The role of police in society
“He who saves a nation breaks no law”
Napoleon
The idea of police role, function, purpose, or mission in society requires us to think beyond the technical and operational aspects of police work, and consider, if you will, the philosophy of policing, and/or more generally, the place of legitimate authority in society, as well as a number of larger issues which may seem like only of academic interest. However, such insights have important value. Glaeser (2000), for example, makes the case that policing is essentially a spatial practice (control of space), thus fulfilling the first of Max Weber’s (1930) operational characteristics of a state: territoriality, legitimacy, and monopolization on the use of force. Policing is also one of those few lines of work, like teaching and medicine, which have intimate connections with social life, social progress, and social change. Too narrow a view of the police role is bad, and care must also be taken to avoid too broad a view. Scholars therefore, sometimes use the words “role” and “function” interchangeably. Let’s begin with an ideal set of police functions which were identified by Goldstein (1977) a long time ago:
- To prevent and control conduct widely recognized as threatening to life and property;
- To aid individuals who are in danger of physical harm, such as the victims of violent attack;
- To facilitate the movement of people and vehicles;
- To assist those who cannot care for themselves, the intoxicated, the addicted, the mentally ill, the physically disables, the old, and the young;
- To resolve conflict, whether it be between individuals, groups or individuals, or individuals and their government;
- To identify problems that have the potential for becoming more serious problems;
- To create and maintain a feeling of security in communities.
Internet: <faculty.ncwc.edu> (adapted).
Based on the text, it can be concluded that
police are in charge of controlling and preventing any kind of menace to life and property.
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