Description

The course provides a foundation for understanding policing in the United States. The American public has voluntarily given the police the right to use coercive force; and yet, the modern police force is often taken for granted with little analysis of its function in a free society. The implications of this function provide the context for the current course, which reviews fundamental issues, both historical contemporary, in policing a democratic society. Such issues include, but are not limited to: the police function, culture, discretion, misconduct, legitimacy, accountability, and contemporary reforms.