The majority of police work consists of responding to demands made by the public and whatever else may arise in terms of crime and disorder during a shift. This ‘fire brigade’ model of policing – the fast cars, sirens and flashing blue lights – is a reactive practice where police deal with incidents on a case-by-case basis.
In this video, we talk to a range of people involved in this type of policing. First, we’ll hear from a Chief Inspector and a Call Handler for South Yorkshire Police who explain how police respond to ‘calls for service’. Calls for service are telephone calls to the police by the public using an emergency call system – usually a free-phone (toll-free), three-digit number (for example 999 and 101 in the UK). This is the way that most people contact and communicate with the police.
We’ll then follow the police ‘on the beat’; responding to calls during the day and patrolling the streets at night to maintain public order in what is known as the ‘night-time economy’.
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