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This article results from series of linked research projects designed to support the development of a Degree Holder Entry Programme in England and Wales, as part of the College of Policing's Policing Educational Qualification Framework (PEQF). Its aim is to draw out some of the issues that need addressing, and challenges that need solving in the design of any degree-level courses required as an entry qualification for recruits to the police service in England and Wales. It examines the rationale for professionalization of policing, and how this relates the development and application of a body of policing knowledge. It considers the main challenges facing the English and Welsh police service in developing an effective policing qualification at degree level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines public attitudes to the sentencing offences associated with the rioting which took place in England in August 2011. Findings are based on a nationally representative survey of adults. The study uses a randomized split-sample experimental design to compare sentencing preferences for actual offences committed during the riots with preferences for similar offences committed under normal circumstances. The riot sub-sample generally ‘sentenced’ more severely than the non-riot sub-sample, but much less severely than the courts. The majority also thought that a non-custodial sentence with a reparative element was an acceptable alternative to custody. These trends suggest an unusual divergence of perspectives between the community and the courts: although the public are generally critical of the courts for leniency, with respect to non-violent offending during the riots, the latter appear more punitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion surveys have long documented public criticism of 'lenient' sentencers. There are two principal perceptions contributing to negative attitudes: a lack of community input and the view that sentencers determine sentence according to their own views. This study embeds an experimental design within a representative survey of respondents in England and Wales (n = 1,004), supplemented by laboratory-based work (n = 230) and focus groups. Results demonstrated that the public is ill-informed about both the magistracy and the sentencing guidelines. In addition, providing information about sentencing changed public attitudes to sentencing and reduced public punitiveness. Respondents were less critical of disposals and less punitive in their own sentence recommendations when they had been given context about the structure of sentencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends Tyler's procedural justice model of public compliance with the law. Analysing data from a national probability sample of adults in England and Wales, we present a new conceptualization of legitimacy based on not just the recognition of power, but also the justification of power. We find that people accept the police's right to dictate appropriate behaviour not only when they feel a duty to obey officers, but also when they believe that the institution acts according to a shared moral purpose with citizens. Highlighting a number of different routes by which institutions can influence citizen behaviour, our broader normative model provides a better framework far explaining why people are willing to comply with the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British drugs legislation has recently been changed to reclassify cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C one. The reclassification is intended to reflect more accurately the risks posed by cannabis relative to other drugs. The debate about reform of the British laws in regulating cannabis possession has tended to ignore the fact that even before cannabis was reclassified as a Class C drug, police officers often turned a 'blind eye' to cannabis offences, or else gave informal warnings. This paper examines the political background to reclassification. It then examines the factors that guide officers to use their discretion and informally dispose of cannabis offences. It goes on to consider the impact that reclassification may have on informal action. The data are drawn from a detailed study of the policing of cannabis prior to reclassification, conducted by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research. We demonstrate that a multiplicity of police, offender and situational factors, either alone or in combination, influence an officer's decision to take informal action on the street. We outline the potential for reclassification to generate a reduction in the use of informal disposals, which may create a `net-widening' effect, or an increase in use, which might lead to the offence being selectively decriminalized. The implications for both scenarios are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]