Policer l’apparence

Abstract

This paper develops an argument for the following thesis: in the same way that Louis Althusser once made a classical distinction between two kinds of State apparatuses, which he respectively called repressive and ideological State apparatuses, we also ought to distinguish between two kinds of policing. The first kind of policing, which represents its more traditional form, rests on the use of physical coercion in the context of crisis intervention. The second kind is based upon a partnership between the police and the community and its effects are more obvious in relation to an increase of public feelings of security than with regard to an actual decrease of criminal behaviour. This thesis is argued in four steps. First, the present crisis of the criminal justice system is discussed and some of the factors that generated this crisis are described. Second, the community policing model is presented both in its nature and its applications; this model is said to be a response to the present crisis in criminal justice. Third, a selective review of evaluation research on community policing is presented. It is on the basis of this assessment of the impact of community policing that a distinction between two kinds of policing is articulated, traditional coercive policing being contrasted with its community oriented alternative, which rests more on active public support and input than on the one-sided exercise of police authority. Finally, it is concluded that the effects of both kinds of policing are more significant in shaping public beliefs than in actually solving problems ofcrime control.