Part 1. Provide a critical discussion on the issues of ‘professionalism’ and ‘professional practice’ in relation to policing professional practice, and the distinction between ‘professional’ and ‘academic’ knowledge.

Part 2. Write a reflective account of ‘your story’ to explain how you have come to the point of embarking on a professional doctorate.

Part 3. Select a journal article from a peer reviewed journal that relates to your area of professional practice/professional interest.

Part 1 Professionalism, Professional practice and Professional and Academic Knowledge

Policing as a Profession

To be a professional, the profession in which one practices must be recognised and socially accepted as such. English policing has long faced this challenge and it was Colquhoun (1800), a leading contemporary academic and future, Superintending Magistrate of policing who addressed this by defining a policing professional. He stated ‘the law, as well as the ancient Statutes of the kingdom, having placed extensive powers in the hands of Constables and Peace Officers; they are expected to be considered as respectable; and it is the interest of the community that they should support that rank and character in society. This corresponds with the authority with which they are invested’. His definition, from the Middle English 'profess', affirms to pledge one’s loyalty to society, by 'professing' their loyalty to perform their duty within society to the highest standards,’ officers must possess a character society can trust. Over the next 150 years, ‘profess’ was superseded by 'professional' which came to include a requirement for education.

Colquhoun (1800) discusses how the ‘Bow Street Runners’, founded by Court Magistrate brothers, John and Henry Fielding in 1749, were the first officially trained, paid, full-time ‘officers’. These officers were ‘very different from the more informal, privately funded system which had been operating. Instead the men were paid using a government grant, therefore creating a closer link to a state-run law enforcement system.’ ’Their formal role principally involved patrolling the streets where they harvested intelligence to help identify criminal activities and suspects.

The creation of the first professional regular police force, the Thames River Police followed. The Thames was a thriving source of business and important tax revenue stream for the Crown, however, illegal activity such as theft was commonplace. Policing of the river and docks was seen as a means to minimise financial losses, the strategy was that police and local courts were funded by revenue from fines. Colquhoun (1800), assisted in founding the Thames River Police in 1789, his treatise mused on the functions and duties of the newly formed force including the inherent qualities required by constabulary personnel. At this early but crucial development stage, he believed in the importance of corporate and personal integrity and other ‘moral virtues’ required for the development and success of a police ‘professional’.

From 1868 until the 1970s there was no formal requirement for an officer to have the detailed legal knowledge, the focus was on characteristics and values; the 1868 Oaths Act required swearing allegiance to the Queen and upholding the laws. An act of Parliament, dated 1829, saw the ‘Bow Street Runners’ absorbed into the newly formed Metropolitan force, despite this, the government did not support, or perceive a requirement for, a national professional English police force.

Holdaway (2017) suggests, the issue of the police earning the marque of a profession, becoming professional, is not a contemporary initiative. From Colquhoun in the 18^th century, to Mark (1977) observing that policing needed to be professionalised, with the first step being their recognition as a profession. ‘The time has come when the police are abandoning their artisan status and are achieving by our ever-increasing variety of services, our integrity, our accountability and our dedication to the public good, a status no less admirable than that of the most learned and distinguished professions’. (Mark, 1977)

Without this label, policing cannot contain professionals. Research by Schneider (2009) discussed this basic concept, a point which many within policing have overlooked, in general police, and law enforcement personnel already referred to themselves as professional. Schneider (2009) supports this ‘in that it is a unique vocation, requiring specialised skills and training. The very tenets of service to others, norms, values, education, training, selection, and status qualify it as a profession in every sense of the term'. If, as Schneider (2009) and Dugger (2014) suggest, professionalism refers to the conduct and qualities that characterise a particular profession, and we concede a profession is defined as a calling requiring specialised knowledge and appropriate academic education, policing should be identified as such.

