The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 26 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 46 sources its claims cite were checked for support.
Mind the implementation gap? Police reform and local policing in the Netherlands and Scotland
Open accessAbstract
In 2013 the governments of the Netherlands and Scotland established national police forces, replacing a tradition of largely autonomous regional police organizations. In both jurisdictions, these radical reforms have raised concerns about the consequences of these national police structures for local policing and for relationships with local communities and local government. Drawing on documentary sources and interview material from each jurisdiction and informed by insights from the policy implementation literature, the key question addressed in this article is how has the legislation that created the new national police forces been put into effect at a local level? Focusing on the impact on the governance, organization and delivery of local policing, the article reveals how the implementation in both jurisdictions involves interpretation and discretion by multiple actors so that gaps are emerging between the national ‘policy promises’ set out in the legislation and the ‘policy products’ experienced in local contexts.
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55 Own result · 25 Own interpretation · 22 Sources not found · 7 No full text of the sources · 6 Not checked yet · 4 Own method · 1 Partly supported
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In the paper
“The interview data indicates, however, that the implementation of police reform is creating a more differentiated picture of local governance and accountability than could be expected after reading the proposals of the reform.”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > The Netherlands
hedgedstates a cause- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“In both countries the public and political debate triggered by the decision to create a national police force was also quite similar, focusing on the distribution of responsibilities between Government ministers and the Chief Constable, and the potentially negative consequences that a national police force might have for local policing.”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > Contexts of reform
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“few local councillors appear to be as optimistic.”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > Scotland
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Several highlighted examples of how within the first few months of the establishment of Police Scotland, the relative powerlessness of local authorities had become apparent.”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > Scotland
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“In sum, several of the mayors interviewed fear that they will no longer be able to exercise their authority over the local police.”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > The Netherlands
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Probably not a substantial claim. 25
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In the paper
§ Mind the implementation gap? > Scotland
“In three areas the boundaries of these divisions are aligned with those of a single local authority”
§ Mind the implementation gap? > Scotland
“For the five local authorities who have boundaries co-terminous with the police divisions, there is a direct link with a divisional commander of the rank of Chief Superintendent.”
Citations
Cites
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Self-citationImplementation Theory: yesterday’s issue?
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Implementation, accountability and trust
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Terpstra, J., & Fyfe, N. R. (2014) · International journal of law, crime and justice · doi:10.1016/j.ijlcj.2014.03.003 · Cited by 42
Self-citationExamining the nature and extent of public participation in neighbourhood policing
Bullock, K., & Sindall, K. (2014) · Policing and Society · doi:10.1080/10439463.2013.844130 · Cited by 40
Scandinavian police reforms: can you have your cake and eat it, too?
Holmberg, L. (2013) · Police Practice and Research · doi:10.1080/15614263.2013.795745 · Cited by 29
Implementation Between Tradition and Management: Structuration and Styles of Implementation
Terpstra, J., & Havinga, T. (2001) · Law & Policy · doi:10.1111/1467-9930.00104 · Cited by 27
Self-citationA Single Police Force for Scotland: The Legislative Framework (1)
Scott, K. B. (2013) · Policing · doi:10.1093/police/pas062 · Cited by 9
(2013) · Radboud Repository (Radboud University) · Cited by 5
Self-citationGovernance, Accountabilities and Scottish Policing
Donnelly, D., & Scott, K. (2012) · Willan eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203118160-13 · Cited by 5
Inspectie Veiligheid en Justitie
Helsloot, I., & van Melick, G. (2015) · Radboud Repository (Radboud University) · Cited by 4
Organisatie en interne sturing van politiewerk
Terpstra, J. B., & Jochoms, T. (2014) · Radboud Repository (Radboud University) · Cited by 1
Self-citationDonnelly, D., & Scott, K. (n.d.) · Handbook of Policing · doi:10.4324/9780203118238.ch8
A Single Police Force for Scotland: The Legislative Framework (2)
Scott, K. B. (2013) · Policing · doi:10.1093/police/pat003
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- Terpstra J, 2014, Politie: Studies over haar werking en organisatie
- Van Sluis A, 2013, Contested Police Systems: Changes in the Police Systems in Belgium, Denmark, England & Wales, Germany and the Netherlands
Cited by
The Abstract Police: A conceptual exploration of unintended changes of police organisations
Terpstra, J., Fyfe, N. R., & Salet, R. (2019) · The Police Journal Theory Practice and Principles · doi:10.1177/0032258x18817999 · Cited by 117
Self-citationMacQueen, S., & Bradford, B. (2016) · Journal of Experimental Criminology · doi:10.1007/s11292-016-9278-7 · Cited by 68
“This process represents the biggest change to Scottish policing since the 19th Century (Terpstra and Fyfe 2015), leading to dramatic overhauling of organisational structures and management, and arrangements for governance and accountability.”
BackgroundPolice reform, austerity and ‘cop culture’: time to change the record?
Caveney, N., Scott, P., Williams, S., & Howe-Walsh, L. (2019) · Policing and Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy · doi:10.1080/10439463.2019.1691549 · Cited by 33
“The greater use of inter-force collaborative work, outsourcing arrangements and business partnerships, including with private sector organisations, reflect pressures on police forces to operate more efficiently (Smith 2012, White 2014, Terpstra and Fyfe 2015).”
BackgroundFyfe, N. R., Anderson, S., Bland, N., et al. (2018) · Policing A Journal of Policy and Practice · doi:10.1093/police/pay052 · Cited by 32
Self-citationTerpstra, J., & Fyfe, N. R. (2019) · International Journal of Police Science & Management · doi:10.1177/1461355719842310 · Cited by 30
“, 2017) and that local authorities found that their position in the local governance and accountability of the police had become much weaker (COSLA, 2014; Terpstra and Fyfe, 2015).”
BackgroundSelf-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Terpstra, J., & Fyfe, N. R.
- Affiliations
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- University of Dundee (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Fyfe, Nicholas R
- Venue
- Criminology & Criminal Justice
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-02-19
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 527-544
- ISSN
- 1748-8958 (ISSN-L)
- 1748-8966
- OpenAlex
- W2058516169
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 19.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Criminology & Criminal Justice (publishedVersion)
- Discovery Research Portal (University of Dundee) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Open Access Institutional Repository at Robert Gordon University (Robert Gordon University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Public Policy and Administration Research
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Keywords
- police reform, national police force, local police, policy implementation, implementation gap, local government, community relations, police governance, discretion, Netherlands, Scotland, comparative policing
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