Policing in Democracy

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

What is the role of the police in a democracy? What are their powers? Who makes their rules and provides oversight? Do we even need them? How do citizens respond to the realities of being policed through political activism, day-to-day interactions, and music and literature? While the police are charged with maintaining one of the most fundamental functions of the state, the “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force”, the answers to these questions vary dramatically around the world and throughout history. Partially driven by recent scandals involving police violence, activists, politicians, public security professionals, and social scientists have been carefully reconsidering their views on policing, recognizing the police as powerful political actors and policing policies as dynamic policy arenas. In this course, we will explore the history of crime fighting and police forces in the modern era, then dive into current debates and research about the organization, mission, and oversight of police forces in contemporary democracies, including social movements advocating for police reform. This course has a global perspective, gaining understanding of local experiences in the United States through comparative study of primarily Latin American, British, and Western European systems.