Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ethical Leadership in Policing: Towards a New Evidence-Based, Ethical Professionalism?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Police Leadership

Abstract

Scandals over covert policing, historic misconduct, corruption and police-involved shootings have, alongside changing demands and budget austerity, presented police leaders with a very challenging political and operational environment and a loss of legitimacy. In the UK and the USA, there have been debates about the need for a new police professionalism and a strategy focused on building and sustaining police legitimacy. This chapter will draw on the Neyroud Review of Police Leadership, the President’s Commission on Policing for the twenty-first century and the work of Bottoms and Tankebe on police legitimacy to explore ethical leadership in policing. Drawing on Bottoms and Tankebe, the chapter will focus specifically on four dimensions of ethical policing: procedural justice, distributive justice, lawfulness and effectiveness. A particular focus on effectiveness will be the extent to which “doing the right things for the right reasons” increasingly requires police leaders to draw on the best evidence to challenge existing practice and develop and test evidence-based approaches.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barends, E., & Rousseau, D. M. (2018). Evidence-Based Management: How to Use Evidence to Make Better Organizational Decisions. London: Kogan Page.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedi, A., Alpaslan, C. M., & Green, S. (2014). A Meta-Analytic Review of Ethical Leadership Outcomes and Moderators. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(3), 517–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottoms, A. E., & Tankebe, J. (2012). Beyond Procedural Justice: A Dialogic Approach to Legitimacy in Criminal Justice. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 102(1), 119–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottoms, A. E., & Tankebe, J. (2017). Police Legitimacy and the Authority of the State. In A. du Bois Pedain, M. Ulvang, & P. Asp (Eds.), Criminal Law and the Authority of the State. Bloomsbury: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, B., & Quinton, P. (2014). Self-Legitimacy, Police Culture and Support for Democratic Policing in an English Constabulary. The British Journal of Criminology, 54(6), 1023–1046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2006). Ethical Leadership: A Review and Future Directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical Leadership: A Social Learning Perspective for Construct Development and Testing. Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cockcroft, T. (2014). Police Cultures and Transformational Leadership: Outlining the Contours of a Troubled Relationship. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 8(1), 5–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • College of Policing. (2015). Estimating Demand on the Police Service. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from https://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Documents/Demand%20Report%2023_1_15_noBleed.pdf.

  • College of Policing. (2018). National Decision Model. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/national-decision-model/?s=.

  • Crank, J., & Langworthy, R. (1992). An Institutional Perspective of Policing. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 83, 338–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ericson, R. V., & Haggerty, K. D. (1997). Policing the Risk Society. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Groff, E., Ratcliffe, J., Haberman, C., Sorg, E., Joyce, N., & Taylor, R. B. (2015). Philadelphia Police Tactics Experiment. Criminology, 53(1), 23–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hadjipavlou, S., Redgrave, H., & Desroches, C. (2018). Rethinking Police Demand. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://crestadvisory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Crest-Rethinking-Police-Demand-1.pdf.

  • Heres, L., & Lasthuizen, K. (2012). What’s the Difference? Ethical Leadership in Public, Hybrid and Private Sector Organisations. Journal of Change Management, 12(4), 441–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HMICFRS. (2018). The State of Policing: The Annual of Policing in England and Wales. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/state-of-policing-2017-2.pdf.

  • Koper, C., & Mayo-Wilson, E. (2006). Police Crackdowns on Illegal Gun-Carrying: A Systematic Review of Their Impact on Gun Crime. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2, 227–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, H. (2016). The War on Cops. New York, NY: Encounter Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manski, C. F., & Nagin, D. S. (2017, August). Assessing Confrontational Proactive Policing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(35), 9308–9313.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meares, T. L., & Neyroud, P. W. (2015). Rightful Policing. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/248411.pdf.

  • Neyroud, P. W. (2008). Policing and Ethics. In T. Newburn (Ed.), Handbook of Policing (pp. 666–693). Cullompton: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neyroud, P. W. (2011). Review of Police Training and Leadership. London: Home Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neyroud, P. W., & Beckley, A. (2001). Policing, Ethics and Human Rights. Cullompton: Willan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Neyroud, P. W., & Sherman, L. W. (2012). Dialogue and Dialectic: Police Legitimacy and New Professionalism. In J. Tankebe & A. Liebling (Eds.), Legitimacy and Criminal Justice (pp. 293–308). Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patten, C. (1999). A New Beginning: Policing in Northern Ireland. The Report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland. Retrieved January 12, 2018, from http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/police/patten/patten99.pdf.

