Policing and society

This chapter will explore some of fundamental questions about the nature of policing in a liberal democratic society. This chapter places mental health work in the wider context of the welfare role that police officers undertake. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of the broader politics of law and order of the past 40 years. There are two key claims made here. First, that the politics of law and order has shifted to the right. Second, the political success of the Thatcher and Reagan administrations meant that their political opponents tacked rightwards for the fear of being ‘soft’ on crime. Alongside this, neoliberal influenced policies saw the introduction of market mechanisms or practices into the public sector including the police. As in other areas of the public sector, policing was subjected to new forms of managerialism and audit.