NCJ Number
99442
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1985) Pages: 74-83
Date Published
1985
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Historically, the image of the American police that emerges from the comparative literature is far from flattering.
Abstract
Since Fosdick's pioneering work on European police (1915), the police in the United States have been found deficient in regard to many issues such as qualities of personnel, leadership, training, and efficiency. The American police are also depicted as suffering from more subculture, brutality, corruption, and other negative occupational consequences. The surprising thing is not that these problems exist for the American police. What is surprising is that the comparative literature projects an impression as if in many foreign lands, namely, Western Europe, England and Japan, these problems have ceased to be threatening to their police. This raises some questions. In any case, the currently popular macro approach to comparative policing is not conducive for the American police to learn from the experience of other countries. It appears that the need is for an issue oriented, micro approach with more sustained exploration of the universal core of policing. Such an approach will require identification of the issues that are important for the police everywhere in the world, and examination of the practices of different police forces in regard to the areas of importance. (Publisher abstract)