Professionalism and Professional Practice in policing

Policing in the UK is a much-regulated profession with strong accountability measures in place, it has become subject to substantial scrutiny by many elements of society, organisations and government including internal and external reviews. The government, through several departments and regulations, determines and influences police professional standards with the central organisational bodies being the Home Office (HO), Her Majesties Inspector of Constabularies (HMIC) and The College of Policing.

Professionalism and Professional Practice within English policing has been developed and clearly defined over two hundred years from the conception of the Thames River Police; it is clear the values of Colquhoun (1800) are still relevant today. Policing in the twenty-first century has many areas ‘where the increased complexities, diversities and uncertainties confronting police demand more than a traditional policing response' (Ryan, 2016). With current demands on resources including providing counterterrorism detection and response, the police are required to operate across numerous ‘professional boundaries, establishing partnerships and engaging in interprofessional practices ‘…. regularly crossing professional boundaries, working with and alongside other professions' (Evetts, 2014). Collaboration and co-operation require trust and professionalism between parties as well as a requirement for awareness of self and others and an understanding of ‘crossing professional boundaries necessitate practitioners to have a heightened degree of self and other-awareness, being responsive to others’ perspectives: essentially, a considered, critically informed and purposive practice’ (Billett, Gruber, & Harteis, 2010).

From the Thames Police to today’s services, policing has developed around ‘professional’ values such as those published in the ‘New Code of Professional Standards for police officers’ (CENTREX, 2006). Professional policing standards are extremely detailed with expectations and values clearly defined, arguably in danger of the police becoming ‘’accountable’ (rules, regulations, audit processes)’ (Ryan, 2016) rather than professionally driven. Cape & Young (2008) suggest one of the most contentious, though pioneering, additions to the professionalising of policing was the introduction of The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Since its inception, PACE has continued to develop: ‘the police service has become increasingly professionalised but also increasingly driven by government objectives and targets’.

Policing regulations, standards and professionalism are monitored at an all levels; they dictate all aspects of policing, officers or organisations should comply with these requirements and are aligned with laws or police regulations. The guardians of these professional standards come in numerous forms internal departments, Professional Standards Department, to the HMIC who deals with the inspection of forces and those forces who are failing.

Therefore, policing professionalism and professional police practice are clearly defined and, in general, not negotiable. Professional standards ‘should be understood by all individuals who serve within policing in respect of the Standards of Professional Behaviour’. (CENTREX, 2006)

Professional and Academic Knowledge

Where professional or vocational knowledge was, for many years acquired by mentorship by an old sweat streetwise policeman including behaviours, legal knowledge and how to enforce and generally how to manage policing duties. Practical experience exposes officers to real-world dilemmas and situations with situational training, practitioners are given a monopoly to deal with those challenges and give individual guidance. The skills and knowledge gained were building blocks for the officer's professional autonomy. ‘Standards are enforced through both formal and informal means. On the one hand, professional associations create and maintain formal disciplinary procedures. At the same time, the profession maintains standards through the informal process of developing a distinct sub-culture. The professional-in-training learns professional norms in the process of being trained’ (Walker, 1976). There are risks associated with using professional knowledge in isolation, Holgersson (2006) warns that operational policing is a complex and diverse role with risks the knowledge learnt in specific scenarios can be limited. Therefore, the knowledge is not necessarily transferable or actionable in other contexts the learner may be exposed to: ‘It is related to place and time and can not be applied elsewhere.’

In contrast to professional knowledge building, Palmer (2011) suggests academic knowledge would benefit the police by ‘acquiring and applying the accumulation of scientific evidence in order to be more effective at reducing crime, which is in contrast to an experienced-based approach, which suggests that through the accumulation of professional practice an individual will acquire practical knowledge upon which to base their decisions'. There has been a significant move in the requirement for academic knowledge, from 2016 a degree is a requirement and continuing professional development is required to remain in the post; unlike many professions no professional registration body to whom you must submit evidence of initial and continued learning and practice.

