ABSTRACT

The history of policing is littered with reform programmes, which aim to improve effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. Problem-oriented policing (POP) and evidence-based policing (EBP) are two popular and enduring reform efforts, both of which have generated significant researcher and practitioner attention. There are important similarities between POP and EBP: both approaches provide a framework intended to improve the outcomes of policing. There are also key differences, however, in terms of their main objectives, standards of evidence and units of analysis. Despite both approaches being widely advocated and implemented, presently little is known about police practitioner understanding of the relationship between POP and EBP, both in principle and in practice. To address this gap, this paper draws on survey (n = 4,141) and interview (n = 86) data collected from 19 police forces in England and Wales in 2019 to explore police practitioners’ views on the relationship between POP and EBP, and the extent to which these two approaches inform contemporary police practices. Our findings indicate that respondents generally viewed the two approaches as complementary and important frameworks for orienting police work. However, respondents also drew attention to how the two approaches are not always connected organisationally nor in the minds of police personnel. In addition, challenges were identified in the application of both approaches in practice. Our results suggest that more needs to be done to maximise the potential of POP and EBP, both separately and synergistically. The article concludes by suggesting some ways in which this might be achieved.

摘要

警务历史上充斥着旨在提高效力、效率和合法性的改革方案。问题导向警务 (POP) 和循证警务 (EBP) 是两项流行且经久不衰的改革努力，都引起了研究人员和从业人员的极大关注。POP 和 EBP 之间有重要的相似之处：这两种方法都提供了一个旨在改善警务结果的框架。然而，在主要目标、证据标准和分析单位方面也存在关键差异。尽管这两种方法都得到了广泛的倡导和实施，但目前对警察从业人员对 POP 和 EBP 之间关系的理解知之甚少，无论是在原则上还是在实践中。为了解决这一差距，本文利用调查（n = 4，141) 和采访 (n = 86) 数据从 2019 年英格兰和威尔士的 19 名警察中收集，以探讨警察从业人员对 POP 和 EBP 之间关系的看法，以及这两种方法在多大程度上影响了当代警察的实践。我们的调查结果表明，受访者普遍认为这两种方法是指导警察工作的互补和重要框架。然而，受访者也提请注意，这两种方法在组织上和警务人员的头脑中并不总是相互关联。此外，还发现了在实践中应用这两种方法的挑战。我们的结果表明，需要做更多的工作来最大限度地发挥 POP 和 EBP 的潜力，无论是单独的还是协同的。文章最后提出了一些可以实现这一目标的方法。