In praise of fire brigade policing: contra common sense conceptions of the police role

First in a series of What if... pamphlets aiming to challenge conventional thinking on penal issues. It focuses on policing and has been written by Professor Robert Reiner, London School of Economics, who challenges the current view of the role of the police and argues for a rediscovery of the social role of policing, beyond crime control, and a frank recognition that they are primarily there as a first line response to people in distress. The pamphlet series is the first arising out of a partnership between the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Mannheim Centre at the London School of Economics.