Police and Democracy (From Policing, Security and Democracy: Theory and Practice, P 35-45, 2001, Menachem Amir, Stanley Einstein, eds., -- See NCJ-192667)

• NCJ Number: 192669
• Author(s): Gary T. Marx
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: Office of International Criminal Justice
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article considers some varieties of, and supports for, a democratic police and briefly contrasts policing in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

Abstract

Democratic policing should be viewed as a process and not an outcome. Societies experience a constant tension between the desire for order and liberty. There is a paradox in the fact that a democratic society needs protection both by police and from police. Given the power of new surveillance technologies, democratic societies must determine how efficient they want the police to be and under what conditions it is appropriate to use these technologies. The article concludes that it is not possible to have a society with liberty which does not also have a minimum degree of order. In an open democratic society which respects the dignity of the individual and values voluntary and consensual behavior and the non-violent resolution of conflicts, police, with their secrecy and use of violence, are an anomaly. They are charged with using undemocratic means to obtain democratic ends. Police offer an ethical and moral paradox that will forever make democratic citizens uncomfortable. References