NCJ Number
96833
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Dated: (January-March 1985) Pages: 17-21
Date Published
1985
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Some writers contend that effective control of civil disorders requires consensus policing -- when the police requires consensus policing -- when the police have the support of the community.
Abstract
Acceptance of the police, however, varies within different strata of society. Other observers argue that mainland Britain is shifting from the consensus model to military policing, where the police almost become an army of occupation, and the criminal is upgraded to being a symbolic rebel protected by the community. Military policing becomes a vicious cycle. As more people turn against the police and information about crime dries up, the most likely response is an intensification of military policing. For those who regard crime as nonideological and see the objective of police work as maintaining law and order, greater policing in the inner city where crime is high and minimal presence in suburbia is acceptable. Although many people talk about the problems of the inner city population, this segment of society has no means of expressing grievances and interests at the national level. In a rational society, individuals' right to protest must be protected by law, but it is questionable whether society is justified in continuing to adhere to the notion that the state acts in the interests of every citizen. The essay includes five references.