ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the ways in which the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) interpreted information society and e-services narratives. The complexity of the policing environment, in organizational terms and in terms of the public-police interface, means that any technological change, including changes to communication whether internally, intra-organizationally, or with the public requires careful research. The MPS has to be open to scrutiny and, as well as being accountable to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), it also have a high profile in the media, in which reports of its work are variable and swing within public opinion. The chapter describes various aspects of policing narratives, and includes the types of interaction between the police and members of the public. A general narrative of policing can be summarized as involving the prevention and reduction of crime and disorder. All these narratives give the police service its distinctive service profile.
