces and authorities in England and Wales recorded crime data in 2005, and compared their performance over the previous three years. It found that most forces and authorities met the crime recording standards, and all but two had adequate management arrangements in place to maintain and improve compliance.
Source: Crime Recording 2005: Improving the quality of crime records in police authorities and forces in England and Wales, Audit Commission (0800 502030) and Wales Audit Office
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | ACPO press release
Date: 2006-Jun
The watchdog for official information said that secret government estimates of the benefits and risks of identity cards had to be published.
Source: Decision notice 5 June 2006, Information Commissioner (01625 545 700)
Links: Decision notice | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jun
An article said that changes in police objectives and performance indicators in England and Wales between 1992 and 2004 reflected political priorities, but portrayed a continual shift in focus. Without a fuller public discussion about the objectives of policing, efforts to improve public satisfaction with policing were likely to fail.
Source: Paul Collier, 'In search of purpose and priorities: police performance indicators in England and Wales', Public Money and Management, Volume 26 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jun
A police service inspectorate report examined the structure, scope, and scale of professional standards activities by police forces in England and Wales. It also highlighted the welfare of staff subject to complaints, and the critical role of senior police in dealing with complaints and corruption.
Source: Raising the Standard: A thematic inspection of professional standards, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000)
Links: Report | Summary | IPCC press release | ACPO press release
Date: 2006-Jun
The government announced that it was delaying plans to merge police forces in England and Wales until the autumn of 2006. Mergers were still "the right way" forward: but there would be further discussions before any orders were laid to enforce them.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Oral Answers 19 June 2006, columns 1057-1062, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release | PMOS statement | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report examined a number of different approaches to involving the community in community safety initiatives. There were few clearly measurable and tangible examples of successful community involvement: but this might be a consequence of problems with the dominant evaluative techniques for measuring what works in crime prevention and safety promotion.
Source: Improving Community Involvement in Community Safety, Civil Renewal Unit/Department for Communities and Local Government (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report summarized progress made in rolling out neighbourhood policing, in support of the government's commitment to ensure a neighbourhood policing team in every community by April 2008.
Source: Neighbourhood Policing: Progress Report May 2006, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that the Police and Justice Bill changed the balance of the relationship between Chief Constables, the Home Secretary, and local police authorities in favour of the Home Secretary - for example, by giving the latter power to intervene in a police force without first receiving an adverse report from an inspectorate.
Source: Police and Justice Bill, Twelfth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 195, House of Commons Constitution Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-May
A Member of Parliament introduced a Bill to require police services to include proposals to introduce and sustain neighbourhood policing as a provision of their policing plans.
Source: Neighbourhood Policing Bill, Andrew Slaughter MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2006-May
The Police and Justice Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to improve policing standards, and strengthen police powers to deal with anti-social behaviour. Key measures included: establishing a Police Improvement Agency; standardization of community support officer powers; and aligning basic command unit and crime and disorder reduction partnership boundaries with those of local authorities.
Source: Police and Justice Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 10 May 2006, columns 319-435, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2006-May
An audit report said that local authorities needed to tackle noisy neighbours, abandoned cars, graffiti, and other forms of anti-social behaviour at the most local of levels if the fear of crime were to be overcome. Crime and disorder reduction partnerships and community safety partnerships in England and Wales needed to have a better understanding of their individual neighbourhoods and the problems that mattered to local people.
Source: Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour: Making places safer through improved local working, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | FT report
Date: 2006-May
The Criminal Records Bureau published a five-year strategy, and a business plan for 2006-07. It also published a customer satisfaction report which showed 82 per cent satisfaction with the service being delivered by the CRB.
Source: Five-Year Strategy and Business Plan 2006/07, Criminal Records Bureau (0870 909 0811)
Links: Report | CRB press release
Date: 2006-May
The third progress report was published on the work to implement the recommendations made by a public inquiry into the events surrounding the murders of two schoolchildren by a school caretaker in 2002. It said that 21 of the 31 recommendations had been substantially delivered, and work was under way on the remainder. The cost of implementing the strategy was put at ?367 million.
Source: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Third Progress Report, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Hansard | BBC report
Date: 2006-May
An article examined the work of neighbourhood wardens and their contribution to fostering social order in deprived neighbourhoods. It said that promoting weak social ties, rather than strong bonds of `togetherness', might be preferable in supporting open and tolerant communities.
