Operation Kairos: entropy and the temporality of organised policing

James, A ORCID: 0000-0001-5460-406X (2026) Operation Kairos: entropy and the temporality of organised policing. Evidence Base. ISSN 3067-9125

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Abstract

This paper examines policing’s recurring difficulty in sustaining innovation and organisational learning through the conceptual lens of entropy. Drawing on classical and contemporary theories of change, it argues that operational success in policing is best understood as a temporary concentration of organisational energy that must be renewed continually. Using Operation Kairos, a pseudonymous multi-agency initiative in England and Wales, alongside comparative evidence from Canada, United States, Australia, the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom, the paper shows how early clarity, alignment, and momentum gradually diffuse as initiatives are absorbed into routine practice. Entropy is reframed not as decay but as a theory of temporality: coherence emerges from provisional alignments of people, resources and purpose, and disperses as those conditions weaken. Organisational amnesia, produced through turnover, workforce strain, and shifting priorities, amplifies this cycle. The paper concludes that resilience in policing depends less on preserving successful arrangements than on designing for their continual renewal.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal Justice Administrations H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal Justice Administrations > HV7551 Police. Detectives. Constabulary
Divisions:	Law and Justice Studies
Publisher:	Informa UK Limited
Date of acceptance:	17 December 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	13 January 2026
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2026 12:17
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2026 12:17
DOI or ID number:	10.1080/30679125.2025.2607612
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27892

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