Over the past 40 years, policing activities and policies in England and Wales have been the subject of extensive review and reform. This article briefly traces some these changes through the years and sets the stage for a series of articles which follow that introduce the reader to questions that are at the heart of current police policy. The articles are intended to provide insight into some of the areas that must be addressed in order to produce confidence in the police service which was once regarded as the best in the world. They review the complexity of community policing, police accountability, police response to public disorder, the impact of the media on the public perception of police and the intervention and prevention of prostitution. The articles each make a different contribution to the knowledge about some of the problems which are inherent in policing today. They indicate a need for a better understanding of the theories that apply to policing and police practice. References