The service that police officers want to provide, and why they struggle to deliver it

Public trust and confidence remain central to policing by consent. However, contemporary policing operates in an environment characterised by organisational strain, intense scrutiny and a growing gap between what the public expects and what police can deliver. This can make it harder to build and maintain trust. As a result, questions about whether and how neighbourhood policing, visibility and action on public priorities can be delivered have become increasingly significant within policy, cultural and public debate. To explore this, we conducted a series of focus groups with frontline officers and senior police leaders across four police force areas in England and Wales. We found that the public, frontline and senior officers largely agree on the core functions of local policing and the minimum standards of service delivery they should provide: responsiveness, fair treatment, accessibility and engagement. There is also a shared recognition that these are not being delivered consistently. Policing activities most associated with delivery of these core domains are also those most displaced by reactive demand, abstractions and the need to respond to non-crime emergencies. The main challenge to public trust and police legitimacy, therefore, is not disagreement about policing priorities but overcoming the structural and organisational processes that make it hard to deliver them.