The role of the police (3.1)

The police- philosophy

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Who created the philosophy of the police

The philosophy of the police was summed up by Sir Robert Peel, who in 1829 founded the Metropolitan Police, the first modern professional police force in Britain.

What is the basic mission of the police to Peel

Peel- The basic mission of the police is to prevent crime and disorder

What is the police’s ability according to Peel

Peel- the police’s ability to perform their duties depends on the public’s cooperation and approval

What is last resort to Peel

Peel- the use of physical force is a last resort

What is the police’s duty

Peel- the police’s duty is to impartially serve the law

What are the police to public

Peel- the police are the public and the public are the police. The police are just citizens in uniform, paid to do full-time what all citizens must do, that is, uphold the law

How are the police servants of the public to Peel

Peel- the police’s ability are the servants of the public and the law. Policing relies on the consent of the public and this is to be achieved by upholding the law with the minimal use of force.

What are Peel’s principles embedded in

Peel’s principles are embedded in the Police Code of Ethics, which stresses that the police are public who need to maintain the respect and support of the public in order to perform their duty

Aims and objectives

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Who dictate the aims and objectives

The Association of Chief Police Officers

What do the police have to maintain

Keep the peace and maintain order

What do they have to protect

Protect life and property

What must they do with crime

Prevent, detect and investigate crime

What do they have to do with offenders

Bring offenders to justice

What are police’s specific power to achieve these aims

The police have specific legal powers to stop, question, search, arrest, detain in a police station and interview a member of the public in relation to a crime.

What are these powers given under

Most of these powers are given under the police and criminal evidence act 1984

Funding

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What was the total police budget in 2020/21

The total police budget was £15.2 billion.

What is one source of this budget

About two-thirds comes from central government

What does the rest come from

Most the of the rest comes from local council tax

What does a small amount come from

A small amount comes from charging for services such as policing football matches

Working practices

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National and local reach

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How many regional police forces are there in England

There are 39 regional police forces in England

How many are there in Wales

Four e.g the Metropolitan Police, South Wales Police

How many are there in Scotland and Northern Ireland

One for each

What are there also in the UK

There are also specialist police organisations with UK-wide reach, such as the National Crime Agency, the British Transport Police and the Border Force

Types of criminality and offender

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What do the police deal with

The police deal with virtually all types of offence and offender, although some specialist law enforcement agencies do deal with certain kinds of crime and criminal.

What are examples of this

HM Revenue and Customs deals with tax evasion and tax fraud

Police duties

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What are police general duties

Most police have general duties, including patrolling a particular area or ‘beat’, working with the local community, responding to the public’s calls for assistance (both routine and emergency)

What are the duties with crime scenes

Securing crime scenes, gathering evidence from witnesses and apprehending offenders

Specialist policing

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What are departments with specialist duties

The work of detectives in the criminal investigations department (CID), fraud and drug squads and Special Branch. Found in most police forces

what are other specialist units

Covert operation and surveillance teams, traffic and mounted police, air support, river police, underwater search teams and dog handler units

What are policing specialists as part of the National Crime Agency

Child exploitation and online protection (CEOP)

What are policing specialists as part of the Metropolitan Police

SO15, the counter terrorism command (SO=Special Operations)

What is unarmed policing

With the exception of certain specialist units, the police in Britain are largely unarmed.

What does unarmed policing reflect

This reflects Peel’s philosophy that use of force is a last resort in upholding the law. This is unlike the position of the police in most other countries, who are generally armed

What are special constables

Special constables are unpaid, part-time volunteers who undergo the same training and have the same legal powers as paid officers

What is the role of police community support officers (PCSOs)

Have more limited powers, often dealing with anti-social behaviour on the streets e.g issuing fixed-penalty notices for littering or confiscating alcohol from under-age drinkers. They can also ask a police officer to arrest a person

What is the role of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs)

Elected representatives of the people of the area covered by a police force. They give the local population a voice in policing by being directly accountable to the electorate.

What are the aims of Police and Crime Commissioners

Their aim is to cut crime and ensure efficient and effective policing.

How are these aims achieved

They set the local force’s policing priorities and their budget, and they hold the Chief Constable to account for the force’s performance (including dismissing him or her where necessary)