«... a self-assured, richly textured thesis that is also innovative, engaging and politically committed ... it was a joy to read a book by two authors who reassert why the sociological meaning of policing remains such an important subject for sustained analysis.»

Theoretical Criminology

«... quite masterful ... In eight complementary and elegantly interwoven chapters, the authors present an erudite and informative book that quite simply should be required reading for scholars of institutional orders and ordering.»

American Journal of Sociology

«... a sophisticated analysis ... superbly written, insightful and provocative. It deserves the widest readership.»

British Journal of Criminology

«This is a powerful, sweeping analysis of what I suspect future generations will see as a crucial period in English policing and society. It is a challenging but ultimately stimulating read. It offers lessons, points to mistakes and charts the fall from the sacred to the profane.»

Policing Today

«The imagery of the English bobby is explored, and its powerful underlying meanings are associated with a fond collective memory of the social order of the past as opposed to the threatening disorder of the present.»

Times Higher Education Supplement

«... a major new work ... Ian Loader and Aogán Mulcahy reassess received sociological and popular wisdom on the declining public confidence in the English police.»

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