Oxford Policing Policy Forum
The Oxford Policing Policy Forum is a joint initiative of the Police Foundation and the University of Oxford. Its aim is to create an opportunity for stakeholders from a wide range of interest groups, including the police, government, other criminal justice agencies, the voluntary and private sectors, academia and the media to discuss fundamental issues under 'Chatham House' rules.
Jump to: May 2012 / Nov 2011 / Dec 2010 / Feb 2010 / Sept 2009 / March 2009 / Sept 2008 / Jan 2008 / June 2007 / Nov 2006 / March 2006
December 2012: Is roads policing taken seriously enough?
For the first time in a decade, the number of people who were killed or seriously injured in road accidents in Great Britain increased. Road accidents are now the main cause of accidental death for young people aged 16-24. Yet, despite this, roads policing is arguably under-prioritised and under-resourced; it is not included in the Home Office's Business Plan for 2012 – 2015 and, in the last five years, the number of police officers engaged in traffic policing has fallen by 12% while overall policing numbers have declined by just 2%.
The Forum considered the following questions:
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Do perceptions of road safety have a role to play?
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How can the police can improve road safety?
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What role should the government and PCCs play?
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What are the most cost-effective solutions?
The twelfth Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by Capita Secure Information Systems.
May 2012: How does organised crime impact on local communities?
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) estimates there are 2,800 organised crime groups operating across England and Wales, costing the economy up to £40 billion per year. Measuring the impact of these crime groups on local communities is difficult, as the chain of crime often begins outside the local area and can encompass a wide range of activity from drug dealing to computer hacking to simple burglary.
The Forum considered the following questions:
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How can organised crime be defined?
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How should the issue be communicated to the public?
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How can sufficient resources be guaranteed to tackle organised crime and will PCCs ensure this when the scale of harm and the extend of this criminal activity is difficult to measure?
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How can we ensure there is a joined up policing response on a national level?
The eleventh Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by Capita Secure Information Systems.
November 2011: Can policing be bought and sold?
Austerity measures and cuts to budgets mean forces are aiming to do more with less and it is clear that a market for the buying and selling of policing services is emerging. The UK has delegated more public services to the private sector than any other country in Europe and the regulation of private security industry has been a persistent concern in policing and government circles.
The Forum considered the following questions:
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Which aspects of what the police do can/should be delivered by the private sector?
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How - and how far - can this be done?
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What are the opportunities and risks involved and how do we ensure that it is done in the public interest?
The tenth Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by Capita Secure Information Systems.
The Police Foundation explored some of these themes in its Policing and the Recession conference in 2010.
December 2010: Are young people over-policed and under-protected?
Young people experience crime – as offenders, suspects, witnesses and victims – more than any other section of the population. Persistent young offenders are also at most risk of victimisation. Getting their relations with young people right is a key concern for the police but how can we assess the current situation and what can be done to improve it?The forum considered some of the following questions:
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What role should the police play in controlling and preventing youth crime?
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Have more recent police powers worked? Have they affected young people’s relations with the police for better or worse? What alternatives are available?
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What are the opportunities for expanding restorative policing?
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Can the police offer a better service to young people as victims of crime? If so, how?
The ninth Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by Sungard Public Sector Ltd.
See also the Police Foundation's inquiry into Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour which calls for a new and principled framework for youth justice in England and Wales.
February 2010: Policing drugs and alcohol: is crime reduction the way forward?
The considerable increase in drug and alcohol-related crime has prompted the UK Drugs Policy Commission (UKDPC) to develop a harm-reduction approach to the enforcement of the law on drug and alcohol misuse. The UKDPC’s strategy focuses on reducing the overall harm caused to society from drug and alcohol consumption and debate continues to be necessary in this complex and politically sensitive area.
The forum considered some of the following questions:
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What are the benefits and implications of ‘harm reduction’?
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What problems are associated with making such a strategy work?
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Could harm reduction generate public confidence?
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Could harm reduction be introduced more widely in policing?
The eighth Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by SunGard Public Sector Ltd.
