NCJ Number
160716
Date Published
1995
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The French policing model is the prototype of the authoritarian model, and three characteristics are commonly associated with its authoritarian nature: (1) centralization under the direct and almost exclusive authority of executive power; (2) orientation dominated by the absolute priority given to maintaining order in police missions; and (3) political policing function institutionally and explicitly attributed to certain services.
Abstract
An examination of the history, structure, personnel, and administration of policing in France and a review of efforts to reform, professionalize, and modernize the police indicate that policing in France is changing. Modernization and professionalization have reformed the police, and the issue of accountability has given the public more control over police actions. The French centralist tradition of police organization has had a significant impact at local and territorial levels of police responsibility, and the author believes centralization has gone too far at the expense of effective policing and the quality of the relationship between the police and the public. The author recommends that police missions be rebalanced and that policing be more open and professionally dynamic. 1 note