Central coordination, police authorities and the miners' strike

In retrospect it is likely that the miners’ strike of 1984/5 will be viewed as having had a most profound impact on the relationship between the Police Authorities and their Forces, as well as between both and the Home Office. The decision by the police to respond to the strike by setting up a system of “mutual aid”, under the auspices of the National Reporting Centre at Scotland Yard, was to raise critical questions about the control, finance and accountability of police forces. It is the purpose of this article to explore these questions, and in particular to examine the implications of this exercise in national co-ordination for the local control of police forces,