Lobbying and representation : an analysis of the emergence of the ‘senior police voice’ during the late twentieth century

This paper charts the history and emergence of the ‘senior police voice’ within the UK. Before the 1990s, that voice was fragmented, hostile and contradictory. Cultural and political change plus a desire from within the senior echelons of the police service to professionalise began a long process of acceptance of the centrality of politics and the media within policing. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO, representing the senior ranks of the police service) in particular moved from the relative safety and anonymity of a ‘private’ organisation to a body, which was much more centre stage within criminal justice policy making. This paper analyses the development of a more corporate senior police voice through the Association's media activity and cultural change. It does this through an analysis of interviews with the members of ACPO, in particular its Presidents, who served as ACPO members from the late 1950s onwards.