Differences between Democratic and Non-democratic Policing

Discuss about the Criminology for Policing in Democratic Society.

Democracy is a system where the common people use their power to elect the representative in the administration level and the government is working for the interest of the common public. Any kinds of autocracy are inappropriate in this system. In this report, certain researches have been made on the policing in democratic society (Sheptycki, 2017). It is obvious to state that the common people are not interacting with the police, where the police service is established to maintain a good public order. In a democratic society, police are performed certain things like arbitrating disputes, regulating the traffics and maintain peace and safety during the emergency. However, it has been observed that the role of the police vary in democratic and non-democratic society. There are certain components of policing in democratic society that has been discussed in this report. Further, the role of police in domestic violation has been stated briefly and limitations are described accordingly. Certain relevant provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedom of Canada have mentioned. While dealing with the topic, certain issues have been cropped up and policing and feminist issue has been discussed in this case.

The first thing regarding the policing is that there are certain differences could be observed between the democratic and non-democratic policing process. In case of democratic policing, the police officials should have to think about securing the interest of the common people and show respect to the human dignity (Marquis, 2016). Further, the police will interfere in the life of the common people in careful manner and to certain extent that has been permitted by the law. This character shows the democratic nature of the policing. Further, all the acts of the police should be publicly accountable. All these essentials are mandatory for the policing in the democratic society. Police is the source of securing social order in a state. The police are required to apply their power in a way so that the liberty of the common public could not be snatched away. It is the duty of the law enforcement to protect the interest of the common people and police will maintain a balance in between the liberty and order. In case of democratic state, policing is a separate wing and any kinds of political assent in the policing are crime (Donnermeyer, DeKeseredy & Dragiewicz, 2016).

Components of Policing in Democratic Society

The internal meaning of police has been changed drastically in last five decades. In the early fifteenth century, the term police have been recognised as an institution that can interfere in the life, property and health of any individual. After the establishment of the democratic state, the concept of policing has also been changed and in the modern democratic world, police could not interfere in the personal life of the individual without obtaining a legal permission from appropriate body. However, no specific definition has been provided regarding the democratic police. Certain meanings are quite deviant and some are of the nature of summary execution. The story regarding the rights of the police in case of democratic state has been changed. The police personnel could not arrest or interfere in the personal property of any person. However, in case of dealing with emergency cases, the police can arrest or intervene in the personal property of an individual to protect the rights of the common civilians. Further, the democratic police are the politically neutral police. A dramatic upsurge regarding the abuse of police power has been made in the late 1920. The phrase third degree has been re-identified and illegitimate police power has become a serious threat for the society (Barlow & Barlow, 2018). The democratic police have certain democratic values and they are working for the betterment of the society. The main principle of the democratic police is based on the rule of law. In Canada, the rights of the citizens have been established through its constitution and certain Bill of Rights. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom is a kind of bill of rights. The fundamental principle of Canadian constitution has been entrenched by this. It is a federal statute and it can be amended by ordinary legislative process. Therefore, it can be stated that this bill of rights help to protect all the rights. The scope of judicial review has been established firmly and certain new powers have been conferred on certain authorities (Wiatrowski, 2016). According to Section 8 of the Charter, unreasonable arrest and search should be banned and no authorities are allowed to make any contravention regarding the same. Further, certain limitations have been imposed on the legislative bodies and policing has also been impacted by the same. According to section 11 of the Charter, all individual should be assumed as innocent until their guilt has not been proved and no citizen could subject to any ill treatment from the police personnel. The term equal treatment has been established under section 15 of the Charter. Under the system of democracy, the police have to follow the interdisciplinary inquiry and according to John Carter, the criminological procedure and legal scholarship have been more liberal in democracy compared to the other governmental system. Certain systematic requirements are necessary in case of democratic policing. The theory of democratic policing can be described from the aspect of pluralist theory where the notion of participative and deliberative dimension of democracy has prescribed. According to this theory, the power should not be centralized in nature and there should be certain existence of several organisations. This theory has supported the freedom of associations and it has contributed certain portions to the democratic policing (Campbell & Messing, 2017). However, in this case, the term pluralism could not be regarded as noetic pluralism or cultural pluralism. The fair trial process has been motivated by this theory and it helps to improve the criminal procedure. According to Schumpeter, in every democracy, the rights of the individual should be protected and this will help the individuals to get a comfortable zone in the society. Policing is an inevitable part of the society and therefore, it is important for them to secure the interest of the individuals to that extent. The police is required to prevent any kind of illegal happenings or crime without disturbing the personal life of the individuals and enforced laws in the society. Further, they could act for the benefits of the society and they should extend their helping hands to the weaker section of the society. These are the fundamental principles of policing in a democratic state and it concentrates on the collaborative effort of the community.  

