Defunding the police in the UK: Critical questions and practical suggestions

Fleetwood, Jennifer; Lea, John

doi:10.1111/hojo.12468

Cited by 19 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Our suggested means of reconstituting social order and social control in rural places is also in line with left realists' compelling alternative to militaristic, zero tolerance and broken windows styles of policing -that is, 'minimal policing' (Fleetwood & Lea, 2022;Kinsey et al, 1986). This is designed to foster democratic accountability of police to local communities and local police authorities.…”

supporting

confidence: 58%

Police Ethics in Rural Contexts: A Left Realist Consequentialist View

Nolan

DeKeseredy²,

Brownstein³

2022

IJRC

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This article presents crime survey data from the state of West Virginia in the United States showing that, controlling for structural conditions, community atmosphere is significantly related to crime, violence and many other social problems in rural places. These results help identify measurable and achievable progressive desired ends in rural policing, replacing law enforcement outputs (for example, arrests, gun and drug seizures) with safe, strong community outcomes as the summum bonum (i.e, ultimate outcome) of policing. Findings show that interdependent communities where police are partners with residents are the safest, while conflict communities where the police are viewed as adversaries are least safe. These results suggest a left realist consequentialist approach to police ethics to dismantle the hegemony of draconian policies and practices.

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supporting

confidence: 58%

Police Ethics in Rural Contexts: A Left Realist Consequentialist View

Nolan

DeKeseredy²,

Brownstein³

2022

IJRC

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“…This exposure illustrates the general relevance of the defund movement to America and Allies such as the UK In addition, this study and prior work collectively point to the media's ability to broadcast a social movement's political and social agenda beyond local and domestic audiences, thus influencing a wider array of people who are invested in the issue of police reform. The defunding debate and the policy outcomes that follow have consequences for other nations with similar interests for changes in policing (Fleetwood and Lea, 2022;Joseph-Salisbury et al, 2021). Practices and strategies that are perceived as effective are shared globally, with the US being the biggest exporter of its policing theories and policies (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progressive or problematic? A comparative analysis of media depictions of demands to defund the police

Craig

Reid

2022

PIJPSM

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PurposeThe current study examines the media's depiction of demands to defund the police. Although this call to action has been a part of the public discourse for decades, the call has reached mainstream attention following the police-involved death of George Floyd in May 2020. Black Lives Matter, the American Civil Liberties Union, Color of Change, and other prominent organizations have endorsed this call. However, there is a lack of agreement on the “correct” meaning of this socio-political movement.Design/methodology/approachThe authors performed an inductive content analysis of the news articles using MaxQDA, a qualitative data analysis program. The authors focus on the text and its themes and patterns in the descriptions of #DefundThePolice, both implicit (e.g. tone) and explicit (e.g. defining the movement as problematic). The codes were further refined following open coding to fully develop the existing patterns. The results are organized by the themes within the articles. The findings also include direct quotes to reinforce the themes.FindingsIn the authors' content analysis of news reports, the authors find that the US and UK news outlets report definitions that parallel the M4BL's description of the movement. In this respect, media coverage reflected the basic tenets of the movement accurately as opposed to using definitions that misrepresent the group's primary objective. Although these sampled news articles generally adhered to the basic description of the defund movement, the authors found that the overall substance and tone of coverage varied across outlets. This divergence yielded five overarching themes that included: the involvement of corporate America in the defunding debate, the frequent use of opinion pieces, mentions of history for informing the debate, the inclusion of the police perspective, and reporting that seemed to tie the defund movement to increases in violent crime.Originality/valueThis article explores how the mass media reports and defines the #DefundThePolice movement. Although much debate surrounds this issue, there is limited understanding of the mainstream news media's depiction of the movement. The current study addresses this research gap and informs the defunding debate by examining whether media descriptions of the movement coincide with the Movement for Black Lives benchmark delineation.

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“…Abolitionists do not ignore sexual violence, terrorism, state harms, or corporate violence; rather, we recognise that the criminal justice system is, by design, ineffective in responding to these harms (Blakeley et al, 2019; CAGE, 2020; Caradonna, 2020; Davis et al, 2022; Dixon & Piepzna-Samarasinha, 2020; Lamble, 2021b; Tombs & Whyte, 2015) advocate the development of practices and institutions that foster support and accountability to prevent and respond to harm and help to construct a more equal social order. Fleetwood & Lea (2022) are keen to distinguish between US and British policing, both historically and in their contemporary forms. While there are differences there are also considerable similarities.…”

Section: Defund the Police Is More Than A Sloganmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fleetwood & Lea (2022) further claim that efforts to defund the police should be superseded by a concern with constraining police powers and organisational autonomy (p.168). However, such an insistence belies the fact that police funding, powers and organisational autonomy are often deeply entangled.…”

Section: Defunding Is a Strategy To Reduce Police Powermentioning

confidence: 99%