The Politics of Establishing Reflexivity as a Core Component of Good Policing

This chapter presents an argument favouring reflexivity as an important component in establishing what it means to be a good police officer. The term reflexivity is used here to denote a fully developed and enhanced reflective practitioner as presented within Schon’s (1991[1983]) seminal contribution. We see an officer’s reflexivity improving the more he/she reflects upon a wide range of variables when dealing with policing matters. This includes reflecting upon past experiences and performance, but also legal knowledge, awareness of force policy, appreciation of socio-economic and demographic circumstances and other factors that frame the professional practice contexts in which the officer is operating.