Edinburgh University Press Police and Community in Twentieth-Century Scotland

Product Description The first social history of Scottish policing from 1900 to the present day This book will be the first to provide a much-needed history of the experience of policing in twentieth-century Scotland. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, oral history interviews, memoir and autobiography, it examines the relationship between police officers and the diverse urban/rural communities they served against the backdrop of social and economic change, the ruptures of wartime, the impact of technology and the centralisation of governance. Through its analysis of the dynamics that created points of trust and co-operation as well as tension and conflict across time - with particular reference to gender, age, ethnicity and religion - it will contribute to broader current debates (outside of Scotland as well as within) about the significance of localism in assuring police legitimacy and delivering an effective service. Thus, it will also be the first book to offer a sustained historical analysis of the changing configuration of police-community relationships - from Victorian legacy to present day - highlighting patterns of chronological change as well as geographical variation. Key features Based on rich collection of previously unused primary source materials; Provides geographical coverage of rural areas (including highlands and islands) as well as densely populated urban areas; Focuses on social identities and the dynamics shaping police-community relationships across time in order to contribute to debates about effective policing today; Contextualises Scottish experience in relation to broader comparative frameworks. From the Inside Flap The first social history to focus on Scottish policing in the 20th century This book examines the relationships forged between police officers and the diverse urban and rural communities in which they have lived and worked in Scotland across the twentieth century, demonstrating patterns that were diverse and variegated. It considers both the formal rhetoric (and sets of structures) that defined and prescribed the policing ideal as well as the experience of policing from a range of grassroots' perspectives. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, oral history interviews, and memoirs, as well as previously unused primary sources, the author identifies and explains the factors that led to not only co-operation, consensus and the building of trust, but also points of tension and conflict across a century of social, political and technological change. -Geographical coverage of both rural and urban areas (including the Highlands and Islands as well as the Glasgow conurbation) -Focuses on social identities and the dynamics shaping police-community relationships across time -Contextualises Scottish experience in relation to broader comparative frameworks -Includes much content not previously covered from a Scottish perspective -The first UK study to compare the practices, cultures and repertoires of uniform policing in urban and rural areas in the 1940s-70s Louise A. Jackson is a Professor of Modern Social History at University of Edinburgh. From the Back Cover The first social history to focus on Scottish policing in the 20th century This book examines the relationships forged between police officers and the diverse urban and rural communities in which they have lived and worked in Scotland across the twentieth century, demonstrating patterns that were diverse and variegated. It considers both the formal rhetoric (and sets of structures) that defined and prescribed the policing ideal as well as the experience of policing from a range of grassroots' perspectives. Drawing on a wealth of archival materials, oral history interviews, and memoirs, as well as previously unused primary sources, the author identifies and explains the factors that led to not only co-operation, consensus and the building of trust, but also points of tension and conflict across a century of social, politi