Publishers:
University of Toronto
Price: £45 (Paperback £20)
Publication
Date: April 2003
This
study was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Collaborative Research
Grant (1995-7) as a joint venture between the University of New South Wales
(UNSW) and the New South Wales Police Service (NSWPS), with Janet Chan as the
chief investigator and Chris Devery as the chief collaborator. The success of
the grant application was due partly to the support and assistance of the then
assistant commissioner, Jeff Jarratt of the NSWPS, the then dean of studies at
the NSW Police Academy, David Bradley, and the then Director of the UNSW
Research Office, Merrilee Robb.
Many
people in the NSW Police Service contributed to the success of this study.
Police
forces around the world have been undergoing major social and organisational
changes in recent years. In this unique
longitudinal study, Janet Chan, Chris Devery and Sally Doran analyse the
complexity of police socialisation in response to changing conditions. Following 150 new police recruits through
two years of training and apprenticeship, the authors question the traditional
model of socialisation that assumes a degree of stability and homogeneity in
the organisational culture. They
suggest that recruits’ developmental paths are often quite diverse and the
overall police culture is increasingly subject to change.
Drawing
on interviews, observations and questionnaires, the authors depict the complex
processes by which recruits adapt, redefine, cope with and make sense of the
positive and negative aspects of their training and apprenticeship. Bringing
together rigorous quantitative analysis with rich ethnographic description,
Fair Cop provides new empirical data and theoretical understanding, regarding
change and the reproduction of police culture.
JANET
BL CHAN is a professor in the School of Social Science and Policy at the
University of New South Wales.
CHRIS
DEVERY teaches at New South Wales Police College.
SALLY DORAN is a research assistant at the
School of Social Science and Policy at the University of New South Wales.
Title:
The New Parapolice
Edition:
1st
Author:
George S Rigakos
ISBN: 0802035620
Publishers
University of Toronto Press
Price:
£42
Publication
Date: 2003
Policing in a capitalist economy is run on both state and private
levels. Much existing literature on private policing assumes that the private
sector is oriented almost exclusively towards loss prevention, and does not
fulfil a crime-control function. In this carefully researched study, George
Rigakos considers the increasingly important role of the 'parapolice' in the
maintenance of social order. He argues that for-profit policing companies adopt
many of the tactics and functions of the public police, and are less
distinguishable from the latter than has been previously assumed in the
criminological literature.
Rigakos conducted a detailed ethnographic
and statistical case study of Intelligarde International - a well-known
Canadian security firm - and uses his results to investigate the following: How
are discipline and surveillance achieved organizationally and commodified as
'product'? How do security agents themselves, and those they police, resist
social control?
This work offers wide-ranging theoretical
implications, drawing on Foucauldian concepts such as risk, surveillance, and
governmentality, and on Marxian formulations of commodity and aesthetic
production. The first criminological ethnography of a contract security firm in
Canada, this book will be of interest to criminologists, sociologists, lawyers,
and policy-makers and to any non-academic reader with an interest in the
experience of those employed in the parapolice.
George S. Rigakos is Assistant Professor in
the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Saint Mary’s University in
Halifax.
Praise for The New Parapolice:
"A pioneering observational study of
private police and an original theoretical analysis of the profound
transformations of policing in contemporary societies" - Robert Reiner,
Professor of Criminology, Department of Law, London School of Economics
"This book breaks new ground in our
struggle to understand how social control has become an increasingly sought
after commodity in contemporary societies. Offering a sophisticated account of
the political, economic and cultural forces at work in creating the
"parapolice," Rigakos helps to deconstruct how threats, markets and
organizational dynamics have reshaped the way we understand and respond to crime.
Rigakos's analysis should prove especially valuable in mapping the new
directions that social control will take in response to emerging threats, both
real and imagined." - Steven Spitzer, Department of Sociology, Suffolk
University
"The research which George Rigakos
reports in this study is both significant and timely. It is the most
substantial ethnographic study of a contract private security company yet
undertaken, which both updates and expands our understanding of the role and
significance of such private policing providers, and their implications for the
rapidly evolving character of urban policing in North America. His analysis and
conclusions about these "new parapolice" are both interesting and
important, and should be required reading for anyone with responsibility for,
or simply an interest in, policing policy." - Philip Stenning, Centre of
Criminology, University of Toronto
REVIEW
‘The New Parapolice’ is an
analytical discussion concentrating on two research questions: ‘how is
discipline and surveillance achieved organisationally and sold externally to
risk markets?’ And ‘how do security agents and those they are tasked with
policing resist social control? (Rigakos, 2002:29). The author balances the discussion with an ethnographic and
statistical account of a micro-level analysis of a private security firm -
Intelligrade International – with its macro-level implications. Its implications are drawn from a political,
social and theoretical perspective to consider the role of para-policing in the
development and maintenance of social order.