There are many benefits from creating policing related academic programs, both in developing academic rigour and research as well as financial benefits, positive impacts for, not only the educational institutions but also government and police. There is argument graduates may lack the real-world on the job aspects of real-life vocational experience, for example, nursing degrees have become the norm whereas prior to major changes in 2000 skills and experience were gained in clinical settings with some time in the classroom for academic type input but with no resultant degree. The current theory is that individuals will acquire the desired knowledge, and skills, through the application of the academic theory when in the workplace. The argument against immersion in academia came from many police individuals and forces who ‘claim that pre-service and in-service training may be more effective than a college degree.’ (Paoline & Terrill, 2007)

The tidal wave towards the necessity for academic knowledge and qualifications continues with a parallel increase in evidence-based research and theory; the Journey has been complex, littered with suspicion and challenges of breaking the culture of using traditional policing methods. If academic credentials become the overriding recruitment metrics for police officers and civilian staff there is danger of deterring many potential candidates; Professional and academic knowledge should be employed to complement each other, therefore, developing a balanced effective police workforce.

Conclusion

No longer are traditional policing skills sufficient to address current crime and ‘the old form of professional autonomy may well be inconsistent with the demands of the present and the future.’ (Walker, 1976). Addressing the ever-changing threats in society, globalisation reduction or mitigation of risks to maintain a safe society, the police should embrace a culture of academia retaining some aspects of the 'bobby on the beat', visible community policing called for by many citizens. Modern policing will continue to develop as will the inherent challenges.

A compromise of synthesis and collaboration between professional and academic knowledge and learning could be a solution, professional knowledge has challenges for learning and practice as ‘it focuses predominantly on action rather than thought and with little regard for the social context. As such, it tends to concentrate on ‘training or rote learning’ and on ‘psychomotor skill’ rather than a cognitive, emotional, social and embodied experience’ (Ryan, 2016) which academic learning and knowledge can offer.

To meet the challenges of the future, the police service should continue to consolidate recognition as a profession, achieving the professional status they deserve will assist motivation and recruitment. Continuing to develop professionalism within the police service by training needs analysis to meet ongoing educational requirements in policing related subjects will grow the knowledge and behavioural skills of police professionals.

Part 2 Reflection and Reflective Practice

Reflection and Reflective Practice.

Reflective practice requires the individual to desire change and learning, often undertaken by the individual alone it frequently ‘requires professionals’ active engagement in learning activities that mostly include necessary cooperation and coordination with peers and supervisors’ (Hetzner, 2013). To meet the challenges of learning in higher education, and the workplace, it is imperative learners understand and use methods of reflection and reflective practice in to efficiently and effectively apply and engage in learning as they adapt to new demands. Schon (1983) inferred reflection was solely the domain of those engaged in academia and professional organisations, and even then, only applicable to the higher echelons. However, by the mid 2000’s Vazir (2006) noted education had followed the lead of other ‘blue collar’ workers, including health and policing professionals, who had adopted reflection and reflective practice as integral to personal and professional development. There was a realisation that by formal reflection on their experiences individuals may self-manage by identifying their strengths, weaknesses and solutions to refine, integrate and develop themselves and produce and develop relevant skills and knowledge.

Bolton (2005) describes reflection as ‘a state of mind, an ongoing constituent of practice, not a technique, or curriculum element’. Using reflection and reflective practice offers the opportunity to ‘learn from experience about themselves, their work, and the way they relate to home and work, significant others and wider society and culture.’ However, Wingrave (2011) notes it is not just a requirement for the practitioner to have access to reflective models, they must have an understanding of the theories and context, ‘a clear link to a practical application in the workplace’ (Wingrave, 2011) or learning environment. The underlying strategy for successful reflection requires honesty and integrity as the participant must be open, asking appropriate, searching and often personal questions of themselves about their actions, for the process to stand a chance of being successful. If carried out correctly using an appropriate model, reflection may provide a safe and confidential means of examining personal experiences which could be otherwise challenging to communicate.

