Hale et al: Criminology 2e 
Glossary
Test bankHale et al: Criminology 2e
Chapter 25
The chapter provides a broad introduction to the key themes and debates that have been explored in the body of work on the police and policing in England and Wales. It is important to note that the concepts of police and policing are separate, with 'police' referring to the agency tasked with law enforcement and peace-keeping and 'policing' referring to activities carried out by a range of individuals and organisations other than the police. The chapter further addresses the meaning of policing and how the study of policing has become an important area of concern within criminology despite being largely ignored around the 1960s due to criminology's focus on criminals themselves. However since that time, such approaches have been increasingly challenged by the emergence of 'labelling' perspectives that highlight the socially constructed nature of crime and criminality. Policing was also receiving greater political attention due to the in increase in public disturbances since the 1950s culminating in such things as the miner's strikes in 1984. This coupled with highly publicised miscarriages of justice brought policing to the forefront of public concern. Modern policing authorities have broadly three key functions:
Crime fighting
Crime prevention
Order maintenance
Important contemporary debates about policing have focused particularly on the areas of police occupational cultures such as 'cop culture' and machismo. Police are expected to control a culturally diverse society, including the unemployed, the poor, people living in inner-city areas, immigrants and ethnic minorities, who consistently find themselves more likely to be on the end of police abuses of power. The chapter assess the responses to such perceived discrimination and concludes by assessing those bodies responsible for overseeing police effectiveness, performance and their accountability.
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