This book provides a unique insight into the way policing is performed. By embracing both organizational management issues as well as operational police business such as crime reduction and detection, firearms, disorder, organised crime and terrorism, it provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary police theory and practice.Focusing on the implementation of policing, this book discusses the themes that make police organisations effective (or otherwise) with particular emphasis on the complexity of implementing strategy and tactics in contemporary society. Considering how the police can differ between and within agencies, Kirby critically determines why effective policing takes place as well as explaining why unintended consequences can occur. Supported by interviews with senior police officers and academics in the UK, Australia, Netherlands and the US, this book provides a rich source of case studies exploring a wide range of issues including accountability, organisational culture, decision making and the policing of major incidents at both senior and practitioner level.This book will be relevant internationally to scholars of criminology and policing, police practitioners and policymakers.