NCJ Number
156449
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1995) Pages: 450-458
Date Published
1995
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article examines how fundamental misunderstandings of the nature of paramilitarism have led to differences of opinion concerning the presence of paramilitarism in the British police.
Abstract
In 1993, the British Journal of Criminology published two articles on the subject of paramilitarism in the British police. The exchanges between the authors formed the second round of a debate in which agreement is unlikely because the dispute is rooted in a fundamental difference of standpoint rather than in a failure to engage in each other's argument. Paramilitary can be a useful and accurate description of a role undertaken by organizations operating an essentially internal security function. It can also describe a style of policing, but, if it does, it should be made clear that the term is being used as a metaphor. The author of this article suggests that paramilitarism should be defined in terms of relationships; of the police to the military and to the state, as well as to the legal system and style of political process. Footnotes, references