Source: Adam Crawford, 'Fixing broken promises? Neighbourhood wardens and social capital', Urban Studies, Volume 43 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-May
The government announced a 367 million plan to develop a national police database that would link up police information across England and Wales.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 19 April 2006, columns 17-19WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release
Date: 2006-Apr
A think-tank report said that the number of police forces in England and Wales should be reduced to twelve, and that police authorities should be abolished.
Source: Charlie Edwards and Paul Skidmore, A Force for Change: Policing 2020, Demos, available from Central Books (020 8986 5488)
Links: Report | Demos press release
Date: 2006-Apr
The new Identity and Passport Service (established on 1 April 2006) published its corporate and business plans for 2006-2016, covering the setting up of the national identity scheme and other measures to enhance the security of the passport and passport-issuing process. A framework agreement was also published, setting out the accountabilities, responsibilities, and corporate governance arrangements between the IPS and its parent department, the Home Office.
Source: Corporate and Business Plans 2006 2016, Identity and Passport Service/Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Framework Agreement, Identity and Passport Service/Home Office
Links: Corporate plan | Framework agreement | IPS press release
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined ways to incentivize crime prevention. It looked at potential victims and those who could be encouraged to take more action to prevent crime.
Source: Changing Behaviour to Prevent Crime: An incentives-based approach, Online Report 05/06, Home Office (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
An article reported evidence that DNA evidence remained marginal in terms of assisting with overall criminal detections, and the national DNA database expansion had not resulted in the improvement in detection rates originally anticipated.
Source: Carole McCartney, 'The DNA expansion programme and criminal investigation', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 46 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
The High Court approved a consent order under which the police agreed to destroy the fingerprints, DNA sample, and photograph of a teacher who had been accused of hitting a child but who had not been prosecuted.
Source: The Guardian, 23 March 2006
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
The government announced plans to create three new police 'super forces' and merge others to reduce the total number of forces in England and Wales by nearly half.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 20 March 2006, columns 6-7WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
A think-tank report said that plans to merge police forces in England and Wales would hinder the fight against crime. The argument for the mergers was "misleading and misguided"; smaller forces performed better than larger ones.
Source: Barry Loveday, Size Isn't Everything: Restructuring policing in England and Wales, Policy Exchange (020 7340 2650)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
A new book examined policing in Northern Ireland. It highlighted general issues relating to the implications of police legitimacy and illegitimacy for social conflict and divisions.
Source: Aog n Mulcahy, Policing Northern Ireland: Conflict, legitimacy and reform, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Mar
The Identity Cards Act was given Royal assent. The Act provided for a national identity scheme which would link basic personal information, such as name and address, to secure biometrics - a computer image of a person's iris, face or fingerprints. Identity cards would be compulsory for new passport holders from 2010. A new agency, called the Identity and Passport Service, would issue passports and identity cards, and would become operational on 1 April 2006. The government reportedly said that it planned legislation after the next election to make it compulsory for everyone to get a card, whether or not they had a passport.
Source: Identity Cards Act 2006, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | BBC report, 30 March 2006
Links: Home Office press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Mar
A government report outlined the future steps that would be taken to improve the police service. These included building a more responsive, citizen-focused service, and reshaping the structure of the police service through force amalgamations and the establishment of national policing agencies.
Source: From Policing the Local Beat to Disrupting Global Crime Networks: Reforming the structure of policing in the 21st century, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Mar
The government announced (following consultation) plans to merge 15 existing police forces, including the creation of two new regional 'superforces' in England and a single police force to cover the whole of Wales.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 6 February 2006, columns 39-40WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Feb
A survey found that people in the lowest socio-economic group were less likely to complain about police misconduct than those in the highest groups.
Source: Maria Docking and Tom Bucke, Confidence in the Police Complaints System: A survey of the general population, Independent Police Complaints Commission (020 7404 0430)
Links: Report | IPCC press release | ACPO press release
Date: 2006-Feb
A literature review examined community engagement in policing.
Source: Andy Myhill, Community Engagement in Policing: Lessons from the literature, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Feb
The government published guidance on local policing reports (a statutory requirement on police authorities from 1 April 2006), designed to ensure that every home in England and Wales was given relevant, useful information about the priorities and performance of their local force.
