The Politics of the Police [Paperback]

Robert Reiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0198765436 | ISBN-13: 978-0198765431 | Edition: 3

This third edition of the popular and highly acclaimed text, The Politics of the Police, has been updated to take account of recent and profound changes in the law, policy, and organization of policing. It examines the complex and highly-charged debates surrounding this topic, including recent controversies and developments that have shaped public opinion about the police.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`"The publication of the third edition marks an important rearticulation of the constabulary ethic and the doctrine of policing..the new encyclopaedists who follow in Reiner's wake will struggle to define the politics of policing for their time"' James Sheptycki, Durham University in Policing and Society

`"This is a first class academic book that can be as engrossing as a novel, even for a non-expert on the subject. It will be of use to anyone who comes into contact with the police regularly and aid the understanding of anyone who has an opinion on any aspect of the police or policing."' The Criminal Lawyer

About the Author

Robert Reiner is Professor of Criminology in the Law Department at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author or editor of several successful texts on criminology and the police, including The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (2/e 1997).

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (March 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198765436
• ISBN-13: 978-0198765431
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,306,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Politics of the Police, March 20, 2002

By 

michael kennedy (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Politics of the Police (Paperback)

Reiners work in The Politics of the Police seems to embrace a Weberian methodology yet is always leans a little more to the left. The analysis is useful from an insiders perspective because no one gets let off the hook, however Reiner is clear he is not on the side of the administrative elites or anyone else who thinks contemporary policing can be analysed from a priviledged middle class standpoint. Reiner does not excuse police deviance at any point in his work, however he does not pretend that corruption in its contemporary form is like sin and has been with us for always and he promote the concept that corruption is socially constructed. Many 'progressive thinkers'have become lazy and complacent in analysing the police and have constantly supported ruling class and conservative positions by evaluating 'ordinary police' from such a broad set of rules and regulations that no police can escape the spotlight other than the heirarchy. Although these same progressive thinkers reject the notion that tougher laws and regulations can reduce crime they seem to have no difficulty in promoting the same concept to deal with police deviance.
Reiner is not one of these type of progressive thinkers. Perhaps he could deal more with the issue of female police but he would have to be careful. Many of the feminisms reject the notion that men can can comment on any aspect of the womens movement even if it is police and if Reiner ventured down the path of the women police he would be hard pressed to ignore the role of the Femocrats.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but wordy and very male centered perspective, May 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Politics of the Police (Paperback)

An interesting look at the politics that influence policing both current and historical. However, this is written from a very male point of view so don't expect much in the way of a gendered analysis of policing or focus on female officers. Some interesting content nonetheless, but be aware of it's limitations.