Police Resources, Demand and the Flanagan Report

Abstract

The Flanagan Report, published in January 2007, was a response to widespread concerns about burgeoning but piecemeal growth of demands upon the police. The Report's key aims were to contribute towards the reduction of bureaucracy, promote better business processes and develop a ‘national debate’ on risk aversion. The article makes a comparison of the growth in police resources with the rise in demand for policing services over the previous decade. It concludes that the bulk of increased demand arose from a variety of government inter-ventions, each of which was made with the aim of improving some aspect of police performance. The conclusion is drawn that a longer-term and more objective view of police capabilities is required by policy makers.