Examining the Nature and Impact of Ethics Panels in UK Policing

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the nature and impact of ethics panels in UK policing considering the establishment and evolution of ethics panels – or committees, or boards – and an examination of ‘what works’ in terms of operations, objectives, membership and outcomes. Significantly, it focuses on any impact derived from the use of ethics panels by, and for, UK police forces.

The literature review builds a picture of policing research and ethics as a “golden thread” (Macvean and Neyroud, 2012, p.5) in policing and the academic research into it, highlighting it as a developing topic with a current lack of previous literature on this specific topic. It draws parallels with the research concerning ethics panels in medicine, and uses concepts of organisational justice, cognitive diversity and the professionalisation of the police as themes practically and intellectually supporting the development and use of ethics panels in this context.

With an underlying constructivist ontology and interpretivist epistemology that asserts there is no single, fixed truth and recognises the multiplicity and complexity of human interactions, a predominantly qualitative, mixed methods approach is taken to initially map the landscape of ethics panels in UK policing using a UK-wide survey, before taking a deep dive in to how these ethics panels operate, what impact they have and identify what may be considered good practice through the use of several case studies consisting of ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews.

Using a grounded theory approach to enable the discovery of patterns emerging from the data gathered during the survey, observations and interviews, the thematic analysis of the data recognises the positionality of the researcher in this professional doctorate in identifying themes, including the origins and purpose of ethics panels, the organisational positioning of ethics and ethics panels, the operation of ethics panels and the dilemmas they discuss, key considerations relating to who is involved in the ethics panels, and what impact they have and how they achieve it.

The thesis contributes to both policing research and operational policing by providing a unique view across the whole of the UK to understand the diversity of approach, structures, processes and outcomes in relation to ethics panels, to not only understand what currently exists, but to also understand what works and provide options for good practice from a uniquely positioned ‘pracademic’ perspective to enhance outcomes and contribute to both the operational outcomes and academic literature in this field.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Dundee
Supervisor	Megan O'Neill (Supervisor) & Nicholas Fyfe (Supervisor)