Policing at the Top: The Roles, Values and Attitudes of Chief Police Officers

Citation

Matheson, K. (2012), "Policing at the Top: The Roles, Values and Attitudes of Chief Police Officers", International Journal of Emergency Services, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 100-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/20470891211239353

Over six chapters, this book introduces and discusses what it means to be a “top cop” in the UK. The author, who has worked in both military and police roles, as well as an academic, draws on interviews with nearly 100 senior police officers (no mean feat in itself) to discuss the selection of chief officers, how they got (and kept) their jobs, challenges of leadership in the police; their relationships with external agencies and their reflections on the future of policing. As Caless goes to some lengths to explain, this study covers what are categorised as the “ACPO”[1] ranks, rather than just chief constables, and in this way extends previous studies of senior police officers. Most notable of these is Reiner's 1991 study Chief Constables: Bobbies, Bosses or Bureaucrats, which Caless draws on extensively, even using the title typology as one of his questions.

The format of each chapter is broadly consistent, with some initial scene setting, and procedural and structural information followed by quotes from the interviews, and it is through the interviews that the book really comes to life. As anyone who has attempted organisational research will testify, finding senior staff to interview can be extremely problematic. That Caless has found nearly 100 officers (out of a population of just over 200) willing to be interviewed is testament to his standing within the service, and, no doubt to his tenacity in the organisation of the interviews. His guarantees of anonymity are essential to this, as are his contentions that the interview transcripts are sanitised so that people are not recognised through their words. One area where this might prove particularly problematic is with female chief officers, a small and rather visible minority of chief police officers. Although not apparent in every interview, use of gender specific personal pronouns could, in some instances have been avoided so as not to identify individuals by gender.

Whilst it is not the role or purpose of this book to critically reflect on the role of the police, it could perhaps have included a little more commentary or discussion in this area. However, this seems endemic of much of the message promulgated throughout the book. This is reflected by one of the interviewees, albeit discussing the Strategic Command Course:

Although there is challenge and debate, there is seldom a deep, independent questioning of the need for policing at all, if you see what I mean. It isn’t “no holds barred” in any sense. There is still consensus about basic meanings (Interviewee 16, p. 27).

Similarly, although there is some challenge and debate within Policing at the Top, there is still consensus about the fundamental principles of policing and its role in society.

There is little doubt that this is a time of limbo for the police, with additional pressures for public reassurance in the face of riots and terrorism compounded by austerity measures and ongoing headlines about police cuts. Add in the shift in performance regimes and changing political circumstances and the character and calibre of those at the top becomes all the more relevant, making this a very timely book, which will be of use to anyone interested in police and policing, or in public sector leadership per se. The use of extensive interview quotes also makes it unusually accessible, although, as suggested above, this is perhaps at the expense of more thorough, academic style discussion. Nevertheless, the extensive resource of the interview material would also provide plenty of food for thought for this audience, and there are sections that touch more on academic debates.

For example, the third chapter, on the “challenge of leadership”, discusses both general debates around leadership and leadership styles, as well as leadership within the police. This chapter also starts to introduce a degree of critique to a number of policing practices, including the description of the 12 leadership competencies which are required in senior police officers: seven of which are generic police competencies. This chapter also allows Caless to link existing policing literature, particularly Reiner, to general leadership literature, describing leadership styles in relation to his typology of police chief. Having discussed some of the downsides of being a senior police officer in the previous chapter, most notably intense rivalries and (lack of) work life balance, this chapter demonstrates the more vocational aspects of the role. Again, it is the interviewees that really illuminate the subject – even if unwittingly! Interviewee 5, for instance, claims:

I’m an innovator, a seminal thinker, who leads (p. 109).

This claim is quite brilliantly rebutted by Interviewee 82:

What is self evident is that all leaders in the police service have huge egos (p. 110).

The juxtaposition of these two claims amply demonstrates the ease with which Caless handles his data, and the skill with which he presents it.

Another area handled with particular skill is the discussion of direct entry in the fifth chapter: a discussion which has relevance across the whole emergency services family, and into the public sector beyond that. With the majority of chief police officers having served for more than 20 years, there is an understandable resistance to the idea of direct entry, although this is coupled with an acceptance of civilian appointments, for example in finance and HR, at senior levels. As policing becomes increasingly specialised, for example around fraud or anti‐terrorism, fewer senior police officers are likely to have experienced all aspects of policing. Opening the doors to external candidates would allow policing, as discussed by Interviewee 60:

Then [with direct entry] we might get the best available, instead of just the best fitting, from within (p. 186).

This takes the discussion full circle back to the beginning of the book, to the idea of getting the “golden finger”, which is, to an extent, a measure of a candidate's ability to fit into the organisation, rather than an objective measure of their outright capability.

The final chapter again gives room for some discussion, this time on the future of policing, with much focus on the possibility of a new royal commission on policing, and the twin evils of greater political intervention or amalgamation across forces. This links back to much of the material covered in the (very lengthy) fourth chapter, which looks at the relationship of police chiefs to external agencies, including the Home Office and their police authorities, as well as discussing the idea of elected police commissioners, which is revisited in this light. The view of many of the chief officers seems to be that outside contact is outside interference, and this has a number of worrying ramifications for policing as a whole. It is in discussions such as this that a little more commentary might be welcome from the author: it is hard to know if he condones this outlook, or if he too is worried by the implications of a police service run by over worked, competitive individuals, deeply sceptical of the views of the elected officials who nominally hold them accountable, which is how many of the chief officers seem to present themselves through the interviews.

In the concluding section of the book. Caless concedes that:

Opinions confided to me may not necessarily be those which the same police chief would espouse in public or on the record (p. 209).

This presents something of a problem for the book: some of the opinions expressed within have a number of implications for our police service, and it is worrying that police chiefs might be disingenuous about them, whether for personal or political reasons. Caless does agree throughout the book that transparency, whether in promotion or elsewhere within the police can be lacking. This statement reinforces that, and raises it again in regard to many other areas.

The final section, a postscript, reflects on the high profile resignations at the Met in recent months, in relation to the government enquiry into relations with the media. Caless draws attention to the general “feeding frenzy” around the police, and professes a reluctance to get involved in this. In contrast, this study maintains an air of deference by Caless towards his study, perhaps at the expense of more in‐depth discussion and critique. Nevertheless, it is an interesting and engaging work, well written and precise, covering a range of subjects and providing an excellent resource, notably through the interviewees’ comments, which will be of use to many in the police, criminology and the public sector.

Note

Association of Chief Police Officers: the professional body for senior ranks in the police service in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.