7 Centralisation and independent oversight
In 1900, there were 181 police forces in Britain, many of them very small. Today, there are only 43 forces and, a variety of national coordinating bodies exist. The history of policing is thus one of gradual consolidation and nationalisation. This process has been driven, in part, by a professionalisation agenda – a desire to iron out local variation, and to develop common standards and processes. But has this been successful?
Figure 10: The Automobile Club entertaining the County Chief Constables Club, in an effort to help popularise motoring, c.1900 [Description: A black and white photograph circa 1900. Taken on the driveway outside a grand building which is Sheen House Club in Richmond. There are two early open-topped cars outside; the first car has a driver and 3 passengers – all men; the second a driver and two passengers – again all male. A further group of men stand at the doorway of the club, looking at the cars.] Source: Alamy https://www.alamy.com/1900-the-early-british-automobile-club-entertaining-the-chief-constables-of-british-counties-at-sheen-house-club-richmond-uk-to-help-popularise-motoring-with-the-police-in-its-early-days-image425161981.html?imageid=F841ED1D-A1AF-45FB-A470-91A600843070&p=428436&pn=1&searchId=2ab8691fcf9450d070b539ff665f0add&searchtype=0
During the nineteenth century, policing authority was held locally. The first shift in this position was the introduction of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) in 1856. If, on inspection, forces were classed as ‘efficient’, a quarter of their annual costs would be paid by central government. Although, as Williams notes:
… there were only two inspectors for the whole country and the only part of their reports that the boroughs could not ignore – if they wanted the grant – was whether or not the force was an adequate size.
Small borough forces were seen as a particular problem in early inspections. One inspector noted:
… it is impossible to over-rate the difficulties these small boroughs have in keeping up an independent force, as in a force of two or three men no sort of discipline or classification can be maintained.
The First World War bought unprecedented central government involvement in policing and, after the war, the Home Office sought to diminish local control over the police by declaring Chief Constables independent of their local authorities. Regional and national standing conferences of Chief Constables followed, leading to the formation in 1948 of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) (a national forum for chief officers to share ideas and coordinate strategic operational work).
The scandals of the 1950s resulted in efforts further to consolidate police powers, via the Police Act of 1964. ‘Corruption’ gave the impetus required to reduce the number of forces and shift to a system where Chief Constables were (in practice) answerable to the Home Office. The trend at the end of the twentieth century was for the establishment of further national bodies to coordinate strategy and policy. It would be wrong to conclude, however, that this invariably led to a raising of professional standards.
Activity 4 PC Mark Kennedy and the NPOIU
ACPO was eventually responsible for several ancillary bodies. One of these was the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, set up in 1999 to track green activists and public demonstrations. The work of the group was controversial. Of note are the undercover activities of PC Mark Kennedy, attached to the unit, which led to several court cases and the collapse of a trial against six activists.
Read the excerpt below from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal into the actions of P.C. Kennedy.
What might the effect of this have been on the legitimacy of a national police organisation like ACPO?
Fig 11: [if keeping as image] Text of Kate Wilson v Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
Discussion
ACPO breached basic standards such as Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights with the training of undercover officers described as ‘grossly inadequate’. This case demonstrates that a national co-ordinating body like ACPO does not, in and of itself, serve to preclude serious misconduct. While again Kennedy might be seen as a ‘bad apple’, the judgement makes clear that the issues with professional standards were systemic rather than individual.
The process of consolidation and nationalisation of police expertise only really took off after c.1950. It has undoubtedly changed policing but has not, perhaps, always led to higher professional standards. Certainly, complaints about police misconduct, some serious, have continued. The following sections will consider the historical development of police complaints mechanisms.