Making a unique contribution to the scholarship on democratic policing, this book adapts the concept of epistocracy to explore the role of knowledge and expertise in police governance and accountability.

A rigorous empirical analysis of the Scottish police governance arrangements following reform in 2013 is complemented with examples from other liberal democracies, situating the Scottish context in wider debates on democratic policing, localism, and the operational independence doctrine. The book provides a framework for knowledge-based working practices, showing how principles of democratic policing, such as equity and responsiveness, may be achieved in practice.

“An interesting alternative to current accountability structures and ways of making these better, opening up debates about whether current forms of police governance are truly democratic and whether we need to consider new ways of thinking about how best to hold the police to account.” Policing and Society

“This ground breaking and timely study provides not only a compelling analysis of contemporary police governance in Scotland, but a strongly argued case for the values of epistocracy rather than democracy to be at the centre of future police governance arrangements.” Nicholas R. Fyfe, Robert Gordon University

"This book is essential reading for all those interested in police governance and accountability. Based on the lessons learned from reforms to police governance in Scotland, Ali Malik sets out a thought provoking and powerful argument for the incorporation of diverse forms of knowledge and expertise into police governance arrangements. He proposes a novel framework for doing this which creatively brings together expert knowledge with the use of inclusive deliberative processes. This is an argument that merits the attention of all those interested in the question of how we hold the police to account." Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation

“Drawing on an in-depth conceptual and empirical exploration of recent developments in the Scottish police governance landscape, this book makes a compelling argument for institutionalising epistocratic knowledge within contemporary networks of police governance. It skilfully weaves together an impressively broad range of ideas, from the sociology of policing, constitutional law, public administration and political philosophy, to make a major contribution to contemporary debates in police governance and accountability.” Stuart Lister, University of Leeds

Ali Malik is Lecturer in Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds. He has previously led the policing degree apprenticeship programme at Northumbria University and served as Associate Inspector for HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland.

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Chapter 2 – Developments in Police Governance: From Democracy to Epistocracy

Chapter 3 – Scottish Police Reform and Localism

Chapter 4 – Paradoxes and Dilemmas: Operational Independence and Internal Governance

Chapter 5 – Institutionalising Epistocracy

Chapter 6 – Conclusion

Related Titles