The challenges of change: exploring the dynamics of police reform in Scotland.

Fyfe, Nicholas R.

Abstract

Despite a long tradition of pessimism regarding the scope for meaningful change in police practices, recent structural reforms to police organizations in several European countries suggest that significant change in policing is possible. Drawing on recent research into the establishment and consequences of a national police force in Scotland, this article uses instrumental, cultural and myth perspectives taken from organization theory to examine how change happened and with what effects. It highlights how police reform involves a complex interplay between the strategic aims of government, the cultural norms of police organizations and the importance of alignment with wider views about the nature of the public sector. The article concludes by identifying a set of wider lessons from the experience of organizational change in policing.

Citation

FYFE, N.R. 2019. The challenges of change: exploring the dynamics of police reform in Scotland. International journal of police science and management [online], 21(4): change and continuity in the police, pages 196-205. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355719889463

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 9, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 9, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 26, 2021
• Journal: International journal of police science and management
• Print ISSN: 1461-3557
• Electronic ISSN: 1478-1603
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 196-205
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355719889463
• Keywords: Police reform; Organizational change; Police organization; Organizational theory; Structural reform
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1017305