Policing: An introduction

This book aims to provide students of policing, criminology and criminal justice (as well as police practitioners) with a basic but comprehensive introduction to policing in the UK. It is intended to be a policing primer, containing information and discussion and providing pointers to more sophisticated, specialist and theoretical texts.

The aim of the book is to address and answer the following types of question: What is policing? What are its origins? How has it developed? How is policing structured in the UK? How does this differ from other jurisdictions? What approaches are used to deliver policing on the ground? What are the main issues facing policing in the UK and how is policing policy and practice responding to these? What is the trajectory of policing? The book will answer these questions in an accessible style.

It will be essential reading for undergraduate criminology and policing students, for students taking foundation degrees in conjunction with police forces, and for practitioners already working in the police. This book:






sets out clear definitions of policing and traces the development of policing in the UK;



explains the structure and organisation of policing in the UK;



provides commentary on current policing strategies;



contains informed discussions of contemporary policing issues; and



provides guidance for further reading and pointers to information sources, e.g. websites and agencies.