From national development to local delivery: how neighbourhood policing policy and guidance has informed the understanding of communities and engagement practice at a local level

The purpose of this study was to critically analyse the impact on community engagement practice and policy as a result of the creation of the neighbourhood policing guidelines, published by the College of Policing in 2018. This research was undertaken using qualitative methods, including a case study and Braun & Clarke’s thematic analysis. Thematic analysis was applied to interviews with key policy actors, a focus group with practitioners, and the review of national and local policy documents. Such an approach informed understanding of the policy development and implementation journey. The theoretical background of this study is based in Kingdon’s (2011) concepts of policy streams and policy entrepreneurs as well as Lipsky’s (2010) theory of street level bureaucrats. The findings of this research show that these underpinning theories and concepts were present throughout the policy journey, along with Tepstra & Fyfe’s (2015) identification of the ‘implementation gap’ also evident. Policy development and implementation were enabled by policy entrepreneurs but met with blockers at a more local level. Street level bureaucrats were far less aware of policy and the policy message lost in translation, in what could be argued was Atun’s (2003) identification of the difference in language spoken between managers and practitioners. The policy was translated coherently from the national to the force level but appears to have struggled to translate effectively at the operational level. This research offers two new concepts building upon existing theories, that of an ‘entrepreneurial gap’ and the need for ‘street level entrepreneurs’, that is policy entrepreneurs who can speak the language of both strategic leaders and the frontline and able to bridge the implementation gap at practice level.