Police Abuse In Contemporary Democracies

This volume offers a much-needed analysis of police abuse and its implications for our understanding of democracy. Sometimes referred to as police violence or police repression, police abuse occurs in all democracies. It is not an exception or a stage of democratization. It is, this volume argues, a structural and conceptual dimension of extant democracies. The book draws our attention to how including the study of policing into our analyses strengthens our understanding of democracy, including the persistence of hybrid democracy and the decline of democracy. To this end, the book examines three key dimensions of democracy: citizenship, accountability, and socioeconomic (in)equality. Drawing from political theory, comparative politics, and political economy, the book explores cases from France, the US, India, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Brazil, and Canada, and reveals how integrating police abuse can contribute to a more robust study of democracy and government in general.

The first international examination of how police respond to political protests. The way in which police handle political demonstrations is always potentially controversial. In contemporary democracies, police departments have two different, often conflicting aims: keeping the peace and defending citizens' right to protest. This collection, the only resource to examine police interventions cross-nationally, analyzes a wide array of policing styles. Focusing on Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Spain, the United States, and South Africa, the contributors look at cultures and political power to examine the methods and the consequences of policing protest.

British policing is on the brink of the most radical reforms in at least 30 years. Policing has emerged from the shadows to the forefront of public debate during the 1980s and 1990s. The new-found interest reached a climax in the summer of 1993 with the publication of three major reports into policing within three weeks of each other. A central theme of the resulting public debate has concerned the relationship between democracy and policing. Proposed reforms to the structure and functioning of local police authorities have met with a chorus of criticism from local authority associations, opposition politicians and not least, the police staff associations. The strongest theme running through these criticisms concerns the perceived threat to the 'democratic accountability' of the police service. Since 1990, PSI has been engaged in research on the relationship between democratic institutions and policing. The study examines the idea of democracy in relation to modern policing. Focusing on specific changes in the style, organisation, and operation of policing over the last 10 years this book describes and analyses how the various actors interacted to produce these changes. The book provides detailed evidence about the input by police authorities and other local bodies into the development of policing policy. It focuses on three areas: the growth of crime prevention, new policing responses to crime against women and children, and the increasing use of civilian staff within the police service.

The first international examination of how police respond to political protests. The way in which police handle political demonstrations is always potentially controversial. In contemporary democracies, police departments have two different, often conflicting aims: keeping the peace and defending citizens' right to protest. This collection, the only resource to examine police interventions cross-nationally, analyzes a wide array of policing styles. Focusing on Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Spain, the United States, and South Africa, the contributors look at cultures and political power to examine the methods and the consequences of policing protest.

Pt. 1. Europe -- pt. 2. Asia -- pt. 3. South America -- pt. 4. Africa.

In this book David Mansley argues that the frequency with which violence intrudes on to the streets is related to both how society is governed and how it is policed. With the help of an innovative methodology, he quantifies and tests three variables – collective violence, democracy and protest policing – using protests in Great Britain in 1999–2011, for his sampling frame. The result is the design of new tools of measurement and a harvest of new data, including previously unpublished details of banning orders and riot damages, that enable us to reflect, with the benefit of broad sociological perspective, on the causes of contemporary violent events. Mansley’s explanation of the trends he identifies draws from the work of the best thinkers on violence – especially Charles Tilly, Thomas Hobbes and Norbert Elias. He shows how the style of protest policing and the depth of democracy, both of which function under the direction of the political economy, are crucial to the state’s credentials as the monopoly supplier of legitimate violence. His discussion touches on such current topics as the institution of police commissioners, the privatisation of policing duties, and the decline in homicide. This cultured study, which includes an engaging review of the existing scholarship on violence, is essential material for undergraduate and postgraduate students reading criminology, sociology or political theory.

This book explores the diverse situations that police forces operate under. The cross-cultural comparison of democracies highlights how societies struggle with the challenges of preserving democracy whilst ensuring effective policing.

"Every modern democracy in our increasingly complex world must confront a fundamental problem: how should politicians manage police, ensuring that they act in the public interest while avoiding the temptation to utilize them in a partisan manner? Drawing on first-hand experiences from six democracies, the authors describe how frequently disagreements arise between politicians and police commanders, what issues are involved, and how they are resolved.Governing the Police is organized into three parts: the intellectual and governmental context of democratic governance; the experience of chief officers in that relationship; and the reflections on lessons learned. Instead of describing practices within each individual country, it compares them across countries, developing generalizations about practices, explanations for differences, and assessments of success in managing the police/political relationship.Focusing mainly on the daily, informal interactions between politicians and police as they balance their respective duties, this book compares the experiences and opinions of chief police officers in Australia, Britain, Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United States. By examining the experiences of important officials, the authors explain how the balance between accountability and independence can be managed and what challenges leaders face. The authors conclude by posing well-informed recommendations for improving police governance."--Provided by publisher.