The desired outcome of the reflection is to allow examination of areas potentially difficult for practitioners to address, for example, ‘challenges [to] assumptions, ideological illusions, damaging social and cultural biases, inequalities, and questions personal behaviours which perhaps silence the voices of others or otherwise marginalise them.’ (Bolton, 2005) The individual must have self-awareness and honesty, without these qualities there will be limited or no behaviour change; ‘to gain a new level of insight into personal behavior, the reflective practitioner assumes a dual stance, being, on one hand, the actor in a drama and, on the other hand, the critic who sits in the audience watching and analyzing the entire performance. To achieve this perspective, individuals must come to an understanding of their own behavior; they must develop a conscious awareness of their own actions and effects and the ideas or theories-in-use that shape their action strategies’ (Osterman & Kottkamp, 2004). Depending on the individual, their education and cultural norms fulfilling this dual role can be quite a challenge.

Smagorinsky, Shelton and Moore (2015) highlight reflective practitioner challenges within the workplace, noting factors that have peripheral influences such as governance, regulation and policy. In policing, practitioners, bound by policy and process, may experience conflicting opinions, barriers to the full realisation of the reflection process, as it is difficult to ascertain what standards are being aligned. Reflective practice does not hold one meaning, it is context-based, not purely focused on the practitioner but also on working environments; the practitioner may have restrictions on their freedom and discretion. ‘The relevance of reflection for law enforcement becomes much clearer in this context because policing has traditionally been seen as a vocation requiring the practical application of both professional knowledge and professional practice. At street level officers need to address issues which cannot be easily compartmentalised, placing far greater emphasis on emotional complexities, which are almost impossible to quantify’. (Wingrave, 2011).

Therefore, in professions such as Policing, officers should concede reflective practice ‘follows a twisting path that involves false starts and detours’ (Smagorinsky, Shelton, & Moore, 2015); if the reflective solutions are to be implemented successfully their actions must comply with legal requirements and comply with force policy and process.

Reflective models and my Approach to Reflection

David Kolb, an American educational theorist, developed an early model of reflection, ‘experiential learning’, which could be used for reflective practice. Since Kolb’s theoretical model in 1984, numerous models have been developed, many based on Kolb’s cyclical model offering variations to reduce complexity and stages of reflection. The University of Cambridge note four of the most widespread models in use include Kolb (1984), the ERA cycle (Jasper, 2013), Driscoll’s What Model (Driscoll, 2007) and the more complex Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle. All these theoretical models have common themes and comparable stages that the practitioner should follow, the choice of the model being more of a personal preference rather than one that specifically complies with a profession or role.

In 2011, my journey into academia commenced completing a Dip. HE in Training and Development, followed by a Master’s Degree in 2014 to my current status. Progressing on this journey I have encountered numerous challenges identifying and overcoming many of them through the use of the reflective practice.

A Diploma in Training and Development introduced me to reflective practice, culminating in a reflective essay and action plan encompassing the four years of learning. My chosen model was that of Driscoll, Driscoll’s What Model (2007) appealing to my preference to ‘keep it simple stupid’, and previous personal experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This model is based on that of Borton (1970) which asks the fundamental questions of an event:

1. What?

2. So What?

3. Now What?

A fairly simplistic model, the three ‘W’s allowed me to contextually examine identified experiences, ‘What?’, to reflect and analyse the issues, ‘So What?’, to produce solutions or learning points, ‘Now What?’. The results of this reflective cycle would help me identify where and when, or even if, I should or could make any changes to my behaviours. I found to take advantage of the reflective practice an understanding of the process was crucial, an ‘activating’ experience, Sullivan (2000) notes this point and defines the identified experience as a ‘critical incident’, and a realisation there was an experience that required analysis to modify behaviour or realise any implications of that experience, and possibly develop an action plan.

