The training of law enforcement officials

Abstract

The prevention and detection of crime are virtuous activities, but not unreservedly so. The degree of virtue present in those activities can be, and is, diminished by the means adopted to carry them out. Sometimes those means are themselves criminal and take on varying degrees of criminality so that they can become more heinous than the crime against which they are directed. Crimes such as torture or those which subvert the right to a fair trial, committed by people dignified by the authority of the state to exercise power over their fellow citizens, are at least as serious as most crimes committed by common criminals. Social, political and economic changes taking place at national and supra-national levels present significant challenges to police agencies and to police leaders throughout Europe. Some forms of serious criminality and some current concerns about policing derive from, or are exacerbated by, these changes. Concerns about policing revolve not only around the extent to which police are able to prevent and detect crime and maintain or restore order, but also around police behaviour. [excerpt]