NCJ Number
143914
Date Published
Unknown
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the implications for training and daily police work of the German police's emphasis on strict and legalistic enforcement of the criminal code.
Abstract
Part I of this study described the legalistic approach to policing in Germany. Under this system, the police focus on and are limited to the reactive investigation and arrest of suspects believed to have committed specific law violations. Part II examines the implications of this approach to policing for the training and daily tasks of German police. Although this approach to policing is straightforward and apparently professional in its unbiased and consistent enforcement of the law, it provides little flexibility to engage in proactive and innovative policing. Although their training prepares the police to identify which behaviors violate which laws and to perform the skills required to investigate crimes and make arrests, they are ill-prepared to resolve conflicts through negotiation techniques, address crime through proactive problemsolving techniques, or organize communities to prevent crime. Among the advantages to legalistic police performance, however, is the strict adherence of the police to a policy of minimal use of force in enforcing laws.