John Coxhead

The Pluralisation of Policing: the Police, Private Security and Public Consent John Coxhead

Plural Policing and Public Consent examines how change has affected, and will continue to affect, public confidence and consent in policing. Policing has traditionally relied upon public consent to achieve local legitimacy. Policing, though, has often been more than just 'what the police do'. With a history of plural policing providors that pre-dates the professional police, and the 20th century rise in commercial or private security, we find a complex patchwork of policing. In a period of rapid change, is policing becoming a commodity? Is policing a public or private good? What is the role of the State in policing? Where are the boundaries for the police and commercial security? Is the notion of policing by consent valid in a complex market? To answer these questions, key strategic leaders outline their vision of what policing should aspire to by 2020. Students of criminology and political science will find this study useful in analysing the complexity of 21st century policing.