September 2009: The recession and the role of policing
The remit of policing has been steadily increasing over the last 10 years to encompass wider concerns such as anti-social behaviour and the prevention of radicalisation. Policing has enjoyed a period of rising government spending and resource increases, but with the economic instability ahead, a re-analysis of priorities and purposes may be required. Is the recession an opportunity to rethink the role of policing?
The forum considered some of the following questions:
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How can the public’s expectations and confidence in policing be managed?
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Should the role and remit of the police be narrowed while making greater use of other public services?
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Should the structure and culture of the police be changed and if so, what benefits might this bring?
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What role does localism have to play?
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How can police services be more cost-effective?
The seventh Oxford Policing Policy Forum was sponsored by SunGard Public Sector Ltd.
The Police Foundation explored some of these themes in its Policing and the Recession conference in 2010.
March 2009: Policing and politics
There has been increasing criticism from the media and opposition parties over the influence of the police in politics and politicians in policing. The forced resignation of Sir Ian Blair in February 2008, the arrest of Damien Green MP and proposals for direct elections to police authorities have all prompted comment that policing has become over-politicised.
The police began in the 19th century as a non-partisan, a-political organisation. Does politicisation undermine this ethos?
The forum considered some of the following questions:
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Is policing necessarily political and if so, what are the implications?
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Or is there too much political interference in policing and should the police be independent of government?
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Is it true that the police have become more political and if so do we need to be concerned?
Shami Chakrabarti explored some of these themes in our 2008 John Harris Memorial lecture.
September 2008: Too much surveillance?
In November 2006 the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas stated “Two years ago I warned that we were in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance society that is already all around us.” Today a Londoner is likely to be caught on camera 70 times a day while the UK’s National DNA Database is currently the biggest database of its kind in the world with over 4.5 million profiles. Does this matter and if so why?
The forum considered some of the following questions:
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How much surveillance is too much?
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Can surveillance undermine trust in the state?
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How should surveillance be regulated and to what extent?
January 2008: Should we be concerned about police powers?
Since 1997, police powers have been extended in a variety of ways, key among them, measures to control antisocial behaviour and dispense summary justice. A raft of new powers have also been introduced since 9/11, many of which remain controversial.
The forum considered the following questions:
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How did this growth come about?
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Are these powers sufficient or excessive?
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Are they being used fairly and proportionately?
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Have police officers been given too much or too little discretion in using them?
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What is the proper role and function of the police
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What impact has public expectations had on the growth of police powers?
June 2007: Is there a role for the police in addressing the prison population crisis?
There appears to be an emerging consensus that the prison population should not be allowed to expand at its current rate. Penal reformers argue some people should not be in the criminal justice system at all and that short spells in custody do more harm than good.
The forum considered the following questions:
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What are the key drivers of the prison population crisis?
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What role does police behaviour and the ‘target culture’ have to play?
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What are the barriers to joined up working between the prison and police service and how can they be overcome?
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How do we solve the crisis, and what role can the police play in this?
See also the Police Foundation's Inquiry into Alternatives to Custody.
November 2006: Governance and accountability
Police reform, new powers and the challenges faced in responding to terrorism and organised crime, raise important questions about how best to hold the police to account.
Among the topics the forum addressed were:
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What do we mean by ‘police accountability’?
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What balance should be struck between local and national accountability?
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Are the issues in policing comparable to those of other public sector bodies, such as education or health? If so, what lessons can be learned? Or is policing different?
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Are the current policies in this field adequate?
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What roles do bodies such as the National Policing Improvement Agency, the Audit Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate have to play?
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What issues are raised by the pluralisation of policing agencies such as SOCA or the private security industry?
March 2006: What are the police for?
This first meeting addressed three issues:
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Are the police fit for purpose today, and if not, why not? Has the world changed so much that the old assumptions and expectations can no longer been sustained?
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How have the public's and government's expectations of policing changed? Are they unrealistic, and if so, what can be done to correct them?
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How can those who are excluded from the debate be drawn into it, and how can the public's views be gathered and fed into the development of policing policy and practice?
