Transcript Chief Constable Sara Thornton CBE QPM MSt (Cantab) Police Professionalism and Evidence Monday 8 July 2013 Serving with pride and confidence.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton
CBE QPM MSt (Cantab)
Police Professionalism
and Evidence
Monday 8 July 2013
Serving with pride and confidence
The Case for Professionalising the Police
BBC Radio 4 ‘Any Questions?’
2 February 2013 Ken Clarke MP
Serving with pride and confidence
The Case for Professionalising the Police
BBC Radio 4 ‘Any Questions?’
2 February 2013 Ken Clarke MP
Serving with pride and confidence
Shock horror: Britain less secretive than ever
“In each case we have publicly funded organisations
seemingly putting their own self-preservation above the
needs of the people who pay their wages. In some
cases they seem to have conceived of their own
sectional interests as having been in some sense
synonymous with the public interest. In others it looks
to have been a matter of suppressing material that
would have caused embarrassment.”
Aaronovitch D (2013) The Times
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The Case for Professionalising the Police
“The bottom line is that
maintaining police legitimacy
means actively cultivating
the values and ethics of
policing as a profession.”
Smith D (2007) Legitimacy and Criminal Justice
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What is a Profession?
• Possession and use of expert or specialist knowledge
• Exercise of autonomous thought and judgement
• Commitment to a set of principles
Hoyle and John (1995) Professional Knowledge and Professional Practice
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Approaches to Professional Knowledge
• Classical - A broad university based education and specific expertise
• Trade - Practical training and building expertise through experience
• Technocratic - Rational, scientific approach, standardised training and
formal control of entry
• Reflective or creative-interpretive - Learning through action and
reflection, making judgments in uncertain contexts
Lefter (2010) On Professions and Being Professional
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The Case for Professionalising the Police
• Democratic Accountability
– The link between police and civil society
• Legitimacy
– Perception of fairness & ethical standards = compliance
• Evidence-Based
– Building researched and tested best practice
• National/International Coherence
– Local delivery still requires national interoperability
• Capable, Competent and Cost effective
– Budget cuts demand efficiency and effectiveness
Neyroud P (2010) Review of Police Leadership and Training
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What Works Centres
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Climbing the ‘what works’ ladder
Statements about ‘what
works’ & ‘what doesn’t
Problem solving reduces crime
according to a Campbell
systematic review
Statements about
‘what’s promising’
Evidence suggests leadership
training has impact for specific
groups
Statements about
possible impact
Taken together with information
about implementation, this result
suggests the increase could be
attributed to the programme,
although the influence of other
factors cannot be ruled out.
Systematic Reviews
(Based on level 3-5 studies)
5
Randomised controlled trials
4
Before/after measures
Multiple site comparisons
3
Before/after measures
Two site comparisons
2
Before/after measures
No comparison site
1
One-off measure
No comparison site
Study designs
increasingly
rule out
potential
alternative
causes
Study designs
cannot rule out
potential
alternative
causes
Context & mechanisms for change
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“For the most part, managers looking to cure
their organisational ills rely on obsolete
knowledge they picked up in school, longstanding but never proven traditions,
patterns gleaned from experience, methods
they happen to be skilled in applying, and
information from vendors.”
Pfeffer J, Sutton R (2006), Evidence-Based Management,
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No. 1
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“Evidence-based management...entails a
distinct mind-set that clashes with the way
many managers and companies operate. It
features a willingness to put aside belief and
conventional wisdom, the dangerous halftruths that many embrace, and replace these
with an unrelenting commitment to gather
the necessary facts to make more informed
and intelligent decisions.”
Pfeffer J, Sutton R (2006), Evidence-Based Management,
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No. 1
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• Demand evidence
• Examine logic
• Treat the organisation like an unfinished
prototype
• Embrace the attitude of wisdom
Pfeffer J, Sutton R (2006), Evidence-Based Management,
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No. 1
Serving with pride and confidence
Chief Constable Sara Thornton
CBE QPM MSt (Cantab)
Police Professionalism
and Evidence
Monday 8 July 2013
Serving with pride and confidence