Policing in Britain has undergone considerable change since the 1960s and the last 20 years in particular have seen the growth of a more professional and managerial style of policing. This change has been prompted in part by technology, in part by changes in society at large, a growth of public expectations from the criminal justice system, changes in government policy and in part from within the police service itself. At the same time, debate about police conduct
and ethics has been fuelled by revelations about police misconduct, miscarriages of justice, and a number of well-publicized cases of racial and sexual discrimination effecting serving officers and the way in which the country is policed.
This text is intended to bridge the gap between media exaggeration and academic dryness.