This chapter considers reforms to police governance that were initiated by the Conservative government that was elected in 1979. It discusses the rationale for these reforms and in particular emphasizes the impact that the introduction of New Public Management (NPM) had on the police service. Home Office Circular 114/83 introduced the principles of NPM into the police service. This principle, the policies with which it was associated and its implications for police governance (providing provision of police services based on market forces) will be discussed in detail and evaluated. Problems encountered by the Conservative government in fully attaining their NPM objectives (such as those put forward in the Sheehy Report in 1993), resulted in the enactment of the 1994 Police & Magistrates’ Courts Act. The implications of this measure for the subsequent governance of policing (that is, enhanced central control over policing by providing that police priorities would be determined by central government rather than chief constables) will be assessed. This chapter also includes a discussion of the pluralization of policing and the implications for the governance, equity and service delivery of policing.