Organised Voluntary Action in Crime Control and Community Safety
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Organised voluntary action in crime control and community safety: A study of citizen patrol initiatives in northern England Sean Barry Butcher Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Law Centre for Criminal Justice Studies September 2019 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2019 The University of Leeds, Sean Butcher The right to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. iii Acknowledgements This thesis would not have reached fruition without the considerable support and generosity I have benefited from during the past four years. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of my supervisors, Professors Stuart Lister and Adam Crawford – whose guidance and feedback consistently passed my highest expectations. For your counsel, and the time you have invested in my continued career development – thank you. I am indebted to all of those who took part in the study, and in particular to Katie Waters, Steve Barker and Norman Younger. Their efforts to accommodate my constant requests and pestering were fundamental to the completion of the project and opened my eyes to their tireless commitment. Truly, you are inspirational people. To my closest PhD companions, Lauren and James – a special thank you. I couldn’t have asked for better people to share the experience with, and I’m so happy that we’ve all landed on our feet. If others benefit half as much from the friendship you’ve shown me over the years, they’ll be very lucky indeed. The completion of this study was made all the more achievable as a result of the encouragement of friends and colleagues at the School of Law. You are exceptional people, and working amongst you is a pleasure that I’m glad I’ll continue to experience in the years ahead. The final words are reserved for my family – particularly my mum Deb, and dad Paul, whose unconditional love and support never wavered. You keep me grounded, and kept the faith. I could not have asked for any more. I hope this serves as proof that my claims about being ‘rather busy’ weren’t entirely inaccurate. iv Abstract Within contemporary policing and community safety discourses, citizen-led initiatives have rarely commanded the degree of attention afforded elsewhere. Typically, research has tended to focus upon state, and more recently market provision. This thesis addresses that deficit by investigating volunteer citizen patrol initiatives. It adopts an exploratory approach to conceptualise and determine the composition of patrols, and subsequently offers insights into the reasons why individuals partake in organised patrols, the nature of their activities, and how they are received by other citizens and local stakeholders. In the first half of the study, citizen patrols are defined, charted across extended historical periods, and located within the contemporary policing landscape. The second half presents the empirical findings of a qualitative study that explores three citizen patrol case studies in northern England. Data collected within these sites consisted of a total of 150 hours of participant observation and 40 semi-structured interviews, with participants, coordinators and external stakeholders. The findings indicate that despite state dominance and more recent market expansion across the policing landscape, the presence of citizen patrols illustrates a space for civil society that demonstrates continuities with the past. Participants exhibited a range of motivations for partaking and completed various activities; as responses to perceived threats, broader vulnerability, and for the purposes of information sharing. Elsewhere, a distinction emerged between those that the patrols engaged, and those that more broadly benefited. Serving the interests of the latter presented implications not only for the fair and even spread of patrol activities, but also for the delivery of policing provision more generally. Finally, the patrols were well-received by stakeholders, who connected with initiatives both strategically and operationally. There was evidence of positive relationships and collaboration, though frontline police articulated concern about their capacity to effectively support initiatives in light of reductions to personnel and resources. v Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables .............................................................................. x List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................ xi Chapter One – Introduction ............................................................................ 1 1.1. Introducing the thesis ...................................................................................... 2 1.2. Personal rationale for the research ............................................................... 4 1.3. Research aim, objectives and design ........................................................... 6 1.4. Structure of the thesis ..................................................................................... 7 Chapter Two – Introducing citizen patrols: Conceptualising a challenging concept ......................................................................................... 9 2.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 9 2.2. The challenge of defining citizen patrols ................................................... 10 2.2.1. Citizen patrol as an ambiguous concept ................................................................... 11 2.2.2. Policing as an evolving concept ................................................................................. 12 2.2.3. The rise and fall (and rise?) of informal justice ........................................................ 13 2.2.4. Policing and community safety as social control ..................................................... 16 2.3. Distinguishing citizen patrol ......................................................................... 19 2.4. Continuums of citizen patrol ........................................................................ 21 2.4.1. Order–welfare ............................................................................................................... 22 2.4.2. Passive–aggressive ..................................................................................................... 23 2.4.3. Responsible–autonomous .......................................................................................... 24 2.4.4. Encouragement–opposition ........................................................................................ 25 2.5. Developmental trajectories of citizen patrol .............................................. 26 2.6. Citizen patrols and vigilantism ..................................................................... 30 2.7. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Three – Charting citizen patrols: The historical antecedents of recent forms .................................................................................................... 34 3.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 34 3.2. A brief history of patrol ................................................................................. 36 3.2.1. Early patrol arrangements .......................................................................................... 36 3.2.2. The decline of communal policing and rise of the modern police ......................... 38 3.3. Recent developments in patrol .................................................................... 45 3.3.1. The war/post-war years: Changing police practices and an emerging demand gap ............................................................................................................................................ 45 3.3.2. The 1980s: A decade of experimentation ................................................................. 48 3.3.3. The 1990s: Ambivalence and the limits of experimentation .................................. 50 3.3.4. The 2000s: State appropriation of patrol/control? ................................................... 56 3.3.5. 2010-2019: A climate of austerity .............................................................................. 59 vi 3.4. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Four – Locating citizen patrols: Contributions of civil society in a crowded field ................................................................................................ 67 4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 67 4.2. Change within a historical perspective ...................................................... 69 4.3. State developments ....................................................................................... 71 4.3.1. The emergence of ‘strategies of responsibilisation’ ................................................. 72 4.3.2. The reality