Great Expectations? Assessing the creation of national police organisations in Scotland and the Netherlands

Against a background of recent structural reforms to police organisations in northern and western Europe, this paper examines the experiences of Scotland and the Netherlands where national police forces were established in 2013. Taking a comparative perspective, an analysis of the reform proposals is followed by a review of the arguments for reform, the challenges of implementation and the emerging findings from evaluations of police reform in each country. The paper concludes by drawing out the contrast between the ‘great expectations’ of reform articulated by governments and the realities of bringing about rapid organisational change, arguing that neo-institutionalist perspectives on police reform have much to offer in making sense of the challenges of the reform process.