Tides and Currents in Police Theories

Book excerpt: This volume of the Journal of Police Studies reflects on theoretical developments concerning police. The book is focused on a paper by Jack R. Greene, titled The Tides and Currents, Eddies and Whirlpools and Riptides of Modern Policing: Connecting Thoughts. The paper was the outcome of a seminar organized at Ghent University in the framework of the working group on policing of the European Society of Criminology (ESC), held in September 2010. Greene's contribution refers to original background papers which were published earlier. This book pushes the analysis further, Ã?Â?starting from the observations Greene makes in his provocative roundup. The book's themes include: collective action and crime * policing and social democracy * the role of the law in policing * violence and police * the militarization and demilitarization of police * politics and policing * the transformation of policing * the evaluation of research methodology * buzz words and basics in policing * the history of theory * the emerging new policing role and its implications * police education and training * the erosion of community policing * the complexity of policing dirty crime * global crime and policing * the central tasks of the police * democratic policing.