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'Standing on the inside looking out’: the significance of police unions in networks of police governance

'Standing on the inside looking out’: the significance of police unions in networks of police governance
'Standing on the inside looking out’: the significance of police unions in networks of police governance
Scholars and practitioners now recognise the importance of ‘governing through networks’ if policing agendas are to be promoted effectively and democratically. Central to such an agenda of networked governance is the identification or creation of community-based structures and processes that can be harnessed by, and linked to, other forms of governance in furtherance of security outcomes. However, notions of community have generally been limited to the ‘communities’ outside of police organisations. This article explores the idea of a police union as ‘a community of interest’. We suggest that police unions are ‘communities’ that have the potential to impact significantly on the governance of security. As ‘insider groupings’ police unions are engaged in complex networks of police management, policy decision-makers and civil society groupings both at the national and international level. Given their organisational status, police unions have the potential to constitute themselves as active, forward-thinking social agencies within policing network arrangements. But, in order to do this they need to move beyond the demands of their conservative social base and their preoccupation with industrial issues and embrace the changing world of policing. In addition, they may need to network with a range of agencies beyond the security industry such as social justice groupings and the broad trade union movement.
0004-8658
71-89
Fleming, Jenny
61449384-ccab-40b3-b494-0852c956ca19
Marks, Monique
2c76ce61-6fe7-4e6a-9889-4ef0705e7d18
Wood, Jennifer
e201a768-5516-4d46-8315-6e4036194542
Fleming, Jenny
61449384-ccab-40b3-b494-0852c956ca19
Marks, Monique
2c76ce61-6fe7-4e6a-9889-4ef0705e7d18
Wood, Jennifer
e201a768-5516-4d46-8315-6e4036194542

Fleming, Jenny, Marks, Monique and Wood, Jennifer (2006) 'Standing on the inside looking out’: the significance of police unions in networks of police governance. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 39 (1), 71-89. (doi:10.1375/acri.39.1.71).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners now recognise the importance of ‘governing through networks’ if policing agendas are to be promoted effectively and democratically. Central to such an agenda of networked governance is the identification or creation of community-based structures and processes that can be harnessed by, and linked to, other forms of governance in furtherance of security outcomes. However, notions of community have generally been limited to the ‘communities’ outside of police organisations. This article explores the idea of a police union as ‘a community of interest’. We suggest that police unions are ‘communities’ that have the potential to impact significantly on the governance of security. As ‘insider groupings’ police unions are engaged in complex networks of police management, policy decision-makers and civil society groupings both at the national and international level. Given their organisational status, police unions have the potential to constitute themselves as active, forward-thinking social agencies within policing network arrangements. But, in order to do this they need to move beyond the demands of their conservative social base and their preoccupation with industrial issues and embrace the changing world of policing. In addition, they may need to network with a range of agencies beyond the security industry such as social justice groupings and the broad trade union movement.

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Published date: April 2006
Organisations: Social Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 339897
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/339897
ISSN: 0004-8658
PURE UUID: 24006980-6788-4632-bd5e-632948554a20
ORCID for Jenny Fleming: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7913-3345

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Date deposited: 01 Jun 2012 09:42
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:41

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Contributors

Author: Jenny Fleming ORCID iD
Author: Monique Marks
Author: Jennifer Wood

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