Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The Cumbria spree killing – how mobility affects the policing of critical incidents

The Cumbria spree killing – how mobility affects the policing of critical incidents Purpose– Spree killing impacts significantly on emergency services and is becoming more prevalent across the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Cumbrian spree killing, which resulted in the fatal shooting of 12 people with a further 11 wounded. This study highlights why these events are so difficult to manage in an attempt to assist policy makers and practitioners deal with them more effectively. Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative methodology was used, examining open source information and internal police documentation. This was supported by semi-structured interviews with command staff (three), and questionnaires involving a representative group of police staff (11), who were all deployed on the incident. Findings– This case study mirrored the characteristics of many other spree killings. The sophistication of the killer, together with the speed of mobility, significantly increases the challenges posed to the police, specifically in terms of: deployment, decision making, interoperability and managing the media. Further, it questions the effectiveness of normal command and control management approaches that are typically used in these situations. Practical implications– Spree killing (active shooter) events are increasing across the globe. This study highlights the critical challenges to be dealt with. It argues a more innovative inter-agency paradigm is needed to deal with crimes in action. Originality/value– There are few academic papers in relation to spree killing. This paper analyses the factors that impact upon the effectiveness of the police response. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Emergency Services Emerald Publishing

The Cumbria spree killing – how mobility affects the policing of critical incidents

Download PDF
15 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/the-cumbria-spree-killing-how-mobility-affects-the-policing-of-5BLw6kZiRk

References (23)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
2047-0894
DOI
10.1108/IJES-12-2013-0026
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose– Spree killing impacts significantly on emergency services and is becoming more prevalent across the world. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Cumbrian spree killing, which resulted in the fatal shooting of 12 people with a further 11 wounded. This study highlights why these events are so difficult to manage in an attempt to assist policy makers and practitioners deal with them more effectively. Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative methodology was used, examining open source information and internal police documentation. This was supported by semi-structured interviews with command staff (three), and questionnaires involving a representative group of police staff (11), who were all deployed on the incident. Findings– This case study mirrored the characteristics of many other spree killings. The sophistication of the killer, together with the speed of mobility, significantly increases the challenges posed to the police, specifically in terms of: deployment, decision making, interoperability and managing the media. Further, it questions the effectiveness of normal command and control management approaches that are typically used in these situations. Practical implications– Spree killing (active shooter) events are increasing across the globe. This study highlights the critical challenges to be dealt with. It argues a more innovative inter-agency paradigm is needed to deal with crimes in action. Originality/value– There are few academic papers in relation to spree killing. This paper analyses the factors that impact upon the effectiveness of the police response.

Journal

International Journal of Emergency Services – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 4, 2014

There are no references for this article.