The challenge of equitable policing: the prioritisation of violent crime

A vital aspect of policing, of the endeavour to maintain law and order, is the response made to calls-for-service by the public. Given the volume of calls-for-service, in the context of limited deployable resource, the police require prioritising incidents based on the threat, harm and risk that they pose to the public. Incidents with comparable characteristics require being met in a consistent manner, if the police are to retain the public’s confidence. This chapter, utilising data from a large metropolitan police force in the United Kingdom, explores the challenge of equitable policing. It does so by examining the prioritisation of violent incidents with injury in comparison to the prioritisation of violent incidents without injury, and by assessing whether their respective prioritisation remains consistent across differing urban contexts and times of the day. It finds that violent incidents with injury are more likely to receive a higher prioritisation than violent incidents without injury but that the prioritisation of both types of incidents varies. This variation is associated with the changing volume of demand for policing and the availability of deployable resource, as well as a set of neighbourhood characteristics. To an extent, it appears to matter where and when a call for service is made. The chapter concludes by setting an agenda to promote equitable policing.