This article discusses a new phenomenon in the manner in which the French national police deal with problems on the job. They are not dealing with them directly but referring them to the courts, thus acting as an auxiliary to the criminal justice system in France. This is creating major difficulties in the creation of a new policing style intended to be based on serving the citizen and not the state. The intended new philosophy of public service faces obstacles such as changing the traditional professional culture of the policemen themselves, and the manner in which their services are organized. A bibliography is included.