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Police Authority, Respect and Shaming

NCJ Number
152616
Journal
Current Issues in Criminal Justice Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 29-41
Author(s)
M Findlay
Date Published
1993
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Structures of police authority that seek legitimacy through consensus and respect within the ideology of community policing are analyzed, with emphasis on the role of respect and shaming.
Abstract
The analysis focused on policing in Europe, the United States, and Australia. It focuses on respect as one of the main voluntary bonding relationships within any community and is proposed as crucial to analyzing the prevention and control potential of policing strategies. Shaming is an indicator of the impact of police authority within different community and cultural settings. The most common method by which police resolve minor offenses through some mechanism of shaming is the formal caution or warning. The discussion notes that respect between those involved in any cultural setting is essential for reintegrative shaming to occur not only in western countries but in other parts of the world as well. The reality of community policing in any cultural context may also be the reality of reintegrative shaming as policing. Footnotes