A critical reflection on your own knowledge skills and experience

As a crime scene investigation professional and project lead, I have dealt with many challenges from staff management to managing and coordinating multiple murder site examinations. My roles, including departmental management, included report development, application and adaptation of forensic strategies during major investigations, detailed, accurate statements for crown court evidence to name but a few. Generally, I felt comfortable and confident when researching and documenting issues faced; I was complimented on my document submissions; however, on occasion when my work was identified as having gaps or not fulfilling the required standard I was able to use critical reflection. At this time, formal reflection was not recognised or considered necessary therefore any reflection would take the form of supervision with my line manager or myself as line manager reflecting on issues arising in the team, there was a focus on successes in a debriefing context which are much easier to reflect on discomfort is unlikely to arise.

Prior to commencing my current studies, having completed the PGDip, closely followed by my MLitt my reflections predominantly were through reading and responding to supervisor feedback. In my workplace, I received very little feedback, positive or negative therefore few occasions arose where I had the need to formally reflect. McCullock (2013) refers to a PhD as often being an experiential journey. When considering my academic journey, it is obvious the challenges of academia, theory and philosophy, are different from those required in my logical and process-driven occupation. As a late starter in higher education and academia and at best an average performer, (which I was told frequently), I was selected by teachers to sit the lower Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) qualification. On reflection, these comments and decisions have driven me both academically and professionally, where I need to prove those judgements wrong. Academically, I unconsciously seek to place myself in situations that challenge my skills and knowledge; experiences that are outside my comfort zone. At times I lack confidence when dealing with academic matters; however, I can see numerous positive effects in that I am extremely diligent and committed to my subject.

Developmental Needs

Following the Driscoll model allows me to analyse the issue:

‘What’?: I struggled to gain a command of academic English and find reaching the standards required of academic writing and theory especially demanding. This has been a constant during my academic studies, I have to work hard by reading and listening to a range of academic styles to produce quality assignments to ever-increasing. I make the challenge of producing the assignment even greater and anxiety-provoking, tending to procrastinate embarking on final stages of the task. Once I start the writing, I tend to produce numerous versions of the assignment, sometimes numbering over twenty and only stop creating versions close to the deadline.

‘So what?’: reflecting on this challenge, I have linked this challenge to my early experiences in education, and perceived need to overcome my inadequacies in academic writing, though I have proved I am capable of producing high quality writing as is evidenced by my previous academic accomplishments.

‘Now what?’: Recognising the need to improve myself in the area of writing - grammar, structure and academic style, I have reflected on this challenge and sought realistic solutions including researching and applying methods to improve my writing skills and differentiating between different academic writing styles and standards. I have had success employing software such as Grammarly, to seeking assistance from relevant university tutors. My preferred option is the software route as it suits my learning style and is easy to access.

Action Plan: Having often worked with limited support I have recently accepted I could benefit from the available university services. Using my supervisor as a mentor and ‘sounding board’ is positive, I intend to fully engage with them for advice and discussion. I am hopeful that the two strategies, supervision and Grammarly, will assist in honing my academic writing skills, I will monitor and evaluate the outcomes and engage in further relevant reflection!

Part 3 Article Review

Introduction

This assignment section is a critical review of an article in my area of professional practice, policing intelligence; The Emperor is Still Naked: How Intelligence-Led policing has Repackaged Common Sense as Transcendental Truth, by Zhivan Alach (2011), at the time of writing he describes himself as a 'Specialist in security, law enforcement, and defence policy analysis'.

Alach (2011) examines the introduction of Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) which became popular in the UK in the 1990s, where later 'police forces around the world', namely Australia, New Zealand and America introduced forms of ILP. The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in America in 2001 gave impetus to the adoption of ILP. Countries that had sought to implement ILP before these events now progressed ILP to help combat crime. Alach argues the introduction of ILP has necessitated many changes to the police process including, in organisational structures and increased resources, however, the ‘potentially revolutionary gains in effectiveness and efficiency' have yet to be realised.

Alach argues that, some aspects of ILP are not original ideas, even if it was, the practical implementation of ILP is not well suited to policing methods and philosophy. There is little data to suggest ILP has made the detection and prevention of crime more efficient and productive throughout the world because the basic concept of 'formal' ILP is flawed. Alach suggests the inadequacies of ILP are as a result of confusion over mal-aligned policies, technocracy, confusion over authority, ‘micro-managerial approach, a lack of attention to decision making, and its pseudo-scientific pretensions.’