The book essentially
comprises of four interwoven themes, validated by the author to provide a
succinct debate to the abovementioned research questions. These are: the development and current
status of risk markets from a Marxian and Foucauldian viewpoint, the emergence
of a risk society and the commodification of private and public policing
sectors.
The origins of a risk market
are discussed in relation to the Marxian perspective and the inherent shift in
the modes of production from feudalism to capitalism. The latter stage is characterised by high levels of exploitation
and alienation by the Bourgeoisie to maintain control over the
Proletariat. Rigakos (2002) maintains
that as a capitalist society witnessed the expansion of wage labour and private
property, it called for a shift in policing.
The birth of private policing became a means to protect private property,
driven by profit/economic growth in a capitalist mode of production expanded as
a commodified product. However, Rigakos
(2002) aptly argues that a Marxian theory cannot adequately explain private
policing as a commodified entity. The
author provides an account of the Foucauldian position to elucidate the
aforementioned notion. In this
instance, the risk market becomes a production of knowledge based on
surveillance undertaken by private police officers to generate information
about dangerous populations. Once
known, social control becomes a commodified body, generated by fear and sold
through a risk market. It epitomises
the key element of Foucault’s theories based on the interrelationship between
power-knowledge (see: 1967; 1973; 1977).
The social progression and
growth of private policing has created a competitive market between private and
public police firms. In parallel to the
competitive market, societal demands for changing security needs have translated
‘…the public private distinction meaningless’ (Rigakos, 2002:48). It has created a market based on the notion of a risk society is generated
through the categorisation of the population into different groups. In its core, it is essentially embroiled
within Marxist thinking. It becomes a
political focal point in which surveillance and discipline highlight known
individuals for the maintenance of social order. The micro-level analysis of Intelligrade International reveals
that the provision of social order centres upon the homeless. The creation of a risk market and the
ensuing development of a risk society, leads to the commodification of the
policing industry.
The commodification of
private policing inherently occurs through its ability to sell its method of
surveillance. In effect, the product
can be sold toward either the public consumer or new recruits. For the public consumer, the establishment
of a system of surveillance for order maintenance becomes its business to sell
to the risk markets. It can be
heightened further through technological innovations. Rigakos (2002) considers that the advent of technological
modernization such as CCTV and satellite systems has resulted in not only
consumers being subjected to continuous monitoring but also Intelligrade
employees (Deister systems). It is in a
similar vein to the panoptic vision imagined by Bentham (1843). However, the author extends this ideal to
the arrival of a hyper-panoptic society existing within a simulated environment
by drawing upon the works of Baudrillard (1983). The perpetual state of surveillance and monitoring becomes a
commodity to be bought within a society premised upon the notion of risk.
In evaluation, ‘The New
Parapolice’ is a well-researched and concise discussion as to the role of
para-policing in the development and maintenance of social order. It succeeds in translating political, social
and theoretical perspectives into a valid debate on the consumerism of a risk
society, without losing sight of the book’s overall research objectives. The author also has the capacity to identify
the problematic nature of the research, juxtaposed with a commentary as to why
various issues were not developed further.
The sole cause for concern is that the author could have called upon the
works of Max Weber (1864-1920) to heighten the reader’s understanding of the
subject matter of organisation, management and control. In addition, the Weberian perspective could
have also provided an alternative argument to a Marxian view in respect of
economic actions being governed on market calculations (Weber, 1968). Nevertheless, ‘The New Parapolice’ is an
interesting text with a solid theoretical foundation that is highly relevant at
a time when private policing firms are expanding and increasing at a phenomenal
rate.
REFERENCES:
Baudrillard J (1983) Simulations. New York: Semiotext(e).
Bentham J (1843) ‘Panoptican, or, the
Inspection-House’ cited in: McLaughlin E, Muncie J, and Hughes G (2003) Criminological Perspectives: Essential
Readings (2nd Edition). London:Sage
Publications pp25-31.
Foucault M (1967) Madness and Civilisations. London: Tavistock Publications Limited.
Foucault M (1973) The Birth of the Clinic. London: Tavistock Publications Limited.
Foucault M (1977) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the
Prison. London: Allen Lane
Press.
McLaughlin E, Muncie J and
Hughes G (2003) Criminological
Perspectives: Essential Readings (2nd Edition). London: Sage Publications
Rigakos GS (2002) The New Parapolice: Risk Markets and
Commodified Social Control.
Toronto: The University of Toronto Press.
Weber M (1968) Economy and Society. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press.
