NCJ Number
192149
Editor(s)
Stanley Einstein,
Menachem Amir
Date Published
2001
Length
324 pages
Annotation
In examining the characteristics of democratic policing and critiquing policing in democratic societies, this book contains three chapters on community policing as a manifestation of the ideal of democratic policing and six chapters on special aspects of democratic policing.
Abstract
The chapters on community policing consider the relationship between community policing and political democracy, democratic police systems, and democratic policing. The three authors represent different societies that are similar in being stable, liberal democratic states with free open-market economies. The authors discuss the problematic nature of community policing as related to the democratic aspects of police and policing. The chapter that assesses community policing in the United States notes that although community policing is democratic in its vision and promises in strengthening the accountability of the police to the public and extending the service-orientation of the police to the community, in practice it can be repressive and unrepresentative of the community-at-large. A second chapter evaluates community policing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This evaluation concludes that community policing as practiced in Toronto undermines the democratic values of justice, equity, consent, representativeness, and accountability. The third chapter considers community policing in Belgium. While touting the democratic ideals of community policing, this chapter notes that its implementation in various communities can undermine these values, such that community policing must be monitored and evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether its ideals are being implemented. Six chapters on special aspects of democratic policing assess the use of informants in a liberal democracy, police violations of human rights in interrogations under the rationalization of national security, daily challenges to policing in a democracy, the nature of police crime and its challenge to democratic policing, accountability for private policing, and understanding and preventing police violence. 1 figure, 4 tables, chapter references and notes, and appended supplementary information