ABSTRACT
Aer two decades of relative calm, political protests have returned to the streets of the United Kingdom (UK). e resurgence of political protest since 2009 has seen transnational movements for global justice come together with more localized groups concerned with governmental responses to the economic downturn and their impact in dierent social policy arenas (HMIC, 2011). Added to this, in August 2011, the Police Service faced a short period of civil disturbances across England which involved protests against police conduct in London, followed by more widespread public disorder in provincial cities. Collectively, this changing social context has presented a new challenge for the service-oriented and community-focused Police Service in the UK (more specically, England, as neither Scotland, Wales, nor Northern Ireland have experienced similar cases of public disorder). e Police Service in the UK has experienced a 20-year period of community-oriented reform during which there has been a prolonged reduction in crime rates.
