NCJ Number
169894
Editor(s)
R Reiner
Date Published
1996
Length
575 pages
Annotation
This volume presents 30 journal articles on policing, published between 1965 and 1995 and selected to summarize research on police responsibilities and the history and future of policing in North America and Great Britain.
Abstract
Six articles on the history of policing trace the origins and evolution of the police function in earlier societies, the role of the police in representing and diffusing values of the central authority, bureaucratic reasons for police creation and expansion, and parliamentary debates on the creation of the New Police in 19th-century Great Britain. Seven articles on the role of the police in practice examine the balance between law enforcement and service elements, problem-oriented policing, debates about the police role, and public involvement in policing. Six articles about crime control focus on police discretion, the work of patrol officers, the impact of police tactics, and innovative policing strategies. Three papers focus on police and the maintenance of public order, including everyday peacekeeping by patrol officers on skid row and the advantages and disadvantages of paramilitary methods in crowd and riot control. The final eight papers examine differences in police professionalism in street police and managers; the growth of private security; and the pressures on police produced by economic, social, and cultural trends. Figures, tables, footnotes, and chapter reference lists