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This article focuses on the development and implementation of ‘proceeds of crime’ in policing and crime control, and places this against a backdrop of recent policing strategies and philosophies. It is argued that the latter may have reached their ceiling in terms of efficacy, and that much greater attention should now be turned towards targeting criminal asset recovery; this, it is hoped, will serve to reduce the ‘pull’ of much criminal activity (that is, financial and material gain). The article considers the impact of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002), and work of the Metropolitan Police Service in tackling criminal assets. Whilst generally there are clear signs of progress, there is still much to be done in terms of interweaving a ‘proceeds of crime’ approach into mainstream policing.

This article considers some of the barriers to ethnic minority recruitment into the police, as well as those factors that would encourage interest in a police officer career. In addition to reviewing recent policy, the article incorporates results from research conducted on behalf of one UK police force. The research revealed a considerable degree of hostility towards the police among some ethnic minority respondents, many of whom would never consider pursuing a police officer career. The importance of securing a fully representative police service has been emphasised by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, and the Macpherson Inquiry (1999) added urgency to this aim. To encourage police recruitment, it is concluded that the quality of service to local ethnic minority communities is probably as important as any special police recruitment campaign.

The government and the Youth Justice Board of England and Wales have placed considerable emphasis on robust community interventions for young offenders, and the vital role of multi-agency work in Youth Offending Teams (YOTs). The police are expected to play an increasingly important part in the control of persistent young offenders, and to facilitate a ‘joined-up’ criminal justice system. This paper discusses the involvement of the police in the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP) which is targeted at the most serious and persistent young offenders. It is shown that such involvement primarily revolves around the concept and practice of intelligence-led policing, and the sharing of information between ISSP teams and the police. The specialised knowledge and functions of police officers form key elements in the implementation of the ISSP, and were widely welcomed by other professionals in ISSP teams and YOTs. Whilst the research suggested some cynicism, or lack of knowledge, about the programme amongst local police forces, police officers seconded to YOTs were generally supportive of the ISSP.

The current article outlines ways in which the police in England and Wales have been engaged in the control of young offenders, with particular reference to the national implementation of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP): this programme was introduced by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in 2001. The empirical research carried out by the author for the current article formed part of the official evaluation of ISSP; the latter was conducted by the Probation Studies Unit in Oxford University's Centre for Criminological Research, on behalf of the YJB. The evaluation was conducted between 2001 and 2004, and involved a broad range of quantitative and qualitative methods (see YJB, 2004b). Most of the results presented here focus on a specific part of the evaluation, which was concerned to pinpoint the role of the police in relation to surveillance and intelligence.

The 1990s have been punctuated with a series of debates, reports and inquiries into the policing function. The Conservative Government instigated far-reaching reforms of the police service which have impacted upon accountability and objectives. Prior to the Conservative Government reforms, the police service itself pre-empted externally imposed reform by launching the ‘Quality of Service’ (QOS) programme. This paper is based upon empirical research which focused on the origins, development and impact of the QOS programme. Interviews with, and a survey of, senior police officers revealed the perceived equal importance of ‘service’ and ‘force’ dimensions of policing. It is concluded that the service periodically balances the scales of ‘care and control’, and indeed that this lies at the heart of securing the efficacy and legitimacy of British policing.