NCJ Number
60894
Date Published
1978
Length
272 pages
Annotation
THE ROLE OF URBAN POLICE IN POST COLONIAL CULTURES IS EXAMINED THROUGH CROSSCULTURAL COMPARISONS AND A CASE STUDY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN.
Abstract
THE MAJOR ROLES OF THE KARACHI POLICE FORCE ARE CONTROL AND SUPPRESSION OF CIVIL UNREST, URBAN MOBS, AND POLITICAL DISTURBANCES, AND PROTECTION OF THE RULING REGIME IN A SITUATION WHERE THE GOVERNMENT'S LEGITIMACY IS NORMALLY PROBLEMATIC. POLICE ARE MORE A TOOL OF INTERNAL COLONIALISM THAN A LAW ENFORCEMENT OR CRIME CONTROL BODY. BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FUNCTIONS OF POLICE ARE MORE SUBJECT TO POLITICAL INFLUENCES THAN IS THE CASE IN THE U.S. AND ENGLAND. PROFESSIONALISM IS MINIMAL. THE CITIZENS GENERALLY PERCEIVE THE POLICE AS CORRUPT AND POWERFUL. POLICE ARE OF HIGH STATUS; THEY ARE BOTH TREATED BY AND RESPOND TO DIFFERENT CLASS GROUPS IN DIFFERENT MANNERS. THEIR JOBS, AS WELL AS ALL GOVERNMENT SERVICE JOBS, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PATRONAGE AND POWER. IN COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL ASIAN SOCIETIES, POLICE USE VIOLENCE TO FORCE RESPECT AND ARE NOT SENSITIVE TO PUBLIC OPINION. IN KARACHI, THE POLICE DO NOT HAVE A DISTINCTIVE SUBCULTURE. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE NOT HOSTILE TOWARD COURTS AND JUDGES, BOTH BECAUSE THERE IS NO STRUCTURAL DIVISION BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LOWER JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT, AND BECAUSE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL FORCES TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER BUREAUCRATIC FORCES. URBAN POLICE CORRUPTION OF THE KIND FOUND IN KARACHI APPEARS TO RESULT FROM DOCTRINE LEGISLATION, EXCESSIVE FORMALISM, ASYMMETRICAL VALUE SYSTEMS, POVERTY, AND LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY. CORRUPTION MAY BE FUNCTIONAL IN THIS TYPE OF SOCIAL ORDER BY ENABLING POWERLESS AND DISORGANIZED GROUPS TO INFLUENCE POLICE DISCRETION THROUGH BRIBES. A LITERATURE REVIEW, TABLES, FOOTNOTES, APPENDIXES INCLUDING STUDY INSTRUMENTS AND CASE EXAMPLES, A GLOSSARY, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)