The police are perhaps the most visible representation of government. They are charged with what has been characterized as an "impossible" mandate -- control and prevent crime, keep the peace, provide public services -- and do so within the constraints of democratic principles. The police are trusted to use deadly force when it is called for and are allowed access to our homes in cases of emergency. In fact, police departments are one of the few government agencies that can be mobilized by a simple phone call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are ubiquitous within our society, but their actions are often not well understood. The Oxford Handbook of Police and Policing brings together research on the development and operation of policing in the United States and elsewhere. Accomplished policing researchers Michael D. Reisig and Robert J. Kane have assembled a cast of renowned scholars to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the institution of policing. The different sections of the Handbook explore policing contexts, strategies, authority, and issues relating to race and ethnicity. The Handbook also includes reviews of the research methodologies used by policing scholars and considerations of the factors that will ultimately shape the future of policing, thus providing persuasive insights into why and how policing has developed, what it is today, and what to expect in the future. Aimed at a wide audience of scholars and students in criminology and criminal justice, as well as police professionals, the Handbook serves as the definitive resource for information on this important institution.

Proactive policing, as a strategic approach used by police agencies to prevent crime, is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. It developed from a crisis in confidence in policing that began to emerge in the 1960s because of social unrest, rising crime rates, and growing skepticism regarding the effectiveness of standard approaches to policing. In response, beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, innovative police practices and policies that took a more proactive approach began to develop. This report uses the term "proactive policing" to refer to all policing strategies that have as one of their goals the prevention or reduction of crime and disorder and that are not reactive in terms of focusing primarily on uncovering ongoing crime or on investigating or responding to crimes once they have occurred. Proactive policing is distinguished from the everyday decisions of police officers to be proactive in specific situations and instead refers to a strategic decision by police agencies to use proactive police responses in a programmatic way to reduce crime. Today, proactive policing strategies are used widely in the United States. They are not isolated programs used by a select group of agencies but rather a set of ideas that have spread across the landscape of policing. Proactive Policing reviews the evidence and discusses the data and methodological gaps on: (1) the effects of different forms of proactive policing on crime; (2) whether they are applied in a discriminatory manner; (3) whether they are being used in a legal fashion; and (4) community reaction. This report offers a comprehensive evaluation of proactive policing that includes not only its crime prevention impacts but also its broader implications for justice and U.S. communities.

In the UK and elsewhere, restorative justice and policing are core components of a range of university programmes; however, currently no such text exists on the intersection of these two areas of study. This book draws together these diverse theoretical perspectives to provide an innovative, knowledge-rich text that is essential reading for all those engaged with the evolution and practice of restorative policing. Restorative Policing surveys the twenty-five year history of restorative policing practice, during which its use and influence over criminal justice has slowly grown. It then situates this experience within a criminological discussion about neo-liberal responses to crime control. There has been insufficient debate about how the concepts of ‘restorative justice’ and ‘policing’ sit alongside each other and how they may be connected or disconnected in theoretical and conceptual terms. The book seeks to fill this gap through an exploration of concepts, theory, policy and practice. In doing so, the authors make a case for a more transformative vision of restorative policing that can impact positively upon the shape and practice of policing and outline a framework for the implementation of such a strategy. This pathbreaking book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses on restorative justice, policing and crime control, as well as professionals interested in the implementation of restorative practices in the police force.

Dr. Lee P. Brown, one of Americas most significant and respected law enforcement practitioners, has harnessed his thirty years of experiences in police work and authored Policing in the 21st Century: Community Policing. Written for students, members of the police community, academicians, elected officials and members of the public, this work comes from the perspective of an individual who devoted his life to law enforcement. Dr. Brown began his career as a beat patrolmen who through hard work, diligence and continued education became the senior law enforcement official in three of this nations largest cities. The book is about Community Policing, the policing style for America in the Twenty-First Century. It not only describes the concept in great detail, but it also illuminates how it evolved, and how it is being implemented in various communities throughout America. There is no other law enforcement official or academician who is as capable as Dr. Brown of masterfully presenting the concept of Community Policing, which he pioneered. As a philosophy, Community Policing encourages law enforcement officials, and the people they are sworn to serve, to cooperatively address issues such as crime, community growth, and societal development. It calls for mutual respect and understanding between the police and the community. The book is written from the perspective of someone whose peers identify as the father of Community Policing, and who personally implemented it in Police Departments under his command. It is a thoroughly amazing book that has been heralded as a must read for anyone who has an interest in law enforcement. Elected officials, academicians, leaders of the nations police agencies and members of the public will be captivated by Dr. Browns literary contribution.