Understanding Policing and Professional Practice

This book outlines the foundations for understanding modern policing.

It is an essential introduction for all policing students and trainee police officers to the underpinning aspects of the profession, providing a clear understanding of how the police service is currently organised and how it fits into the wider criminal justice system. Students are encouraged to think critically and reflect upon core concepts such as policing by consent, police accountability, governance and professional standards, and it examines the challenges of policing an increasingly global, technical and diverse world.

The Professional Policing Curriculum in Practice is a new series of books that match the requirements of the new pre-join policing qualifications. The texts reflect modern policing, are up-to-date and relevant, and grounded in practice. They reflect the challenges faced by new students, linking theory to real-life operational practice, while addressing critical thinking and other academic skills needed for degree-level study.

Barrie Sheldon is a policing lecturer with Staffordshire University, and has been connected with the Institute of Policing since its inception in 2019, working with policing students undertaking the PEQF programme either as apprentices or degree holders. He joined Staffordshire Police in 1972 as a cadet, leaving 32 years later as a senior investigating officer engaged in both operations and policy development. He has worked for Teesside University delivering a policing foundation degree, has designed and delivered bespoke policing programmes for police officers in Rwanda, and has served as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia Police.

Peter Williams is a senior lecturer within the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies at Liverpool John Moores University and programme leader for online distance learning at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in the areas of policing and terrorism/counter-terrorism studies. He has also worked as a senior lecturer in policing with Teesside University and as an associate lecturer in criminology for the Open University in Wales. Prior to working in higher education, he was a police officer with Merseyside Police, retiring at the rank of Inspector.

Tony Blockley has served within policing for over 30 years, gaining extensive knowledge and understanding of policing organisation and practice. On retirement he had attained the rank of Chief Superintendent with the position of Head of Crime, responsible for leading 500+ multi-disciplinary staff within a complex and critical department servicing public protection, major and serious crime, serious and organised crime, terrorism, financial crime, fraud and forensic services.

As the lead for policing at the University of Derby he is responsible for co-ordinating policing higher education, including developing programmes and enhancing current provision in line with the Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF) while also supporting the College of Policing in the development of programmes.

He combines an extensive policing career with an understanding of the national curriculum, the requirements of the academic standards and the entry routes to policing, giving him a unique perspective and the necessary credibility to support his role as Editor of Critical Publishing’s new policing series.