The Stabilisation Unit’s new

clothes: UK Policing plc,

security and urbanisationsecurity and urbanisation

Alice Hills

Durham University

An

1. Why look at policing

2. Two points to remember

3. Conclusions

1. Why look at policing?

• ‘International policing is a critical

component of the Building Stability

Overseas Strategy’, a ‘key area of Overseas Strategy’, a ‘key area of

intervention’, ‘a pivotal issue’

• Policing is part of the UK’s approach to

countering terrorism and organised crime

(Stabilisation Unit, ‘Policing the context’,

2014)

2. Obstacles to achieving UK’s

goals include:

1. Wrong kind of police for operating in

volatile environments, and not enough

of themof them

2. Minimal political will to back up

claims (e.g. Chilcot Inquiry, minimal

UN presence)

3. Conclusions

• Stabilisation Unit’s clothes are new:

– UK policing is inherently domestic

– No UN presence or influence– No UN presence or influence

• A more accurate assessment of

policing’s contribution to structural

stability overseas is essential