The Police Student

SERIES LAUNCH: We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest series of The Police Student, supporting degree-entry recruits to the police service. This new series looks at the way that our criminal justice system works, why it works the way that it does, and why that matters for student police officers.

FEATURE: In the last in this current series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at how victims experience the criminal justice system, the myths around ‘deserving’ and ‘underserving’ victims, and how restorative justice can give victims a greater voice in the justice process.

FEATURE: In this penultimate article in the current series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores control theories, which concentrate not on why an individual is motivated to offend, but what persuades them not to, and what society – and officers – can do to support people to stop offending.

FEATURE: In the latest in the new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at the New Penology approach, which highlights the role of measurement and the rise in metrics in responses to crime, but also underlines some of the dangers of focusing solely on risk and harm when allocating resources.

FEATURE: In the latest in the new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the left realism crime perspective, including the 'square of crime', the need for greater understanding of the complexity of crime, and the ‘Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’ approach pioneered by New Labour.

FEATURE: In the latest in the new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores right realist perspectives, rational actors, and the development of a societal ‘underclass’.

FEATURE: In the latest in the new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores critical perspectives on crime, including Marxist approaches to criminology, white collar crimes and corruption, and critical race theory.

FEATURE: In the latest in a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at labelling theory – who decides what a deviant act is, how individuals are defined as deviants or criminals, and what the consequences of that can be for the individuals themselves, as well as for the police.

FEATURE: In the latest in a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores sociological theories for explaining crime, including the concept of ‘anomie’, strain theory, and the ‘subcultures’ explanation for why people at the bottom of the social ladder are more likely to become involved in crime.

FEATURE: In the fifth in a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores sociological theories for explaining crime, including the pioneering work of the Chicago School, which examined the effects of social disorganisation on crime – an approach which still has real relevance to the role of community policing today.

FEATURE: In the fourth of a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores psychological theories for explaining crime – including the differences between cognitive and behavioural theories, the importance of cognitive learning and social learning theories, and how evaluating these and other theories can make you a better police officer and happier human!

FEATURE: In the third of a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the biological theories of crime heralded by the emergence of positivism, which saw the focus switch from the offence to the offender, and considered the implications of biological predisposition, heritable traits, and the need for a response that includes rehabilitation.

FEATURE: In the second of a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at the classical concept of crime as a rational act, and considers traditional justice, enlightened thinking, and the range of critiques which have founded the wider discipline of criminology.

SERIES LAUNCH: We are pleased to announce the launch of the latest series of The Police Student, supporting degree-entry recruits to the police service. This new series looks at criminology – the study of crime, how we think about it, what causes crime, the way that criminal justice agencies respond to offenders, and how all of this can affect what you do as police officers.

FEATURE: In the first of a new series of The Police Student focusing on Criminology in Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly looks at the definition of criminology, the wide range of areas that feed into the discipline, and how the various approaches to criminal justice – including retributive justice, deterrence, and rehabilitation – impact on the role of policing.

FEATURE: In the last in The Police Student current series on Key Issues in Contemporary Policing, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the crisis around police wellbeing and mental health, including the impact on officers of dealing with traumatic and stressful events, how changes to staffing levels, resources and opportunities for recovery have exacerbated welfare concerns, and what needs to be addressed going forwards.

FEATURE: Continuing the latest series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the issue of policing in popular culture – from the earliest historical depictions to the growth of police procedurals, contemporary representations and reality TV – and examines not only how those representations reflect the relationship between society and policing, but how they can shape it.

FEATURE: Continuing the latest series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the issue of plurality in policing, from the earliest days of the ‘New Police’ to the latest law enforcement and social control roles carried out by the state as well as private and third-sector organisations, and underlines the importance for policing of recognising the opportunities and dangers presented by non-police actors.

FEATURE: Continuing the latest series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a closer look at the key issues around the police use of force, including the challenges around the ways the use of force is measured (and any data interpreted), the guidelines on when and how officers can use force, and why wider work on public confidence is crucial to ensuring the use of force doesn’t damage police legitimacy.

FEATURE: Metrics to quantify ‘success’ in UK policing have changed considerably over the past three decades, with an early focus on the volume of crime recorded and detected replaced with targeting those crimes causing the most harm; in this latest article in Policing Insight’s Police Student series, Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the various performance measurement approaches, and why public confidence should be equally crucial in shaping policing priorities.

FEATURE: Continuing a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explores the challenges around policing a diverse society, including the issue of institutional racism, the police use of stop and search, and the implications of the latest rulings in relation to hate crimes and free speech.

FEATURE: Continuing a new series of The Police Student, Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly takes a closer look at the key debates concerning police culture and identity, and explores issues around police legitimacy, the problems of machismo and racial prejudice, whether officers are born or made, and the crucial role current students have to play in the evolution of modern policing culture.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Policing Insight has a wide range of fantastic resources to support your degree study – and many students will already have free subscriber access via their academic institution or police force subscription.

FEATURE: If you’re embarking on one of the latest police training routes – whether it's a policing degree, a degree apprenticeship or a postgraduate qualification – you will be among the first cohorts to study a degree course specifically designed to prepare you for the challenges of the job; Policing Insight Academic Editor Dr Carina O’Reilly explains how the courses differ, and offers tips on the best sources and resources to help you get the most from your studies.