Synopses & Reviews
This book formulates a theory of the origin and evolution of the police function, using both historical and cross-cultural analysis. It explains the incremental changes in the police function associated with the transition from kinship-based to class-dominated societies, and examines the implications of these changes for modern police-community relations. It suggests that the police institution has a double and contradictory function: at the same time, and in the same society, it seeks to be the agent of the people it polices and of the dominant class. The authors critique community policing and suggest how communities may be reconstituted in order to create a community police. A comprehensive bibliography enhances this study for students, teachers, and professionals in the fields of criminal justice and sociology.
Synopsis
To what extent can police as legal agents of a dominant class serve as servants of the people and of comunity-at-large? A lawyer, ethnologist, and sociologist examine the evolution of the role of the police function in society.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [169]-184) and index.
About the Author
J. MICHAEL OLIVERO is Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Law and Justice at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Police Function in Kinship-based Societies
The Police in State Societies
Ethnographic Examples
Cross-Cultural Tests
Implications for Modern Police and Police-Community Relations
What Can Be Done
References
Index