RT Article
T1 Reflecting on the past to transform the future: exploring the role of history in policing reform
JF Policing and society
VO 35
IS 5
SP 568
OP 583
A1 Halkon, Ruth
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1928630286
AB By its very nature, policing focuses on the present – dealing with immediate demand and responding to emergencies. However, this leaves little space for reflecting on or learning from the past. Changes in policing practice often occur as a reaction to an incident rather than through a planned programme of reform. This paper argues that this reactive change process has contributed to a cycle of scandals in policing, such as around misconduct, use of force and discrimination. It asserts that sustainable reform can best occur through empowering police officers to develop a historical perspective – thinking critically and strategically about where policing is and how it got there. This paper proposes a new framework through which the study of police history can be used, not only to inform current practice, but to improve the professionalism and legitimacy of the service and asks what can and should be done to embed the study of history into police education. At a time when new technological developments mean change is happening with increasing rapidity, it is more important than ever for policing to learn the lessons of the past to better avoid the mistakes of the future.
K1 Procedural Justice
K1 Legitimacy
K1 police history
K1 reflective practice
DO 10.1080/10439463.2024.2445642