The Professional Journey of Police

This essay outlines the development of the occupation police officer. The essay outlines the development of police forces from inception to the contemporary period, and provides an analysis of the emergence, development and changes over time in this profession particularly in how the profession has become more sensitive to the addressing of misconduct and race relations. For students seeking criminology dissertation help, understanding the evolution of policing practices and the challenges they face can be crucial.

As professionalisation is defined as “the transformation of an occupation into a profession” (Green & Gates, 2014 , p. 75), this essay first considers the way and the reasons for which professionalisation of police services took place over time so that the profession was developed. With regard to the professionalisation of police forces, which is a process that begun in the 19th century, there were two conflicting views of the policeman and his role in the society: the first being as the fighter of crime and, second being as the protector of the public order and the repressor of the public political movements (Taylor, 1997). In the 19th century, there was a view that police played a role as the “all purpose lever of urban discipline” (Storch, 1976, p. 481). Therefore, the policeman was at this time seen as the professional who was entrusted with the task of monitoring and controlling public spaces (Storch, 1976). It may also be noted that at this time, the policeman was seen as a professional who worked to keep the working classes in control so that at this time, the police forces were seen as agents of the urban elite (Storch, 1976). It may also be noted that there were laws like the Vagrancy Act 1824 that empowered police to use certain powers with regard to beggars and homeless people (Inwood, 1990). It may be concluded that in the 19th century, the powers given to the police were seen as extension of moral policing or social control of the working classes. Considering how the police forces are organised today and the powers that they have, it can be said that the police has undergone a transformation of an occupation into a profession. This is explained more in the forthcoming paragraphs of this essay.

At the outset, mention may be made to the social theory which posits that social change in the post-industrial society leads to, among other things, occupational distribution or the pre-eminence of professional and technical class (Miles, 2001, p. 41). Applying this theory to the professionalisation of the police forces, the following section of this essay demonstrates how the policing occupation transformed into a profession in the 19th and 20th century.

In the 19th century, where policing was seen as an occupation that was used by social elites to reinforce their own social status (Hay & Snyder, 1989), there was a transformation of policing into a surveillance oriented activity (Taylor, 1997). It is in the 19th century that surveillance oriented police reforms were undertaken so that police were now agents of the state for crime combating as well as managing the ‘rough’ communities (Taylor, 1997). In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act introduced reforms suggested by Sir Robert Peel in response to instances of rioting that the police could not control and poor economic conditions that led to more crime and demanded efficient policing (Taylor, 1997). At this time, the reforms of the police forces in London included increasing the number of constables and night watchmen in London and bringing about uniformity and consistency in policing and security in parishes and boroughs of London (Taylor, 1997). The reforms were needed for the growing crime in London and lawlessness due to inherent weaknesses of police forces.

The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 was rapidly introduced and adopted after the infamous Peterloo Massacre (Prenzler, 2009). The Peterloo Massacre demonstrated increasing police brutality and then led to widespread protests and demands for modernisation of the British police forces (Prenzler, 2009). In addition, the events preceding the 1829 Act also reflected on the lack of effectiveness of police forces leading to rising crime and resultant harsher penal code (Lyman, 1964). More reforms in the police forces have been undertaken in the 20th century particularly after the Brixton riots of 1981, which were noted in the Scarman report as being an outburst of anger and resentment by young black people against the police (Scarman, 1981). The Scarman report provided evidence of indiscriminate use of stop and search powers by the police against Black and minority groups (Scarman, 1981). The stop and search powers were part of an aggressive policing policy in the inner city areas (Jefferson, 2012).

There are a number of relevant policy and legislation measures that are now applicable to the police forces as a profession. These policy and legislation measures are enacted to set the standards of the profession, prevent or address professional misconduct, and also set accountability standards for police officers. In England and Wales, a tripartite structure of police accountability is established under the Police Act 1964 so that it involves at the highest level, the Home Office, then the local police authority, and at the lowest level, the chief constable of the force (Mawby & Wright, 2005). Legislations that have further provided standards for the police are the Police and Magistrates Courts Act 1994, the Police Act 1996, and the Police Reform Act 2002.

Despite the professionalisation of the police forces, some of the areas that remains contentious in relation to policing is the possible misuse of powers by the police and the race relations between police and Black and other minority communities. Related to these areas, the police profession has been reformed by the inclusion of the idea of community policing. This concept relates to the development of changes to policing over time due to the changes in the society or the demands in the society. It should be mentioned that the concept of community policing evolved over time so as to develop a proactive partnership between the police forces and the citizens to identify and solve problems within the society (Bertus, 1996). Community or neighbourhood policing is defined as “initiatives that variously involved foot patrol, community engagement, problem-solving and partnership working in some combination” (Colover & Quinton, 2018, p. 6). This concept is one of the newest and most relevant developments in police profession which reflects on the relationship between the police as a profession and the communities.

In England, the Code of Ethics for the police forces has further gone on to lay the standards of profession. The Code of Ethics provides the following standard among others:

“The police service operates on the basis of openness and transparency. This is essential to maintaining and enhancing a positive relationship between the policing profession and the community” (College of Policing, 2014, p. 5).

Furthermore, the National Decision Model and the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2014 are also applicable in the engagement between the police forces and the communities. The National Decision Model and the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2014 provides certain standards including those that require police officers to act with self-control and tolerance (‘Authority, Respect and Courtesy’), and which requires the police officers to always act with fairness and impartiality (‘Equality and Diversity’). These standards also point to the way in which the police forces have over time become a more professionalised force as compared to the 19th century policing which was seen to be an extension of the elite control over the working classes.

Finally, the relationship between the police forces and the communities also demonstrate certain successes and failures of the profession as well as suggest the reasons why certain reforms have been carried out, particularly the community policing feature. The failure of the police forces has been largely seen in the perpetration of certain acts that amount to misconduct by some members of the forces. Police misconduct has been a cause of concern because police is entrusted with certain powers, which if misused can lead to the violation of individual rights (Prenzler, 2009). Misconduct can be defined breach of the Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics (Prenzler, 2009). The reforms that have been made in the police profession can be seen in part as addressing the need to increase accountability of individual police officers and decrease or address misconduct including racism or discrimination against individuals. In this regard, the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 makes direct and indirect discrimination actionable and makes it incumbent to ensure equality of opportunity and race relations.

Also important is the Equality Act 2010, particularly Section 149 (Public sector Equality Duty), which provides that in the carrying out of their functions, police officers must avoid unlawful discrimination, harassment, or victimisation of individuals based on their relevant protected characteristic. It is therefore unlawful for police officers to discriminate against individuals or harass or victimise them under the Equality Act 2010. What is also important is that the reforms made to the police forces through the Equality Act 2010 also lead to the inclusion of standards that addresses the demands of a contemporary society to make the police forces more sensitive to the individual rights and rights of minorities.

To conclude this essay, the police have undergone changes as a profession from the time when it was seen as a force to serve the interests of the elite to a professional force which is bound by standards under Code of Conduct and regulations.

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