Police Management and Workforce Reform in a Period of Austerity

Loveday, Barry

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16568-4_10

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Cost-cutting pressures, for instance, have resulted in a withdrawal of employer commitment to flexible working hours (Hofacker and Konig, 2013); and within policing, requests for flexible working sit uneasily against the dominant norms of full-time work (Dick, 2009). Thus, the context demonstrates the tensions between employer operational demands and employee welfare, which has only been heightened by a climate of austerity (Loveday, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service

Scholarios

Hesselgreaves

Pratt³

2017

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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The unpredictability of working time is a seldom studied, but increasingly prominent, feature of employment across occupations, including those where nonstandard or unsocial hours have become the norm. This paper proposes that unpredictability which is driven by employer demands for flexibility (e.g. scheduling practices) is associated with greater employee work-life conflict and perceived stress. This, in turn, has implications for health behaviour (alcohol consumption, sleep disturbance) and symptoms (digestive and cardiovascular problems). Increasing employee control through flexible working arrangements is examined as a potential moderator. We also examine the possibility that alcohol consumption exacerbates the negative effects of unpredictability on wellbeing and health. A survey of 1207 police officers, for whom working unsocial hours is commonly accepted, showed direct effects of unpredictability over and above nonstandard hours on digestive health, and indirect effects through wellbeing on sleep, digestive and cardiovascular health. In some cases, these indirect effects were reduced or absent with greater employee control through flexible working arrangements, although this was not uniform. The interaction of alcohol consumption was found to intensify the negative effects of unpredictability on wellbeing and some health outcomes. The findings reflect a tension between employer-centred strategies for enhancing workforce flexibility and flexibility practices which purport to provide employees with greater control and work-life balance. They are consistent with wider increasing strategic pressures towards employer-centred flexibility and suggest a challenge for sustaining employee wellbeing as working time becomes more unpredictable.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service

Scholarios

Hesselgreaves

Pratt³

2017

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

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“…(Gash, 2008, p. 7) Many police agencies have implemented civilianisation programmes to reduce agency operating costs. The potential benefits of implementing such a reform program may offer much more than the possible savings through outsourcing (Loveday, 2015). Replacing sworn officers with civilians has been found to lower costs primarily by reducing salaries and other personnel costs, and reducing training requirements (Schwartz, Vaughn, Walker, & Wholey, 1975).…”

Section: Civilianization Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shaping the police workforce: a state-of-the-art literature review

Heyer

Mendel

2019

PIJPSM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence about the factors shaping the police workforce, commissioned by the Scottish Police Authority and Scottish Institute for Policing Research. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses the theory of strategic fit to assess the available evidence relating to reshaping the police workforce and brings together the most relevant recent reviews of police organisations and empirical studies on these issues. The use of the theory enabled the strategies that have been adopted by police agencies in recent years to be evaluated in relation to the current political and economic environment. Findings The authors find that here is considerable uncertainty and while there has been previous discussion on the benefits of larger or smaller forces there is not robust evidence that a particular force size is optimal for either efficacy or efficiency, although very small forces may struggle in some ways. There is also mixed evidence about whether increasing police organisation resourcing to allow more officers to be employed reduces crime levels, and there is a relative lack of evidence about the impact this has on the other areas of community life in which police are involved. Research limitations/implications There are major weaknesses in research relating to police organisational reform: there is no accepted theory of police reform, no accepted method as to how such a reform should be evaluated nor have there been any comparative studies of earlier police civilianisation programs (Braithwaite, Westbrook and Ledema, 2005). Originality/value Previous work on this topic often focuses on which organisational structure – whether in terms of workforce mix or size – is most efficient or effective. This research takes an alternative perspective and argues for a shift in the research agenda to take account of the friction involved in processes of organisational change, both in order to build a stronger research understanding of these important aspects of change and to more effectively inform policy. The paper provides a basis for the development of theories for understanding police reform in general – and workforce restructuring in particular – alongside appropriate methods for researching it.

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“…However, this matter has yet to be addressed even though it formed a major recommendation within the Winsor Report (Loveday, 2013). As argued later, there is some evidence to suggest that moving from high-cost low-value enforcement to low-cost high-value alternatives might be achieved by reviewing current police establishments using value for money and overall effectiveness as basic criteria for future calculations about police establishment totals (Loveday, 2015).…”

Section: Police Community Support Officersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nature and extent of the problem of ASB raise questions about the real and potential roles of law enforcement and those of ‘social engagement’. It also raises questions about costs in a period of austerity where law enforcement within an ASB context can be seen increasingly as a ‘high-cost, low-value’ response and where the greater use of neighbourhood wardens may provide, by contrast, a ‘low-cost, high-value’ alternative (Loveday 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical evaluation of current and future roles of police community support officers and neighbourhood wardens within the Metropolitan Police Service and London boroughs

Loveday

Smith

2015

International Journal of Police Science & Management

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The article considers problems surrounding the delivery of visible policing in London, particularly in relation to the continuing challenge for police managers of delivering neighbourhood policing in the capital. It assesses the value of police community support officers (PCSOs) in terms of delivery of neighbourhood policing against a background of high abstraction rates. It also considers the changing role and purpose of the community support officer function within many police forces. It evaluates the potential benefits of an expansion of community wardens who might provide a 'high-value low-cost' option to what can be, aside from the enforcement role, a 'high-cost low-value' policing alternative.

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Police Management and Workforce Reform in a Period of Austerity

Cited by 16 publications

References 4 publications

Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service

Unpredictable working time, well-being and health in the police service

Shaping the police workforce: a state-of-the-art literature review

A critical evaluation of current and future roles of police community support officers and neighbourhood wardens within the Metropolitan Police Service and London boroughs

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