(Series on Practical and Evidence-Based Policing)
by Laura Huey (Author), Lorna Ferguson (Author), Jennifer L. Schulenberg (Author)
This
book looks at police reform in Canada, arguing that no significant and
sustainable reform can occur until steps are taken to answer the
question of 'What exactly do we want police to do?' Adding challenge to
this is that setting boundaries on what we expect the police to do
requires grappling with the complex social problems we ask them to
resolve. In public policy language, these are ‘wicked problems’ – social
or cultural issues frequently seen as intractable.
Authors
Huey, Ferguson, and Schulenberg, all policing scholars, draw on a
unique collection of data to explore these issues: over 20 years of
research (2000– 2021) ranging from in-depth interviews, surveys, and
field observations to document analysis and systematic social
observation. Pooling this data generates a national-level picture of
changes in the policing operational environment over these decades. This
book focuses on four particular wicked problems (mental health,
substance misuse, homelessness, missing persons) with causes and
potential preventative treatments that lie primarily outside the
criminal justice system and yet continue to be treated as 'policing
problems.' Bringing about changes in public policing requires changes in
public policy, and these are precisely the types of wicked problems
that need innovative policy solutions.
This book is
suitable for a wide range of audiences within and outside Canada,
including law enforcement and community leaders; scholars and policy
experts who specialize in policing; students of criminal justice,
organizations, and management; and citizen-consumers of information
about policing.
