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Socio-Political Approach to Police Violence

NCJ Number
157798
Journal
Deviance et societe Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 35-49
Author(s)
F Dieu
Date Published
1994
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article explains and classifies police use of violent force in its relation to government power.
Abstract
In France, research has neglected police violence although it is a particularly controversial aspect of police reality. According to the German sociologist Max Weber, the police has the monopoly on the use of legitimate force in a country so that the use of that force becomes one of the police's inherent characteristics. Three forms of police violence are distinguished. First, physical force can be necessary to execute daily police tasks; in this respect it is the legitimate extension of social control. Second, this type of police force may become disproportionate and exaggerated, whether through a police officer's panic reaction or simply bad luck. It is the bullet that kills an escaping suspect or an innocent by-stander. The last type of violence, though committed by officers, lies clearly outside the realm of legitimate power. Such officers may be alcoholics, sadists, racists, or influenced by other psychological problems, which make them enjoy inflicting pain. The article emphasizes the need for more detailed research into the subject. 50 references