Ten “Big Bangs” in Theory and Practice that Have Made a Difference to Australian Policing in the Last Three Decades

Abstract

This paper discusses what could be considered the top ten innovations that have occurred in policing in the last thirty years. The intent is to focus attention on how practice could be further inspired by additional innovation. The innovations are discussed here as “Big Bangs” as a way of drawing attention to the significant impact they have had on policing, in the same way that the cosmological Big Bang was an important watershed event in the universe’s existence. These ten policing innovations ushered in, it is argued, a new mindset, pattern or trend, and they affected Australian policing profoundly; although many had their roots in other settings long before Australian policy-makers implemented them.

Keywords

• police research
• innovation
• policy-making
• criminology
• police science