ILP, Alach says, is a management ‘fad’, this is one of the significant reasons why ILP has gained such support, gained from those managers with control of the resources and ‘knowledge entrepreneurs’ and the increasing threat of terrorism. Discussing the challenges of implementation, he discusses at length the usefulness and theoretical aspects of ILP, and even the phrase itself, arguing the lack of a clear definition has caused challenges to its inclusion and application. Alach goes on to discuss the definition issues offering alternatives to the current definition, his definitions stemming from the military.

Alach, having decided from the start of the article that ILP has been a failure, offers his cursory ideas, with no evaluation or rationale for organisational structures or resources, on possible solutions to the complex and crucial challenge as to how the police could better do ILP. However, though he is critical of ILP, the author does not go as far as to identify or define how a successful ILP model would look: Alach makes no attempt to define what ILP success would look like, unfortunately, he focuses on the problem of definition rather than the importance of the process. Therefore, it is difficult to understand what Alach defines as successful and what is not. Defining what ‘success’ looks like is imperative if ILP is to be fruitful, or is Alach’s definition of success defined through following a ‘business fad’, battles won or the real goal, crime reduction? The article would have benefited from being a policing focus, for subject context, data and other research to support the author's thoughts; it is clear from the opening paragraphs, Alach is critical and unsupportive of the ILP theoretical stance and process.

Policing and Military Intelligence.

Success in policing terms comes from crime data which supply some evidence of success and, or failure, and can allow planning with some objectivity, at least within policing. The rigours of the scrutiny of the UK public and government has required policing to be increasingly transparent and accountable to the point where subjectivity is reduced to a minimum. Again, the author has referenced military intelligence, Handel (1989) in support of his argument that intelligence is always subjective, this may be true on the battlefield but as Maguire and John (2006) much later, and on the subject noted, the National Intelligence Model, which is driven by ILP, ‘encourages a more 'objective', evidence-based approach, founded upon careful analysis of risks and crime trends'. This allows the police to be objective in their decision making on crime initiatives and ‘hot-spots’, tackling the problem at its core in a proactive and timely manner. Alach concedes, ‘in some forces, procedural adherence to processes, products and dates has become central to decision making’, which by default, following police process, makes the decisions objective by definition.

‘As generally defined and accepted, policing intelligence is so broad as to be almost useless as a concept.’ (Alach, 2011) Policing intelligence had to be broad to ensure relevant, or irrelevant intelligence, is captured, the skill is in information management, to identify what is valid and useful. Alach quotes John Keegan, a military historian, ‘possession of the best intelligence does not guarantee victory’ it is not victory we seek but the reduction and prevention of crime and ultimately a safe society. (Alach, 2011)

The article, which discusses an essential part of the modern UK policing philosophy, ILM, has transformed from its early inceptions at a local force level, to the current models in use. The views of the author are fascinating as he approaches the subject from several angles, however, the angles he chooses could be argued as very broad, superficial and not based on the unique matter of policing within a local, regional and country context, with their specific issues and challenges.

Definition

There are many references, though the policing studies are all relatively dated at the time of print, this subject having barely been researched. There is no inclusion of recent or relevant data either quantitive or qualitative, giving the feeling of being somewhat removed from the realities of policing. The historical references and comparisons from a military context further add to the feeling of the author being detached from the realities and direct knowledge of policing intelligence, which is distinct from the objectives he discusses within a military context. For example, his decision to start with a definition from the ‘largest English speaking military in the world’ (Alach, 2011) is puzzling, is this a case of biggest is best or academic rigour? The definition of intelligence given: ‘The product resulting from the collection, processing, integration, evaluation, analysis and interpretation of available information concerning foreign nations, hostile or potentially hostile forces or elements, or areas of actual or potential operations. The term is also applied to the activity which results in the product and to the organisations engaged in such activity’ (Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2007). The definition chosen here is wholly out of context for the world of policing, not only in the UK but also USA, with military goals and aims far removed from a civilian policing organisation, the relevance is lost.

