Unit name | Policing and Police Regulation |
---|---|
Unit code | LAWD30119 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Dr. Torrible |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
First Year Core subjects, Tort, Constitutional rights |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
A defining characteristic of the public police is that they have the right to use coercive force against citizens. While they are predominantly associated with crime, research repeatedly confirms that the majority of police time is not, in fact, spent on activities directly related to criminal investigations. Instead they operate at a range of practical, political and symbolic levels, being the embodiment of law and order for some and an oppressive and sometimes arbitrary arm of state to others. Significantly, the police occupy a constitutionally unique position in society and each Chief Constable enjoys operational independence. This makes the regulation, governance and accountability of the police a particularly fascinating area of study.
This unit will explore the constitutional position and role of the police. It will also provide students with an in depth understanding of the political nature policing and the mechanisms in place for police governance. Particular attention will be paid to the issues of legitimacy, accountability, and public confidence in the police and the legal and regulatory mechanisms for redress of citizen s grievances concerning officer conduct.
Topics Covered will include:
The history and constitutional position of the public police, the nature and role of policing in society; the public police and private securities; what it means for the police to be ‘legitimate’.
Unit Aims:
By the end of this unit the successful student will be able to demonstrate a detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of:
10 hours of lectures
20 hours of seminars
1x Formative essay (1,000 words)
1x 3 hour summative exam in the summer assessment period
There is no single text book which covers all the topic taught on this unit. Students will be referred to Reiner, R (2010) “The Politics of the Police” as a classic if now rather dated text; Prenzler, T and Den Heyer, eds (2016) “Civilian Oversight of Police Advancing Accountability in Law Enforcement” and Lister, S and Rowe, M, eds (2017) “Accountability of Policing”.
The majority of sources will be online as follows:
Government texts, for example:
Chapman, C, “ An Independent Review of the Police Disciplinary System in England and Wales”
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-police-disciplinary-system-in-england-and-wales
And extensive use will be made of IPCC publications, for example
IPCC Pubic Confidence Survey 2016 available at https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/guidelines_reports/IPCC_Public_Confidence_Survey_2016.pdf
Academic articles, for example:
Conaghan, J., Torrible, C., 2017. “Policing, professionalism and liability for negligence”. Professional negligence, 33(2), 86-108
De Maillard, J. and Savage, S., 2017. “Policing as a performing art? The contradictory nature of contemporary police performance management”. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1-18
Torrible, C., 2016. Reconceptualising the police complaints process as a site of contested legitimacy claims. Policing and Society, 1-16.
Sillince, J.A. and Brown, A.D., 2009. “Multiple organizational identities and legitimacy: The rhetoric of police websites”. Human Relations 62(12), 1829-1856.
Wilcox, A. and Young, R., 2007. “How green was Thames Valley?: Policing the image of Restorative Justice Cautions”. Policing & Society, 17(2), 141-163.