NCJ Number
192270
Journal
Law & Society Review Volume: 34 Issue: 3 Dated: 2000 Pages: 739-778
Date Published
2000
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This article examines the historical development of international police organizations from a sociological perspective and framework developed from the works of Max Weber.
Abstract
The author used a comparative analysis of selected case studies that dealt with the development of international police networks and, especially, one of the most durable, the International Criminal Police Commission (Interpol). The author used Weber’s theory of bureaucratization and concluded that, historically, international police organizations only developed effectively when public police institutions are detached from individual governments and other political forces and allowed to function with a high degree of autonomy. This allowed them to focus on developing expertise and working collaboratively across national boundaries on the primary goal, combating international crime. The author sought to demonstrate that legalistic outlooks on policing were too narrow and that international police organizations cannot be evaluated in terms of law enforcement alone, but rather, such a study must be approached with an understanding of the sociological complexities of institutionalizing social control. References