  • Rosenbaum, D. P. (2016). Special Issue on Police Integrity: An Introduction. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 39(2), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, R. B., & Santos, R. G. (2014). An Experimental Test of Offender-Based Strategies in Residential Burglary and Theft from Vehicle Hot Spots. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Smart Policing Initiative.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W. (1978). Scandal and Reform: Controlling Police Corruption. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W. (1984). Experiments in Police Discretion: Scientific Boon or Dangerous Knowledge? Law and Contemporary Problems, 47(4), 61–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W. (1998). Evidence-Based Policing. Washington, DC: Police Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W. (2013). The Rise of Evidence-Based Policing: Targeting, Testing and Tracking. Crime and Justice, 42, 377–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W. (2018). Targeting, Testing and Tracking: The Cambridge Assignment Management System of Evidence-Based Police Assignment. In R. J. Mitchell & L. Huey (Eds.), Evidence-Based Policing: An Introduction. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W., Gartin, P. R., & Buerger, M. E. (1989). Hotspots of Predatory Crime: Routine Activities and the Criminology of Place. Criminology, 27(1), 27–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W., Neyroud, P. W., & Neyroud, E. C. (2016). The Cambridge Crime Harm Index: Measuring Total Harm from Crime Based on Sentencing Guidelines. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 10(3), 171–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, L. W., & Weisburd, D. W. (1995). General Deterrent Effects of Police Patrol in Crime ‘Hotspots’: A Randomised Controlled Trial. Justice Quarterly, 12, 625–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skitka, L. J., Bauman, C. W., & Mullen, E. (2008). Morality and Justice: An Expanded Theoretical Perspective and Empirical Review. In K. A. Hegvedt & J. Clay-Warner (Eds.), Justice (Advances in Group Processes) (Vol. 25, pp. 1–27). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slothower, M. P., Sherman, L. W., & Neyroud, P. W. (2015). Tracking Quality of Police Actions in a Victim Contact Program: A Case Study in Training, Tracking and Feedback (TTF) in Evidence-Based Policing. International Criminal Justice Review, 25(1), 98–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiratelli, M., Quinton, P., & Bradford, B. (2018). Does Stop and Search Deter Crime? Evidence from Ten Years of London-Wide Data. The British Journal of Criminology, 58(5), 1212–1231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuffin, R., Morris, J., & Poole, A. (2006). An Evaluation of the Impact of the National Reassurance Policing Programme. London: Home Office, Research Study 296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, T. R. (2003). Procedural Justice, Legitimacy and the Effective Rule of Law. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and Justice. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinborn, C., Ariel, B., Sherman, L. W., & O’Dwyer, E. (2017). Hotspots Versus Harm Spots: Shifting the Focus from Counts to Harm in the Criminology of Place. Applied Geography. Retrieved from www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143622816304933?via%3Dihub.

  • Weisburd, D. W., & Majmundar, M. K. (2017). Proactive Policing: Effects on Crime and Communities. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisburd, D. W., & Neyroud, P. W. (2011). Police Science: Towards a New Paradigm. New Perspectives in Policing (pp. 1–23). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheller, L., Quinton, P., Fildes, A., & Mills, A. (2013). The Greater Manchester Procedural Justice Experiment: The Impact of Communication Skills Training on Officers and Victims of Crime. London: National College of Policing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, E., & Cockcroft, T. (2018). Knowledge Wars: Professionalization, Organizational Justice and Competing Knowledge Paradigms in British Policing. In R. J. Mitchell & L. Huey (Eds.), Evidence-Based Policing: An Introduction. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, S. E., & Piquero, A. R. (2011). Organizational Justice and Police Misconduct. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(4), 332–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful for the comments of his colleagues, Justice Tankebe, Sir Anthony Bottoms, Sir Denis O’Connor and Lawrence Sherman as the ideas in this chapter have developed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Peter Neyroud

Authors
  1. Peter Neyroud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Neyroud .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Pauline Ramshaw

  2. School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Marisa Silvestri

  3. Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK

    Mark Simpson

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Neyroud, P. (2019). Ethical Leadership in Policing: Towards a New Evidence-Based, Ethical Professionalism?. In: Ramshaw, P., Silvestri, M., Simpson, M. (eds) Police Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21469-2_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21469-2_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21468-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21469-2

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation