This study is an examination of the variety of ways in which people view policing priorities. Given the range of activities and purposes which the police undertake, and given pressures on budgets for policing, this study aimed to examine how the public value (or valuable activities and outcomes) of policing is assessed by looking at the priorities chosen by three groups of stakeholders: the police themselves, members of the public, and public service partners. In order to explore these subjective priorities, the study used Q methodology (from hereon Q) to understand what it is that police stakeholders value most about policing. There were 125 participants in the main Q study, ranging from police officers, police staff, partner agencies and members of the public in different regions of the UK. Some attention is given to the Q methodology as a research tool because it has been used relatively rarely in policing, and yet it can provide rich insights. Through using the Q method, the research aimed to identify both differences and similarities between the views of people about what the police should prioritise. The Q analysis of priorities as chosen by the 125 participants identified four major views among people about what policing should prioritise: 1) Personal Harm-reducing serious personal psychological and physical harm; 2) Engagement-reducing community harm and creating a fearless society; 3) Crime-fighter-a focus on crime itself; and 4) Good Cop-policing that is committed to serving the public. When examining these views across the three types of participants (police, partners and public), it was found that there were more similarities than differences across the three stakeholder groups, though the fourth view was predominantly held by the police themselves. The implications of these findings are explored. This study makes three contributions to understanding public value in policing. First, it is a systematic analysis of how police, partner agencies and members of the public view policing priorities which is one key dimension of public value. Second, it provides empirical research on public value which is a key gap. Third, it provides details about how Q methodology can be useful in policing studies.

Q has been used in a wide range of studies over the decades, but seldom has it been used in policing. The study used focus groups, and Police and Crime Commissioner plans and an exercise with police and academics, to understand current views on police priorities. From all these sources, 510 statements relating to policing objectives, priorities or actions were identified. These statements were systematically analysed to eliminate duplicates and to ensure clarity resulting in a final list consisting of 62 statements that represented a fairly complete range of police priorities.