Municipal Disorder Policing

1 Introduction 13

1 Concerns about Disorder 13
2 Backgrounds of new forms of disorder policing 14
3 Developments in Dutch security policies and disorder policing 15
4 Municipal disorder policing: some recent developments 18
5 This study 21
6 Outline 23
2 Strategies of disorder policing 25
1 Zero tolerance and reconquering the streets 25
2 Situational crime prevention 30
3 Improving informal social control and building trust 33
4 Conclusion 36
3 Sociological interpretations of disorder policing 39
1 Benevolent interpretations: disorder policing as a response to
changes in the urban social fabric 39
2 Sceptical interpretations: disorder policing as an exclusionary response 42
3 Comprehensive interpretations: disorder policing as risk management and ‘acting out’ 44
4 Overview 48
4 Methodology 51
1 Approach 51
2 Research design and case selection 53
3 Research methods 56
4 Reliability and validity 60
5 Policy goals of municipal disorder policing: past and present 63
1 Introduction 63
2 Early Dutch concerns about disorder: the 1980s 64
3 Early municipal disorder policing by city wardens: the 1990s 66
4 Intermezzo: new legislation and changes in security policies 73
5 The advent of new municipal disorder policing: 2002 – 2007 77
6 Recent policy goals and tasks: 2007 – 2014 84
7 Conclusions 91
6 Deciding on disorder policing on a local level 93
1 Studying local decision making 93
2 Three ‘logics’ in deciding on municipal disorder policing 95
2.1 Power to the big players: deciding on disorder policing through political logic 96
2.2 Power to the figures: deciding on disorder through managerial logic 99
2.3 Power to the professional: deciding on disorder through frontline logic 106
3 Tensions and conflicts 110
4 Conclusion 114
7 Municipal officers on disorder policing 117
1 Municipal officers on their responsibilities 118
1.1 Addressing annoyances 118
1.2 Expanding responsibilities 121
2 Municipal officers on non-compliant citizens 124
2.1 Decent treatment 124
2.2 Contextual judgment 126
2.3 Consistent enforcement 127
3 Municipal officers and police officers 130
4 Conclusion 133
8 Municipal disorder policing in hotspots 135
1 Policy changes: incidents, politics and angry residents 136
2 Managerial interests 141
3 Daily work: strict role definitions 147
4 Views and experiences of frontline workers 151
5 Conclusions 155
9 Municipal officers, police officers and their work domains 157
1 Introduction 157
2 Argumentations in occupational strife 158
3 Division between municipal officers and police officers: four positions 160
3.1 Strict division: police core tasks and ‘catching crooks’ 161
10 Municipal disorder policing
3.2 Strict division: municipal core tasks and ‘quality of life’ policing 163
3.3 No strict division: towards a new municipal police? 166
3.4 No strict division: the police should do all disorder policing 169
4 Conclusions 171
10 Conclusions 175
1 Findings: an overview 175
2 A new profession dealing with disorder 179
2.1 A new profession and its quest for organised autonomy 179
2.2 Citizens’ concerns at a central position? 181
2.3 Pragmatic management of disorderly behaviour 182
2.4 Hotspot policing 183
3 Interpreting municipal disorder policing 184
3.1 Bolstering informal social control? 185
3.2 Reclaiming public spaces as exclusivist practice? 186
3.3 Symbolic politics: acting decisively and regaining authority? 187
3.4 Managing risks and controlling deviancy? 189
4 Discussion 190
4.1 The complacency of a pragmatic profession 191
4.2 Interpreting disorder 192
4.3 Some consequences 194

Samenvatting 197
Bibliography 205
Appendix – Six city surveillance agencies 215