Faiza Qureshi
Police Powers in Canada
The Evolution and Practice of Authority
Author:
Edited by R.C. Macleod and David Schneiderman
|
ISBN: 0802007362x |
Publishers
University of Toronto
Press
Price: £16.50 RRP UK paperback, HB £32.50 0802028632
Publication
Date: 1994
The
television spectacles of Oka and the Rodney King affair served to focus public
disaffection with the police, a disaffection that has been growing for several
years. In Canada, confidence in the police is at an all-time low. At the same
time crime rates continue to rise. Canada now has the dubious distinction of
having the second highest crime rate in the Western world.
How
did this state of affairs come about? What do we want from our police? How do
we achieve policing that is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
The essays in this volume set out to explore these questions. In their
introduction, the editors point out that constitutional order is tied to the
exercise of power by law enforcement agencies, and that if relations between
the police and civil society continue to erode, the exercise of force will rise
- a dangerous prospect for democratic societies.
REVIEW
‘Police Powers in Canada:
The Evolution and Practice of Authority’ is divided into five thematic sections
based on a series of conference papers.
Each part attempts to provide the reader with a discursive analysis of
identifying and conceptualising problems in policing. In turn, four solutions are offered based on technological,
managerial, political and legal innovations to policing.
Part one seeks to offer a
chronological framework to the development of policing and police powers by
focusing upon different police organisational structures. From the origins of the common law constable
to the Royal Canadian Mountain Police, the portrayal of police evolution is
juxtaposed with the consequences of industrialisation and urbanisation. It is considered in parallel to the political
and legal ramifications of police change at the social and organisational
level. It provides a well-informed,
balanced and succinct discussion to the origins of each different policing
structure by drawing upon influences from Ireland, the United Kingdom and the
United States. However, Chapter 1
undermines the discussion. It offers a
six-page argument refuting the contribution of the Fieldings’ to policing. By resting so heavily on this premise, it
loses focus of its intention to ‘retrieve exemplary evidence for the
constable’s historical identity’ (Guth, cited in Macleod and Schneiderman,
1994:3/4).
‘Police Powers and Citizens’
Rights’ considers the influence of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
in all stages of the criminal justice system from police stops, arrests and
interrogations through to trial. It is
viewed in relation to its effect on civil liberties. It is primarily examined through the role of the judiciary in
interpreting the Charter. It leads to a
discussion of the reformation of criminal law through attempts to enact one
coherent criminal code. It provides an
impartial debate, supported by case law, as to whether the reform is a role for
the Courts or Parliament. In spite of
this, the discussion is weakened by the overstated use of hypothetical
scenarios (see Chapter 4), which only succeeds in offering a repetitive
perspective to the reader.
Part three draws attention
to the issue of minority representation with the police organisation. It sets a political/socio-economic tone of
describing relations between police and Aborigines. The basis of the argument assesses reasons as to why the police
organisation has remained highly static in comparison to a rapidly changing and
diverse society. It is supplemented
with pinpointing key initiatives arising from existing research and evaluating
them alongside their apparent success and inherent failures. It concentrates heavily on the issue of
recruitment and by doing so provides a distorted portrayal of the subject. It fails to provide the reader with a
concise account of the complexities surrounding the interrelationship between
recruitment and retention of minority group police officers (Scarman, 1981;
Christopher Commission, 1991; Chan, 1997; Macpherson Report, 1999).
The concerns raised in the discussion entitled ‘Police and
Politics’ concentrates on demonstrating the sophistication of attempting to
distinguish the role of the police from political affairs. Stenning (Chapter 11) provides a historical
perspective of the debate from its UK origins to its influence in Canadian
society. It is contested in relation to
case law, Acts of Parliament and key events in Canadian history, yet also
viewed in parallel to the philosophical details for police powers and citizens’
rights derived from Rawls’ ‘theory on a democratic criminal justice
system’. The argument raised by Smith
(Chapter 10) assumes that the reader is fully aware of political concepts such
as ‘federalism’ (p.187). In this
manner, it only offers the reader a perplexing account of the issues at
stake.
The final section of the
book offers a glance into impediments within policing by examining police
organisations in Montreal and Edmonton.
The Oka crisis is analysed to provide an insight into the political and
financial constraints of police accountability that can arise in crisis
situations at all levels of the organisation.
However, the discussion by Braiden (Chapter 13) offers a police
officer’s perspective to the debate.
The author draws upon a diverse range of allegories from Greek
philosophy through to English literature to provide a clear and concise account
of the failings of the police organisation.
It is juxtaposed alongside the concern of providing an effective
implementation strategy to alter the organisation, based on active leadership
skills and qualities necessary to do so.
‘Police Powers in Canada’
offers the reader an effective and concise discussion on the evolution of
policing. It is a succinct account,
which draws upon complimentary perspectives of police issues on an
international level. Each thematic
section seeks to provide the reader with a balanced argument of the subject in
question. It is achieved through the
use of a diverse range of sources from case law to key events in Canadian
history, to exemplify the problem and its scope for potential reform.
Faiza Qureshi