The Police and Political Change in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The subject of the police is a neglected issue among political scientists. The police are rarely viewed from perspectives natural to political science, nor are they studied comparativly among countries. The few studies that have been done are written largely from the point of view of public administration; they tend to be wholly descriptive and to deal largely with matters of formal organization and management. The neglect of the police is not unique to political scientists; the record of other social sciences is hardly better. Even in sociology there has been surprisingly little. Historical monographs on countries rarely refer to the police at all; inspection of indexes of basic histories of most foreign countries will reveal very few references to the police. Unrest in American cities and violence between police and minorities, as well as between police and students, is beginning to convince the scholarly community that the police are crucial social actors. The impetus so far for empirical study has come largely from government, in the form of various national study commissions (President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, 1967; National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1967; National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, 1969). The kindling of interest in the police is new; it may be dated from 1965.