It would have been appropriate to either find a compatible definition within policing or develop a definition within policing from those cited. The military comparison is unhelpful when considering the issues and challenges of ILP and how future development could progress. It may be that Alach unconsciously perceives the military to be fully integrated with their roles and goals and national armed forces are fully compatible with their ‘friendly’ allies to overcome the challenges of their differentials. Inevitably we, and Alach must accept policing and armed conflict require very different skills, approaches and solutions. Therefore, a comparison of ‘apples with apples’ and not ‘apples with pears’, would have been beneficial.

Limited Adoption

The author's intimation that ILP has been adopted, at least notionally, ‘worldwide’ is something of a misnomer, as the implementation of ILP has been limited to the UK, US, Canada, NZ and Australia. There are numerous reasons for ILP not being adopted beyond these countries including judiciary, political bias, policing styles, demographic, geographic and cultural to name but a few. A ‘one size fits all’ approach is not appropriate for ILP. In numerous countries, the intelligence gathering functions are undertaken by ‘other institutions involved such as the Public Ministry, the Army, the Municipal Security Forces and others’ (Mingardi, 2007), whose responsibility include major crime or the prevention of terrorism and state intelligence. As Mingardi (2007) states, Criminal Intelligence, ILP, ‘is considered a “poor cousin” of Government Intelligence and a “distant cousin” of Military Intelligence, which is the oldest activity in the field’ and generally ‘with the legal limitations’. It is possible that a military intelligence option could be practical in some political contexts, where civil liberties and human rights are inadequate, though Alach does not offer evidence where this has worked in a democratic society.

Contrary to Alach’s assertion, Mingardi (2007) suggests that the UK has a clearly defined and process-driven criminal intelligence system. Burcher and Whelan suggest that the approach used by Alach to understand ILP is incorrect. Instead, the role of ILP should appreciate 'how it is practised differently within and between the many organisational units comprising police organisations’. They point out the boundaries of the ''big I' intelligence and 'small I' intelligence', as Alach refers to them, the big I of the ‘formal’ intelligence units and the ‘small I’ of the others outside of the formal, both shape the ‘function of intelligence in important ways’. Burcher and Whelan further suggest that there has been little relevant academic research on the ILP processes and those involved, but rather, researchers have focussed on the organisation. As with the argument, 'one size fits all', there should be a recognition, even with the jurisdictions in the UK, there should be more attention placed on the similarities and differences between police organisations (e.g. rural vs. urban police). Therefore, Alach’s superficial view of ILP as a function and process is flawed with a greater need to examine ILP, and its function, at a micro level to gain an accurate picture.

Conclusion

This interesting academic article examines an under-researched component of policing. While it is evident ILP has been embraced by the UK and other countries, the reality is that its adoption has been limited to those countries where this method of intelligence gathering is possible; even then, development and implementation has been complex. Alach has highlighted some issues and has offered alternatives, which, unfortunately, have been devised with little thought, analysis and evaluation of what these models could offer, training would offer a more appropriate and realistic option for change, however, this is not offered by Alach as a means of development as he believes the current processes are beyond restoration. Interestingly, Burcher and Whelan (2018) suggest the training received by staff was unsuitable for the task and that, should appropriate training be given to all those involved in the process it could ‘significantly impact the practice of ILP’. However, Alach is also correct in his assumptions that without research and development ‘it is easily possible for intelligence-led policing to fall by the wayside and become lost in the history of failed attempts of law enforcement to move away from the traditional focus on reactive, investigative policing.’ (Burcher & Whelan, 2018)

It is evident to a practitioner of ILP or one who has studied it, a ‘one size fits all’ solution is not an option, this is one element of the article that is accidentally correct as Alach concedes that academics and practitioners should continue to research ILP with the ambition of finding a solution to gathering criminal intelligence which leads to reduced crime.

References

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