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Towards multi-strategic police organisations Towards multi-strategic police organisations Priit Suve Estonia Abstract: From one hand, recent police reforms in Europe had illuminated the fact that most reforms were loosely linked to problems of safety. Reasons for reforming the police are hidden in an economy, politics or some other domain instead of public order or crimes — the problems that are traditionally associated with the police. From the other hand, the wickedness of security issues requires the police to be more professional. The question is, how the police that in the police literature are mostly presented as a monostrategic organization can be linked to issues of security in a way that it could have at least a chance to mitigate these wicked problems? This article suggests that the knowledge of police management about strategies of policing and police organization should be enhanced. The article sketches out the idea for how the strategies of policing together with the view of the organization as an open system can hold the police to be more focused on its core mission and connected to the task environ- ment. Keywords: the police, policing, police strategy, organisation Introduction challenge that the police should answer, many of the latest police reforms in Europe (see chapter 1.2. below) In the general level, the core mission of the police is to were not driven and not designed to address securi- enhance and advance the internal security of a particu- ty issues. The economic situation was the main starter lar country, and the guiding principle of contemporary for reforming the police to achieve greater e"cien- policing is that the (civil) police should be separated cy and e#ectiveness, and the centralization was the from the military. (United Nations General Assembly, dominant mechanism in reforming organization for 1979; Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, these purposes. From research papers that describe or 2001) However, the question of security is not con- analyses particular reforms one can hardly !nd a note strained only by the topics of public order or crimes. about strategies of policing. In this article I argue, that That was so centuries ago at the times of the birth of the traditional view of an organization and the lack Continental police culture in France or Anglo-Amer- of knowledge regarding strategies of policing detach ican police culture in England (see Brodeur, 2010), or the police from its core mission, and brings on new re- in age at cockcrow of police science at the beginning forms. Although every organization ought to develop of the last century (see Vollmer, 1930, 1933). The con- and change, it is wise to anticipate signi!cant shocks cept of security is now de!ned as a wicked problem that most reforms de!nitely are. Thus, the central ques- (see Rittel and Webber, 1973) — the problem ‘that are tion for this article is composed of two parts. First, how complex, unpredictable, open ended, or intractable’ the concept of the organization should be handled in (Head and Alford, 2015: 712). Despite this monstrous a way that it at least gives a chance to mitigate wicked 251 European Police Science and Research Bulletin · Global trends in law enforcement training and education problems? Second, what are these mechanisms that needs to be clari!ed. Traditionally in empirical articles could develop police’s professional status in society a theory precedes empire, but in this article, it is in the and act as a tie inside of an organization but also con- opposite. Although the empirical part composed of nects the organization to existing task environment? I three di#erent studies, and all of them had di#erent argue, police strategies are these means that gives a purposes as well as results, in this article they will be meaning and real ‘soul’ for the bu#ering and bridging used as problem-constructors, and the theoretical part techniques and are the basis for the metalanguage of should be handled as possible solutions to the prob- the police. lems posed. These questions are important not only for the police but have more general implication for all social world. 1. Police strategies: ignored Since security is like a two-faced Janus: one face tells us and underestimated that security regarding traditional crimes is in decline, and the other face refers to new global trends like ter- Some years ago, I started the research of Estonian po- rorism or fears related to migration. However, the social lice with the purpose to discover and explain organiza- world is not simple as that, and it would be misleading tional changes that took place after restoring the inde- to describe it in such dialectical or dichotomy way. pendence of Estonia in 1991, while the Soviet military militia was reorganized into Estonian police. Studying In order to stay in frames of current conference aiming changes in one particular organization provide an op- to exchange the ideas, which could advance the police, portunity to go deeper than just a comparison of or- and policing it would be bene!cial to emphasize two ganizations or countries. Often the importance of !nd- rising questions at issue. The !rst question has some ings gets precise meaning in some speci!c context. bearing on all history of the police — the dilemma For that reason, I simultaneously with studying the Es- between the theory and practice. The gap between tonian police, analysed police reforms in Europe during scienti!c knowledge and the actual action of the po- last two decades. I also revised the leading journals in lice has been widely discussed topic that recently got the !eld of policing ( 1) from the same period to !nd a more concrete form. The ‘pracademics’ (see Posner, an answer to the question: how the police strategies 2009; Willis, 2016; Braga, 2016; Tahiliani and McCabe, are portrayed and analysed? In this chapter, the prob- 2016) are seen as a possible bridging mechanism hav- lems from all studies in the context of this article will ing a potential to connect these two poles. Another be presented. Since the studies under discussion, are trend related to the latter concerns the question of the extensive, what follows is a very cursory and simpli!ed police science in general. As stated by David H. Bayley view of them. (2015: 11): ‘Police science must become part of police professionalism.’ (See also Huey and Mitchell, 2016) 1.1 Changes in astrategic organization: the case of Estonian police ( 2) To o#er some fresh and in police literature underdevel- The case of Estonian police is interesting in many ways, oped aspects that may help the police advance and but in the context of this article two central points anchor its position as a professional player in the !eld should be highlighted. First, the Estonian police is of security I draw some ideas from contemporary or- an interesting object for a study, since it has such a ganizational theories and strategic management. The dramatic history and rapid changes in replacing Rus- article consists of four main parts. The !rst part, the sian-speaking military Soviet militia with democratic introduction, outlines the problem and takes up the Estonian national police organization in 1991. Second, research questions. Second, the empirical part illumi- security in Estonia has improved enormously after the nates the problem through the case of Estonian po- lice, the European police reforms, and the problem of (1) There are three police-speci!c journals that were indexed in monostrategicism. In the third part, theoretical princi- the databases of Thomson Reuters Web of Science: Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management; Police ples that are familiar to management audience but not Quarterly; Policing and Society. so familiar in the !eld of policing will be introduced, (2) Main results of the analysis are presented in following article: and the fourth part summarizes the article and makes Suve, Priit; Peeter Selg; and Georg Sootla. ‘Two Decades of some concluding remarks. Since the article is not build Estonian Police and the (Ir) relevance of Police Models for the Development of Safety Policy.’ Studies of Transition States and up as a traditional empirical article, the reason for that Societies 8.1 (2016): 36-52. 252 Towards multi-strategic police organisations early years of independence (see Saar, 2004; Markina, any precise and understandably stated strategy the 2011; Saar, 2013) despite the fact that the Estonian po- developments were unplanned and unpredictable. To lice has not knowingly practiced any strategy of polic- conclude the point for this article: the Estonian police ing during 1991-2013 (Suve, Selg, and Sootla, 2016). have developed without using intentionally any police model or strategy, and changes in the police were in- The analysis was based on documentary analysis of consistent in many ways. Despite the latter, the overall following public documents: two principal laws regu- security in Estonia has improved a lot. lating police action during the period 1991-2013 (Ees- ti Vabariigi Ülemnõukogu, 1990; Riigikogu, 1998); four The case of Estonian police emphasizes only one side basic regulations structuring the organization at the of the problem — the organizational size. Since till government and local level (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet, now, the link between the police and security was not 2012; Vabariigi Valitsus, 1991; Vabariigi Valitsus, 1992; Si- under discussion but have the important element in seminister, 2009); four major development plans (Polit- this article, the section below shed light on this topic seiamet, 1999; Riigikogu, 2008; Riigikogu, 2010; Sisemi- through the police reforms in Europe. nisteerium, 2001), and !ve instructions for police work in order to understand changes at the operational level 1.2 Reforming police organization instead (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet, 2010a; 2010b; Politseiamet, of policing 1993; 1998; 2001).

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