NCJ Number
82917
Journal
Police Science Abstracts Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1982) Pages: 1-6
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses theimpact of contemporary social changes on police responsibilities in Western democracies, with attention to decentralization, crime prevention tactics, and civil disorders.
Abstract
Police systems react to social and political tensions by relying more on their repressive capacities and strengthening control through greater centralization or by decentralizing to respond to individual communities and their problems. In a democracy, the police should contribute to liberty, equality, and fraternity by enforcing the law impartially and setting an example through their behavior and pronouncements. There is general agreement in the United Kingdom that prevention of crime is a primary police responsibility. This can be accomplished in three ways: creating cultural and social conditions which dispel criminal tendencies, particularly in the young; establishing police patrol, guards, and law enforcement in the streets and public places; and increasing the prospects of conviction. Evidence that many crimes are unreported strengthens the need for police involvement in proactive crime prevention. An examination of the causes of public riots in the United Kingdom shows that most resulted from social and racial issues and were detonated by police action regarded as hostile and unsympathetic. In these circumstances, the police must be more sensitive and reassure nervous minorities of their will and ability to protect them. The police should also combat fear of victimization through public education. Because a democratic society requires that greater allowance be made for freedom of speech, the police must develop their abilities to communicate effectively to avoid unnecessary confrontation as well as their skills in repressing illegal protests.