Policing and Social Change

Abstract

The form and structure of the original policing model developed in the first half of the nineteenth century in England has undergone significant reforms as a result of broader social changes. However, police organisations have experienced serious difficulties in adapt ing conventional police ideologies and practices to new social norms. The police response is characterised by conservatism, internal organisational tensions, and a growing disjunction between them selves and the community. To understand this response and its implications, this article considers changes in policing in terms of (a) functions (b) policewomen (c) educational standards and (d) legal status of police officers. These examples highlight a number of structural contradictions within modern policing as well as suggest ing the likely form of future policing.