Police control systems in Britain, 1775–1975: From parish constable to national computer - Hardcover

Williams, Chris A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719084296 ISBN 13: 9780719084294

Publisher: Manchester University Press, 2014

Synopsis

During the last two centuries, the job of policing in Britain has been transformed several times. This book analyses the ways that police institutions have controlled the individual constable on the 'front line'. The eighteenth-century constable was an independent artisan: his successor in the Metropolitan Police and other 'new' forces was ferociously disciplined and closely monitored. Police have been controlled by a variety of different practices, ranging from direct day-to-day input from 'the community', through bureaucratic systems built around exacting codes of rules, to the real-time control of officers via radio, and latterly the use of centralised computer systems to deliver key information.

Police forces became pioneers in the adoption of many technologies – including telegraphs, telephones, office equipment, radio and computers – and this book explains why and how this happened, considering the role of national security in the adoption of many of these innovations. It will be of use to a range of disciplines, including history, criminology, and science and technology studies.

About this title

About the Author

Chris Williams is Professor of History and Head of the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University

From the Back Cover

During the last two centuries, the job of policing in Britain has been transformed several times. This book analyses the ways that police institutions have controlled the individual constable on the 'front line'. The eighteenth-century constable was an independent artisan: his successor in the Metropolitan Police and other 'new' forces was ferociously disciplined and closely monitored. Police have been controlled by a variety of different practices, ranging from direct day-to-day input from 'the community', through bureaucratic systems built around exacting codes of rules, to the real-time control of officers via radio, and latterly the use of centralised computer systems to deliver key information.

Many innovative techniques of record-keeping, surveillance and control were early and strongly emplaced to control police organisations themselves, long before they were directed towards the population at large. This book examines the intentions behind these various developments. Police forces became pioneers in the adoption of many technologies – including telegraphs, telephones, office equipment, radio and computers – and this book explains why and how this happened, considering the role of 'national security' in the adoption of many of these innovations.

It considers the extent to which police institutions fit into various grand models of social change proposed by Max Weber, Michel Foucault, and Christopher Dandeker, and brings in the conclusions of other theorists such as Bruno Latour and James C. Scott to explain and contextualise their transformation. It constitutes a longitudinal study which illustrates the development of bureaucratic and technical modernity within police institutions.

From the Inside Flap

During the last two centuries, the job of policing in Britain has been transformed several times. This book analyses the ways that police institutions have controlled the individual constable on the 'front line'. The eighteenth-century constable was an independent artisan: his successor in the Metropolitan Police and other 'new' forces was ferociously disciplined and closely monitored. Police have been controlled by a variety of different practices, ranging from direct day-to-day input from 'the community', through bureaucratic systems built around exacting codes of rules, to the real-time control of officers via radio, and latterly the use of centralised computer systems to deliver key information. Many innovative techniques of record-keeping, surveillance and control were early and strongly emplaced to control police organisations themselves, long before they were directed towards the population at large. This book examines the intentions behind these various developments. Police forces became pioneers in the adoption of many technologies - including telegraphs, telephones, office equipment, radio and computers - and this book explains why and how this happened, considering the role of 'national security' in the adoption of many of these innovations. It considers the extent to which police institutions fit into various grand models of social change proposed by Max Weber, Michel Foucault, and Christopher Dandeker, and brings in the conclusions of other theorists such as Bruno Latour and James C. Scott to explain and contextualise their transformation. It constitutes a longitudinal study which illustrates the development of bureaucratic and technical modernity within police institutions.

Edition details

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0719084296
• ISBN 13: 9780719084294
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256