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Introduction
"To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect."
One of the Nine Principles of Good Policing4
1. Policing by public consent has been the underlying philosophy of police forces in Great Britain since their inception in the early 19th century. Subsequent legislation, most notably the Justice Charter of 1991 and the Local Government in Scotland Act (2003), has sought to consolidate and enhance this relationship.
2. The 2003 Act introduced Best Value to local authorities, including police authorities, and established a statutory duty to be responsive to ' the needs of … communities, citizens, customers, employees and other stakeholders, so that plans, priorities and actions are informed by an understanding of those needs'. Its accompanying guidance sets out what is necessary to achieve ' responsiveness and consultation': a methodical approach that reaches a wide range of stakeholders, is linked to regular planning cycles and whose results are used to plan, design and improve services. The same Act requires that public services, including policing, ' are planned and provided after consultation with community bodies and other public bodies responsible for providing those services...' In this way, communities can be 'genuinely engaged in the decisions made on public services [that] affect them'.
3. This inspection did not focus on community engagement as such, but was concerned with the extent to which people have a say in the priorities of their local force. The results of the last Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey 5 imply that about six out of every ten of us are likely to have contact with the police at some point in our lives, either as victims or for some other reason. In its report on police call management Audit Scotland 6 estimated that Scottish forces received 5.8 million calls from the public in a single year. Similarly, Crimestoppers Scotland last year received over 13,300 'actionable' calls. Thus at a fairly fundamental level, and as a matter of course, a considerable amount of police activity is directed by information or requests for assistance from individual members of the public.
4. But these are by no means the only calls on police services. As we shall see, there are other external demands that affect what the police do, in addition to which they must be proactive in preventing crime. Forces therefore have little choice but to prioritise activities, and while important, public opinion is one of a number of influences they must consider.
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