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom and Policing

In a democratic state, police play an important role and the main security of the state has been conferred on the hands of the police. The main aim of police is to stop the commencement of any illegal acts and domestic violence is falling under the purview of serious crime. The Canadian Parliament has encouraged the police forces to take every reasonable step to stop this crime by maintaining the provisions of Protection against Family Violence Act 2010 (Hagemann-White et al., 2015). In Canada, domestic violence is a serious crime and more than 51% victims are woman. The term domestic violence included physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, stalking and threats. It has been observed that the intimate relations have made approximately 49% violence and 51% violence has been generated from the parental relationship. The policing system of Canada has made certain frameworks regarding the same to stop the commencement of domestic violence and it has been observed that the police have adopted certain philosophical out frame and this has helped to create constant surveillance over the society. According to John Carter, inter-agency communication will help the police personnel to beat the fear of domestic violence in Canada and coordinating the exchange of information is required in this case. When a case on domestic violence has been filed before the particular authority, it is the primary duty of the police to take reasonable steps to ensure protection to the victim (Heise, 2018). The role of other agencies should have to mention and a clear communication between the police and those organisations are necessary in this case. Proper response should have to take from the victims and the concept of justice system should have to be established in this case. In Canada, there are certain legal provisions that help the victims to get rid of their problems. Apart from the Protection against Family Violence Act, there are Acts like Protection of persons in Care Act 2010 and Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act 2004. The first contract of victim to get justice is with the police and therefore, it can be stated that police have to take all the necessary assistance to satisfy the feelings of the victim. Considering certain reports, it has been observed that the victims are suffering from certain anxiety, frustration and confusions after become victimised by the family members (Kim, Lin & Lambert, 2015). Police have to play important role in this case. The police personnel should resolve all the relevant feminist issues and in this regard, they have to adopt certain reasonable steps. Certain victim development programs should have to promote by the police and the victims should get all the medical assistance in case of serious injuries. However, the police have to take reasonable care for all the victims and should not have any special treatment for the women.

Domestic Violence and Policing

There are certain limitations to the policing in domestic violence. In most of the cases, it has been observed that the victim could not make it possible to come and complaint before the authority due to the family pressure and it has been observed that the victims are withdrawn their cases or complaints due to the same. Further, differences have been observed in the statements of the victims and all these become obstacle in the police investigation. In addition, lack of proper training and effective announcement, the amount of violence has never been stopped or reduced. Therefore, police have to concentrate over the same and deal with the matter with ultimate priority. 

Conclusion:

Therefore, it has been observed that in democracy, police plays an important role and the organisation is opted to secure the interest of the greater society. The pluralist theory has described the role of the police in the democratic society to certain extent. The freedom of the association has been discussed under this theory and according to the components of the policing service, it can be stated that the main purpose of the policing in a democratic state is to ensure maximum protection to the civilians and curb the commencement any crime. It is the duty of the police to maintain ultimate order in accordance with the Charter of rights and freedom. Further, from the report certain significance of police regarding the domestic violence has been included. According to the legal attribution over the domestic violence, a direct power has been conferred by the parliament of Canada. A brief discussion regarding various legislations has been made in the report. All these discussions have sharpened the research analysis over the issue.

Reference:

Barlow, D. E., & Barlow, M. H. (2018). Police in a multicultural society: An American story. Waveland Press.

Campbell, J. C., & Messing, J. (Eds.). (2017). Assessing Dangerousness: Domestic Violence Offenders and Child Abusers. Springer Publishing Company.

Donnermeyer, J. F., DeKeseredy, W. S., & Dragiewicz, M. (2016). Policing rural Canada and the United States. In Rural Policing and Policing the Rural (pp. 37-46). Routledge.

Hagemann-White, C., Humphreys, C., Tutty, L. M., & Diemer, K. (2015). Overview of current policies on arrest, prosecution, and protection by police and the justice system as responses to domestic violence. Critical issues on violence against women: International perspectives and promising strategies, 47-65.

Heise, L. (2018). Violence against women: the missing agenda. In The health of women (pp. 171-196). Routledge.

Kim, B., Lin, W. C. A., & Lambert, E. G. (2015). Comparative/international research on juvenile justice issues: A review of juvenile justice specialty journals. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 26(4), 545-562.

Marquis, G. (2016). The Vigilant Eye: Policing Canada From 1867 to 9/11.

Sheptycki, J. (2017). Contemporary Reflections on the History of Canadian Policing–Reading The Vigilant Eye; Policing Canada from 1867 to 9/11.

Wiatrowski, M. D. (2016). Democratic policing in transitional and developing countries. Routledge.