National and Local Policing

Overview

This entry considers the differing structures of policing particularly those pertaining to the Anglo-American and European policing tradition. It argues that both national and local experience of policing should be viewed as reflecting the differing purposes of the police within which protecting the state has preeminence within national systems and where protection of the community takes precedence within local policing arrangements. It looks in detail at the experience of national police in France and contrasts this with the policing traditions that have characterized the development of local policing in both America and the United Kingdom.

Key Controversies

There has been an ongoing debate among both practitioner and academic commentators as to the advantages and drawbacks of two competing models of police organization. It is fair to say that until recently, the commitment to local policing was one that very much reflected the Anglo-American approach to devolved police...