Police and Politics: The Politics of Independence (From Police Powers in Canada: The Evolution and Practice of Authority, P 167- 183, 1994, R.C. Macleod and David Schneiderman, eds. - See NCJ- 157774)

• NCJ Number: 157783
• Author(s): J C Robb
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: University of Toronto Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

This paper explores the reluctance of Canadian society to define the role of police activity and accountability in its political context.

Abstract

The paper considers two recent events in Canada, namely the leak of the Federal budget and the passage of Bill C-79, which would potentially restrict police investigations involving Members of Parliament and Senators, and the lack of public examination of police and politics that followed in their wake. The central question that should be raised, i.e., what should the constitutional role of police forces in Canadian society be, is often not even asked because of the risk of marginalizing police from the ensuing discussion. As a result, any political debate concerning police activities tends to deal with specific issues such as police accountability or the extent to which extra police powers are required for the police to fulfill their law enforcement duties. An effective debate on the role of the police would require a reexamination of the assumptions underlying the theory of police independence. 72 notes