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Watson, Neil (2005) Europeanisation and the police. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
Cooperation between the UK and its European neighbours has steadily increased, with an impact upon many facets of British society and institutions. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the extent to which such cooperation has affected the police, with particular reference to the issues·of control and accountability. The thesis concentrates on three broad areas. These are the historical development of the UK police and how they are presently held accountable, the growth of international policing organisations, specifically those attributed to European integration, and the relevance of the Council of Europe to UK law enforcement. Academic interest in the relationship between domestic policing and European initiatives has often concentrated on the supranational level, particularly on the policing bodies established by the European Union. In contrast there is a relative lack of research into what such developments might mean to the control and accountability of state police organisations. In addition, most analysis of these 'European' pressures tends to focus on the European Union, ignoring other influences, which have resulted from European cooperation. This study is aimed at redressing, to some degree, this imbalance, by firstly examining the multi-faceted manner in which the UK police have developed, as well as showing where European police cooperation fits within this process. This involves a detailed examination of the ways in which international, and particularly European Union, police co-operation affects UK law enforcement. By outlining the consequences of another aspect of the 'Europeanisation' process - that is the Council of Europe - a broader understanding of how European cooperation impacts upon the UK police is achieved. Finally, the manner in which international policing bodies are held accountable is addressed, in order to see if they demonstrate acceptable levels of transparency and control. European cooperation is a complex subject, with matters concerning accountability of specific concern. By assessing the consequences to the UK police of such collaboration, as well as gauging whether this, and the bodies it has produced, endanger present control and accountability measures, a gap in our understanding of these processes is filled. Therefore this thesis represents an original contribution to the study of police accountability and European integration.
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