Democratic Policing in Transitional and Developing Countries by N. Pino and M.D. Wiatrowski

Abstract

Aldershot : Ashgate ( 2006 ) 264pp . £55.00hb ISBN 0-7546-4719-6 Democratic Policing in Transitional and Developing Countries is held together on the one hand by a persistent call to link democratic policing reforms to democratic socio-economic development, and on the other hand by an emphasis on the centrality of understanding the peculiar historical and contemporary socio-political conditions that shape policing in each transitional society. It refutes both top-down and one-size-fits-all approaches to a foreign policy of promoting democratic policing in transitional societies, and reminds us that police reforms can ultimately be achieved by harnessing local knowledge and securing the active involvement of citizens. The book consists of three parts. The first part is mainly a theoretical overview of policing and democratic development. Its four chapters are all written by the editors themselves. Chapter 1 discusses a variety of factors with which any successful democratic transformation of police forces in transitional and post-conflict societies has to reckon. Pino and Wiatrowski argue that these distinctive, but ultimately, interrelated factors – such as citizens' participation in local institutions, levels of social disorganisation, police structure, institutional legitimacy, political stability, and capitalist globalisation – operate at international, national, and sub-national and individual levels. The key issues stressed relate to the need for adequate understanding of the particular historical and current socio-political context of policing –‘each state has its own history and problems that must be studied and dealt with on a state-by-state basis’ (p.11). Equally importantly, sustainable democratic reforms require that these factors are addressed comprehensively. Chapter 2 examines the adequacy of the community-oriented (COP) model of policing for export to transitional societies. It identifies and discusses inherent flaws in the COP model, which must be addressed if it is not to ‘become the same repressive and undemocratic police practices under a new label’ (p. 68). What is democratic policing? What are the key principles that underpin it? Chapter 3 provides a succinct discussion and answers to both of these questions. Pino and Wiatrowski raise and address an important issue in Chapter 4, which very few police scholars have considered in their exploration of the modalities for implementing democratic policing in transitional societies. This is the issue of the relationship between crime prevention, democratic institutional reconstruction or restructuring, and socio-economic development more generally. It also examines the role of local knowledge, and how societies can generate and sustain the overall issues linked to police transformation. The second part of this book consists of case studies of selected countries. It begins with Mullick and Nusrat's excellent discussion (in Chapter 5) on the current state of policing and institutional reconstruction in Iraq, and the scope for successful reforms. The authors argue that the negative effects of the occupation by multi-national forces; the insurgency; and private and paramilitary security forces, have convoluted the prospect for police reforms. In Chapter 6, Shanafelt is concerned with South Africa, where he discusses the history of policing from colonial rule to apartheid, and argues that South Africa's current high crime rates and the rapidity of public recourse to vigilantism are both the products of historical forces operating at sub-regional, national and international levels. In Chapter 7 Engel examines policing reforms in Northern Ireland based on the Patten Report. Engel furnishes us with a historical account of the conflicts in Northern Ireland and the role of the police in these conflicts, and points out some of the difficulties in the implementation of the democratic model of policing. The case of Kazakhstan is the focus of Snajdr's discussion in Chapter 8. Grant, Grabias and Godson conclude the discussion with an exploration of the history of democratic reforms. In the final section of the book, the editors pull together both the theoretical discussions and the lessons from the country-based case studies. Their general conclusion is that the design and implementation of democratic police reforms in transitional societies can be achieved if such efforts are pursued in tandem with a broader comprehensive plan to promote democratic development. Democratic Policing in Transitional and Developing Countries offers arguably the most comprehensive statement thus far on the depth and breath of the task of promoting democratic transformation of policing in transitional or post-conflict societies. I like this book very much for its common theme on the centrality of the special historical and contemporary socio-political forces that shape policing in each society, and the need to link police reforms with the broader concerns of democratic socio-economic development. The manifold lessons it provides for democratic police reforms in transitional societies should make it a primary reference for academics, development planners and all those who are engaged in promoting democratic reforms of any kind in these societies.