Globalizing Local Policing

The book examines 'the globalization of local policing' through an ethnographic study of the Danish Police. Where many studies are looking into how larger inter- or transnational policing bodies and policies are changing the world of policing, few have gauged how local, public police forces are also globalizing. This book provides some unique insights into this under-researched process. Specifically, it describes the daily practices and perceptions of two Danish detective task forces, tasked with the investigation of organized property crimes committed by foreign nationals. In the book, readers get to see how the detectives think and work, including the many efforts they make in attuning their daily work to a more global reality. More so, readers get to see how the detectives fail and the many frustrations and concerns that such changes include. One the one hand, Danish detectives very much understand the need to de-localize and develop their work. On the other hand, they feel that many of these changes are in conflict with what they find to be real and rewarding police work. For people interested in contemporary issues of policing, the book thus points to a puzzling paradox. Globalization might be making for more mobile and even mobilised local forces, more technologically driven and collaborating with international partners. However, these very processes are also making local officers feel more disarmed than ever. Ultimately, the book describes why that is, its consequences, as well as how to imagine a form of global policing more in tune with its local actors.

In the transitional networked society, police power is no longer constrained by the borders of the nation state. It has globalised. Global Policing shows how security threats have been constructed by powerful actors to justify the creation of a new global policing architecture and how the subculture of policing shapes the world system. Demonstrating how a theory of global policing is central to understanding global governance, the text explores: - the ′new security agenda′ focused on serious organised crime and terrorism and how this is transforming policing - the creation of global organisations such as Interpol, regional entities such as Europol, and national policing agencies with a transnational reach - the subculture of the ′global cops′, blurring boundaries between police, private security, military and secret intelligence agencies - the reality of transnational policing on the ground, its effectiveness, legitimacy, accountability and future development. Written by two leading international experts who bring cutting-edge theoretical debates to life with case studies and examples, Global Policing will prove captivating reading for students and scholars in criminology, criminal justice, international relations, law and sociology.

This volume presents a unique examination of Western-led police reform efforts by theoretically linking neoliberal globalization, police reform and development. The authors present seven country case studies based on this theoretical and conceptual approach and assess the prospects for successful police reform in a global context.

In November 1999, fifty-thousand anti-globalization activists converged on Seattle to shut down the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Meeting. Using innovative and network-based strategies, the protesters left police flummoxed, desperately searching for ways to control the emerging anti-corporate globalization movement. Faced with these network-based tactics, law enforcement agencies transformed their policing and social control mechanisms to manage this new threat. Policing Dissent provides a firsthand account of the changing nature of control efforts employed by law enforcement agencies when confronted with mass activism. The book also offers readers the richness of experiential detail and engaging stories often lacking in studies of police practices and social movements. This book does not merely seek to explain the causal relationship between repression and mobilization. Rather, it shows how social control strategies act on the mind and body of protesters.

Crime: Local and Global and its sister text Criminal Justice: Local and Global are two new teaching texts that aim to equip the reader with a critical understanding of the globally contested nature of 'crime' and 'justice'. Through an examination of key concepts and criminological approaches, the books illuminate the different ways in which crime is constructed, conceived and controlled. International case studies are used to demonstrate how 'crime' and 'justice' are historically and geographically located in terms of the global/local context, and how processes of criminalisation and punishment are mediated in contemporary societies. Crime: Local and Global covers the way local events (such as prostitution) have wider aspects than previously thought. Links with people traffickers, international organised crime and violence cannot be ignored any longer. Each crime or area of activity selected within this text has a global reach, and is made ever more possible due to the way globalisation has opened up markets, both legitimate and illegitimate. The book's approach and scope emphasises that we can no longer view 'crime' as something which occurs within certain jurisdictions, at certain times and in particular places. For example, the chapter on cybercrime highlights the 'illegal' acts that can be perpetrated by second lifers, anywhere in the world, but are they a crime?

The globalization of threats and the complexity of international security issues represents a greater challenge for international policing in (re)shaping inter-agency interaction, and makes effective international police cooperation more necessary than ever before. This book sets out to analyse the key emerging issues and theory and practice of international police cooperation. Paying special attention to the factors that have contributed to the effective working of police cooperation in practice and the problems that are encountered, this book brings together original research that examines opportunities and initiatives undertaken by agencies (practices and processes introduced) as well as the impact of external legal, political, and economical pressures. Contributors explore emerging initiatives and new challenges in several contexts at both national and international levels. They adopt a diversity of approaches and theoretical frameworks to reach a broader understanding of current and future issues in police cooperation. Forms of police cooperation and trends in crime control are examined, drawing upon the following disciplines: criminology, ethics, organizational science, political science, and sociology.

This book offers a sociological analysis of the history of international police cooperation in the period from the middle of the 19th century until the end of World War II. It is a detailed exploration of international cooperation strategies involving police institutions from the United States and Germany as well as other European countries.