Democratic Policing In Transitional And Developing Countries

Is it possible to create democratic forms of policing in transitional and developing societies? This volume argues that policing models and practices promoted by the west are often inadequate for adoption by countries making democratic transitions because they do not adequately address issues such as human rights, equity, co-production, accountability, openness and organizational change. Therefore police reform is often limited to a "one size fits all" approach. The book expands the dialogue so that discussions of democratic policing around the world are more realistic, comprehensive and sensitive to the local context. Detailed case studies on Iraq, South Africa, Northern Ireland and Kazakhstan provide a realistic assessment of the current state of policing. The editors use the studies to suggest how to promote democratic policing and other important goals of democratic reform around the world. The volume will assist academics, policy makers, NGOs and others in tailoring a local democratic policing strategy within a broader framework to enhance socioeconomic development and citizen capacity, build social capital, reduce various forms of conflict and support human rights.

Every day the American government, the United Nations, and other international institutions send people into non-English speaking, war-torn, and often minimally democratic countries struggling to cope with rising crime and disorder under a new regime. These assistance missions attempt to promote democratic law enforcement in devastated countries. But do these missions really facilitate the creation of effective policing? Renowned criminologist David H. Bayley here examines the prospects for the reform of police forces overseas as a means of encouraging the development of democratic governments. In doing so, he assesses obstacles for promoting democratic policing in a state-of-the-art review of all efforts to promote democratic reform since 1991. Changing the Guard offers an inside look at the achievements and limits of current American foreign assistance, outlining the nature and scope of the police assistance program and the agencies that provide it. Bayley concludes with recommendations for how police assistance could be improved in volatile countries across the world. This book is required reading as an instruction manual for building democratic policing overseas.

There are enormous challenges in establishing policing systems in young democracies. Such societies typically have a host of unresolved pressing social, economic and political questions that impinge on policing and the prospects for reform. There are a series of hugely important questions arising in this context, to do with the emergence of the new security agenda, the problems of transnational crime and international terrorism, the rule of law and the role of the police, security services and the military. This is a field that is not only of growing academic interest but is now the focus of a very significant police reform ‘industry’. Development agencies and entrepreneurs are involved around the globe in attempts to establish democratic police reforms in countries with little or no history of such activity. Consequently, there is a growing literature in this field, but as yet no single volume that brings together the central developments. This book gathers together scholars from political science, international relations and criminology to focus on the issues raised by policing within developing democracies examining countries in Eastern Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

Publisher description

Eastern European countries have been involved in a complex transition towards more democratic forms of government. Since the demise of communism, the building up of an independent judiciary and a general reorientation of the police role within society have been key-issues On the basis of three country studies in Russia, Lithuania and Mongolia, this book analyses the present state of policing in a variety of post-communist societies in terms of police-public violence, democratic policing, the rule of law and human rights. It is also complemented by recent comparable and previously unpublished police data for Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. Those studies have been carried out amongst the rank-and-file of the uniform branch in Lithuania and Russia which were commissioned by the Soros Open Society Foundation. They were specifically concerning views and experiences concerning police-public violence and current policing problems in general. A third study was carried in Mongolia amongst criminal investigators, and sought to explore (violent) investigative practices. This book seeks to combine a thorough theoretical analysis with unique empirical data. It analyses the different problems of transition of post-communist societies towards more democratic forms of government with unique data from both outside and inside the police.

The volume, intended to function as an academic debate-book, began as a workshop on Human Rights and the Police in Transitional Countries held in March 2001 in Hillerød, Denmark. The workshop, which was funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together practitioners and academics from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America to discuss common experience from the context of transition, which characterises all of them. These discussions take place along four themes, i.e. the transitional context, governance and rule of law; police and civil society; education and training; and the police organisation and reform, international intervention and aid. In addition to a number of key papers on general and theoretical aspects, each section contains a number of illustrative examples of how these issues express themselves in a large number of countries. Finally, the book sums up a catalogue of findings and recommendations in relation to the promotion of human rights in transitional countries and the role of the police in this work.

Democratic policing today is a widely used approach to policing not only in Western societies but increasingly around the world. Yet it is rarely defined and it is little understood by the public and even by many of its practitioners. Peter K. Manning draws on political philosophy, sociology and criminal justice to develop a widely applicable fundamental conception of democratic policing. In the process he delineates today's relationship between democracy and policing. Democratic Policing in a Changing World documents the failure of police reform, showing that each new approach - such as crime mapping and 'hot spots' policing - fails to alter any fundamental practice and has in fact increased social inequalities. He offers a new and better approach for scholars, policy makers, police, governments and societies.