THE POLITICS OF JUSTICE: THE SYMBOLIC ROLE OF THE POLICE SERVICE:
01 January 1991
THE POLITICS OF JUSTICE: THE SYMBOLIC ROLE OF THE POLICE SERVICE:
IMAGE AND REALITY
refdoc August=1991
JOURNAL ARTICLE , User Ref = 010658 , Acc Date = 01-Mar-87
J Hilton
Police J, Jan/Mar 1987 60(1) pp6-14
Outlines the need for ordered procedures underpinned by symbols
of authority in any society and looks at the symbolic role of the
legal system and the police. Traditionally the police have been
seen as responsible to society as a whole, rather than to
specific groups within it but this emphasis has changed in recent
years with the growth of crime prevention activity in response
to growing evidence of the police's relative lack of success in
detecting and solving crime. Crime prevention initiatives
necessarily involve greater contact with the public and the
police are also increasingly concerned to appear caring and
compassionate. Argues that although their motives are admirable
the police may be jeopardising their symbolic status as the
guardians of society's rules in an attempt to accommodate every
change in public opinion. A return to simpler values in which the
police represent old-fashioned virtues of strength and rectitude
may both improve police self confidence and reduce confusion in
the minds of the public.
Held by the Research Library at the London Research Centre,
Parliament House, 81 Black Prince Road, London SE1 7SZ, UK.
Tel:071-627-9666 Fax:071-627-9674. Copies of articles are
available by post - please contact the address/phone above for
cost and a copyright declaration from. Books, pamphlets and other
items are available through the inter-library loan scheme.