Abstract
The issue of problem solving as a component of neighbourhood policing is an important and potentially highly problematic one. The UK government claims in its 2008 Green Paper, From the Neighbourhood to the National, to be ‘absolutely committed to neighbourhood policing as the bedrock for local policing in the 21st Century’. Yet experience tells us that implementation of problem solving is likely to be far from straightforward. This article draws attention to the many obstacles identified over 25 years of experimentation with the principles of problem solving. The article examines what is known about implementation of problem solving in the police service and the factors which influence its delivery. It draws attention to lessons learnt and the implications for the delivery of neighbourhood policing.