Policing

Since the early formation of policing organizations in the nineteenth century, the role of the police – and more recently, the extended police family – has been framed consistently in terms of its function in maintaining social order. In its third wave of theorizing, police studies is beginning to grapple with the consequences of the pluralization of policing agents, the links between legitimacy and procedural justice, and the privatization and coproduction of personal safety. Each of these transformations in the policing landscape have deepened the social order imperatives adhered to conventional theories of policing, while also offering new opportunities for reimagining the role of police in contemporary society.