Cite as:
Ashby D I, Irving B L, Longley P A, 2007, "Police reform and the new public management paradigm: matching technology to the rhetoric" Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 25(2) 159 – 175
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Police reform and the new public management paradigm: matching technology to the rhetoric

David I Ashby, Barrie L Irving, Paul A Longley

Received 22 August 2005; in revised form 30 January 2006

Abstract. This paper presents a review and interpretation of the apparent inertia and resistance to change that has characterised the last twenty-five years of UK policing. We argue that attempts to introduce New Public Management to policing have not proved as effective as in other public services. Most of the activities of the police have explicitly spatial consequences yet, we argue, the slow diffusion and adoption of geographic information systems (GIS) and other technical innovations has been a particular issue. The current round of political aspirations to reform policing depend in large part on a rapid increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of police management information systems and their deployment at strategic and tactical levels. Generic opportunities and constraints arising in the field of geographic information science are identified and summarised followed by a critical appreciation of current GIS deployment in policing. Direct practical experience in GIS policing applications is used to outline observed barriers to progress and also forms the basis for a number of strategic recommendations.

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