‘Ulster’s policing goes global’: The police reform process in Northern Ireland and the creation of a global brand

This paper engages with contemporary discussions in relation to the commodification of policing and security. It suggests that the existing literature regarding these trends has been geared primarily towards commercial security providers and has failed to address the processes by which public policing models are commodified and marketed both within, and through, the transnational policing community. Drawing upon evidence from the police change process in Northern Ireland, we argue that a Northern Irish Policing Model (NIPM) has emerged in the aftermath of the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP) reforms. This is increasingly branded and promoted on the global stage. Furthermore, we suggest that the NIPM is not monolithic, but segmented, and targeted towards a number of different ‘consumers’ both domestically and transnationally. Reflecting these diverse markets, the NIPM draws upon two seemingly incongruous constituent elements: the ‘best practice’ lessons of policing transition, as embodied in the ICP reforms; and, the legacy of counter-terrorism expertise drawn from the preceding decades of conflict. The discussion concludes by querying as to which of these components of the NIPM is in the ascendancy.     

Maltreatment Chronicity Defined with Reference to Development: Extension of the Social Adaptation Outcomes Findings to Peer Relations

The purpose of this study was to extend work seeking to improve research definitions of chronic maltreatment by contrasting a definition based on patterns of CPS reports across childhood developmental stages to a previously used definition based upon duration of the period including reports, using teacher-estimated peer relations to represent an extrafamilial outcome domain of social adaptation. The sample includes 387 children who are participating in a multi-site longitudinal study and had been reported for abuse or neglect to CPS between birth and age 8. CPS records from this time period provided the basis of two chronicity constructs: 1) an ordinal categories (OC) definition based upon four Eriksonian stages, and 2) a durational definition (time between first and last reports). Block-wise regression analyses were conducted to examine the relative degree to which the two chronicity definitions contributed to prediction of teacher-estimated peer relations at the age 8 interview. Chronicity characterized with reference to developmental stages significantly predicted troubled peer relations, with child age, sex, and minority status, family income, geographic location, and time of first report taken into account. The effect was pronounced with regard to aggressive peer relations. Duration of maltreatment reports also predicted aggressive peer relations, but significantly less so than did the OC definition. The findings support the view that maltreatment chronicity is usefully defined by taking children’s development into consideration to characterize patterns of maltreatment across developmental stages. Practice and research implications are suggested.     

Citizen oversight of independent police services: Bifurcated accountability,regulation creep,and lesson learning

By examining developments in England and Wales this article considers police reform in the context of the tension between operational independence and citizen oversight. The article assesses the nexus between regulation and accountability in order to shed light on how a bifurcated accountability paradigm has protected police autonomy. Particular significance is attached to the cold‐blooded police shooting of an innocent man as a critical moment in the recent history of police governance. The lesson‐learning strategy of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, created under the Police Reform Act 2002, is singled out as an important driver of police reform. Although police governance reform in England and Wales is context specific, it is held that appreciation of the regulation accountability nexus and complaints as lesson‐learning opportunities are of significance in other jurisdictions and sectors.     

Peer Victimization and Social Anxiety in Adolescents: Prospective and Reciprocal Relationships

This study used a 2-month prospective research design to examine the bi-directional interplay between peer victimization and social anxiety among adolescents. Participants included 228 adolescents (58% female) in grades 10–12. Three types of peer victimization were examined: overt (physical aggression or verbal threats), relational (malicious manipulation of a relationship, such as by friendship withdrawal), and reputational (damaging another’s peer relationships, such as through rumor spreading). Adolescents’ self-reported feelings of social anxiety and peer victimization experiences were assessed at two time points, in November and January of the same school year. Peer victimization was strongly related to adolescents’ social anxiety, and relational victimization explained additional unique variance. Moreover, peer victimization was both a predictor and consequence of social anxiety over time, with the most robust results found for relational victimization. Limited support was obtained for gender as a moderating variable. Findings highlight the deleterious effects of peer victimization, especially relational victimization, and suggest avenues for future research and clinical intervention for adolescents experiencing such victimization.

Anthony King and the United States

Anthony King was a keen follower of American politics. His writings on the subject combined his respect for democratic practices with a strong concern for deliberation in governance. These concerns, familiar from his writings on the UK, caused him to worry that American politicians campaigned too much and governed too little.