The Police In Society

An in-depth critical analysis of how ruling elites use the police institution in order to control communities.

This collection attempts to make a contribution to the integration of policing into the broader social context by striving to facilitate systematic inquiry by students of policing.

The most productive route to understanding the dynamic interrelationships of the police with society is to examine the recurring, central themes in policing. The articles in this anthology represent some of the best scholarship on compelling issues. Selected for both their complementary and competing natures, the articles serve as touchstones for one another—often challenging previous conceptions. Many selections question the methods by which information was acquired, the practices that evolved from that information, and the background assumptions behind the construction of practices. Some of the many issues and conflicts addressed in this collection include: What is the nature of the police role and function? Who benefits from police service? Who is harmed? How are public safety and social order secured while maintaining individual rights and freedoms? To what extent do our expectations about the police and society reflect our values and demands? Are the police a society unto themselves? Is policing at a critical crossroads? The editors assembled this volume with the goal of helping readers to identify underlying assumptions, to dissect how values influence inquiries, and to discover connections. A better understanding of the role of the police in society provides a solid foundation for assessing the efficacy of future police/society relationships.

Offering a fascinating account of the development of women police over the past twenty years, this book refers to the author's extended research in India to examine how the Indian experience demonstrates a valuable alternative to the Anglo-American model; not only for traditional societies but for women police in the West as well. With reference to the establishment in 1992 of all-women units in Tamil Nadu, this unique experiment proved highly successful in enhancing the confidence and professionalism of women officers and ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of the police. At a time when policing is being rethought all over the world, not only in traditional societies, the Tamil Nadu practice illustrates important lessons for western countries that are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain women officers. Natarajan's remarkable book is an important and original contribution to the literature on gendered policing, which to date has concentrated almost exclusively on the US and British experience.