The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Science

Authors: Bogdanor
Summary: This 1100 word entry defines police, compares police administration among a few different countries, and discusses police accountability and recruitment.
The entry defines the police as a group of individuals charged with maintaining civil order and investigating crimes. The volume, size and variety of policing agencies has increased as societies have grown more complex and the number of criminal laws has multiplied. In some countries, like Sweden for example, the police force is centralized nationally. Other European countries, including France, Belgium, Italy and Spain, have a national police force and also a civil guard. Police administration is less centralized in countries like New Zealand where legal institutions are based upon common law. The United States has six significant types of police agencies: federal, state, county, municipal, village, and semi-private.
When talking about police, one question that must always be asked is, "who guards the guardians?" Accountability is a major concern, and most police agencies, regardless of country, are accountable to the courts. But, depending on country, police are also accountable in other ways--to the citizens, the police chief, the prosecution, etc. Another extremely subtle method of accountability is through recruitment. In the United States, police officer are recruited from the general population, and as a result, such individuals share values and prejudices similar to the average citizen. Thus, police officers understand their charges, and are less likely to offend public susceptibilities. At the same time, this recruitment method creates an atmosphere of occupational solidarity.