Source: A Practical Guide to Local Policing Summaries, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Guidance | Home Office press release
Date: 2006-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs expressed concern that the government had adopted a 'one size fits all' approach to the restructuring of the constabulary across England and Wales, without taking into account the unique political, geographic, and cultural characteristics of Wales.
Source: Proposed Restructuring of the Police Forces in Wales, Second Report, (Session 2005-06), HC 751, House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Wales Office press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
A report criticized the government and the police for misleading the public about the benefits of retaining DNA samples from large numbers of innocent people.
Source: The DNA Expansion Programme: Reporting real achievement?, GeneWatch UK (01298 871898)
Links: Report | GeneWatch press release
Date: 2006-Feb
The police service inspectorate published its annual report for 2004-05.
Source: Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary 2004-2005, HC 842, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Feb
A report criticized the government over the secrecy of the identity card planning process, conflicting statements made by the Home Office, and a disregard for Parliament's right to consider important costs and facts related to the scheme. It recommended that planning for the ID card be removed from the Home Office and given to the Treasury.
Source: The Identity Project: Research Status Report, Department of Information Systems/London School of Economics (020 7955 7060)
Links: Report | LSE press release
Date: 2006-Jan
An article examined police complaints reform in England and Wales during the course of the previous 40 years. Recurrent themes included the under-representation of complainants interests, and the longevity of the reform process.
Source: Graham Smith, 'A most enduring problem: police complaints reform in England and Wales', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 35 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
A report examined ways in which the Gypsy and Traveller communities could be more engaged to improve policing performance.
Source: John Coxhead, Moving Forward, Active Citizenship Centre/Home Office (duncan.prime@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jan
A review of the neighbourhood policing strategy found that it had delivered positive changes in key outcome indicators, such as crime, perceptions of anti-social behaviour, feelings of safety after dark, and public confidence in the police.
Source: Rachel Tuffin, Julia Morris and Alexis Poole, An Evaluation of the Impact of the National Reassurance Policing Programme, Research Study 296, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Study | Findings 1 | Findings 2
Date: 2006-Jan
A report examined the potential contribution of government citizen partnerships to the development of safe neighbourhoods.
Source: Anthony Bottoms and Andrew Wilson, Report on Sheffield University Civil Renewal Research, Active Citizenship Centre/Home Office (duncan.prime@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk)
Date: 2006-Jan
The Identity Documents Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to abolish the identity cards scheme and the National Identity Register.
Source: Identity Documents Bill, Home Office/TSO | Debate 9 June 2010, columns 345-434, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Hansard | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | HOC research brief | NO2ID press release
Date: 2006-Jan
The police service inspectorate said that the majority of police forces in England and Wales had further to go if they were to keep their commitments to the public on accessibility, availability, response, and communication. Of the 43 police forces inspected, 33 were graded only 'fair' and needed to improve their performance.
Source: Responsive Policing: Delivering the policing pledge – Strategic overview, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000)
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release
Date: 2006-Jan
A paper (written by the Minister for the police) said that police forces were doing good work to aid minority-ethnic recruitment, retention, and progression in the police – with minority-ethnic officer representation in the police service doubling over the previous ten years. But there was still more to do, and it made a series of detailed recommendations for action.
Source: Vernon Coaker MP (Minister of State for Police, Security and Community Safety), Policing Minister's Assessment of Minority Ethnic Recruitment, Retention and Progression in the Police Service, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Paper | Hansard | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Police Federation press release | People Management report
Date: 2006-Jan
An article examined the delivery of community policing in Northern Ireland.
Source: John Topping, 'Diversifying from within: community policing and the governance of security in Northern Ireland', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 48 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jan
The police service inspectorate published its assessment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland s performance during 2004-05.
Source: Baseline Assessment: Police Service of Northern Ireland, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (01527 882000)
Links: Report | NIO press release
Date: 2006-Jan
A report said that that community support officers were providing a service that was highly valued by the public, businesses and police officers. They had a key role to play in neighbourhood policing, and their provision of reassurance and visibility had been welcomed by local communities. The report also highlighted areas which raised concerns, including training, designation of powers, and recruitment standards.
Source: Christine Cooper, Jane Anscombe, Julie Avenell, Fiona McLean and Julia Morris, A National Evaluation of Community Support Officers, Research Study 297, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Date: 2006-Jan