Journal profile · CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY
Policing & Society
ISSN 1043-9463 · eISSN 1477-2728 · Taylor & Francis
Policing & Society: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.1; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 159 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 17% (journal website); 90 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Policing & Society is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Policing Practices and Perceptions, Crime Patterns and Interventions and Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis, together about 59.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Policing & Society is widely acknowledged as the leading international academic journal specialising in the study of policing institutions and their practices. It is concerned with all aspects of how policing articulates and animates the social contexts in which it is located. This includes: Social scientific investigations of police policy and activity Legal and political analyses of police powers and governance Management oriented research on aspects of police organisation Space is also devoted to the relationship between what the police do and the policing decisions and functions of communities, private sector organisations and other state agencies. As such, the journal is of vital interest to academics involved in the scholarly study of all of the varied facets of contemporary policing, as well as police and other practitioners involved in social regulation and control. Policing & Society is renowned for its genuinely international scope and has correspondents in most countries where there is a tradition of academic inquiry into all aspects of policing. The journal is committed to rigorous policy debate and the very highest standards of scholarship. Peer Review Policy: All articles published in Policing & Society are subject to editorial screening and anonymous peer review processes. ’Good policy and good practice requires good empirically grounded theory. Policing and Society recognizes this and has done much to facilitate the establishment a scholarly literature dedicated to promoting a nexus of theory, policy and practice on security governance. Its editors and reviewers have consistently ensured that its papers are of the highest quality. Policing and Society has established itself as the place to turn for theoretically focused commentary on the governance of security that is innovative and sound.’ - Clifford Shearing, Australian National University, Australia ’Policing and Society has become the premier scholarly journal on the police in the English-speaking world. It is unique in being comparative, meaning that it has sought to attract articles that deal with police matters from around the world. The best people in the large field of policing think of publishing in Policing and Society as their first option as opposed to generalist criminal justice journals.’ - David H. Bayley, School of Criminal Justice, State University of New York at Albany, USA
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Jenny FlemingPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 3, United States 2, France 1, Australia 1 (7 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Policing Practices and PerceptionsSocial Sciences30.2%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences20.5%
- Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisSocial Sciences8.9%
- Crime, Illicit Activities, and GovernanceSocial Sciences5.3%
- Sexual Assault and Victimization StudiesSocial Sciences2.7%
- Crime, Deviance, and Social ControlSocial Sciences2.7%
- Gender, Security, and ConflictSocial Sciences2.5%
- Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceSocial Sciences2.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Criminology & Penology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEPsycINFOCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: OCLC, CSA Political Science Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.1LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.93LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.93Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 74OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 849OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.39OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 35.89%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 78LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 510,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,606 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 44 | 16 |
| 2025 | 90 | 55 | 155 |
| 2024 | 87 | 50 | 408 |
| 2023 | 60 | 33 | 472 |
| 2022 | 58 | 30 | 543 |
| 2021 | 72 | 42 | 1,273 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
159 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 112 days – 218 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (89 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 192 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (172 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 25 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 71 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Policing and Society is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
All articles are subject to editorial screening and anonymous peer review. Model summary
All articles published in Policing & Society are subject to editorial screening and anonymous peer review processes.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1043-9463
- Electronic ISSN
- 1477-2728
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 36, Issue 7 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Policing & Society
What CAS zone is Policing & Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Policing & Society is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Criminology & Penology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Policing & Society?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.1; CiteScore 5, h-index 74.
How long does peer review take at Policing & Society?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 159 days (interquartile range 112–218 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 17%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Policing & Society in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of Policing & Society based?
Of the 7 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (3), United States (2) and France (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Policing & Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Policing & Society is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, PsycINFO and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Policing & Society open access, and what is the APC?
Policing & Society is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .