Future of Policing: Learning From History (From Future Issues in Policing: Symposium Proceedings, 1989, Canada, P 1-16, Donald J. Loree, ed. -- See NCJ-121972)

• NCJ Number: 121973
• Author(s): J Alderson
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Canadian Police College
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This analysis of the implications of the history of policing in Europe and North America for the future of policing emphasizes the need for police officials to be aware of history as a basis for their understanding of their place in the social order.

Abstract

The differing roles of the police in the United States, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union demonstrate that the nature of police is determined by the quality of the political institutions under which the police operate. Thus, the police system is the effect of the political system and not the cause, and the police must be aware of the role of politics in their work. In addition, the main role of the police in modern Western democracies has been to maintain order and control crime. History also shows that the criminal laws are not effective in solving social problems like drug abuse and that the actions and policies of one time period may result in serious problems in later time periods. Finally, policing in Europe will change as the Single European Act of 1992 takes effect, and European police officials may find it useful to learn from the ideas and experiences of the North American police. 16 references.