Police came into focus of social sciences, especially sociology and criminology, in the second half of the 20th century. Some of the main research topics have been: what is police, historical establishment and development of the police forces, mistakes in police practices related to domestic and sexual violence, probem of the militarization of the police forces, police culture, police corruption, relationship between policing and survailance and the individual freedoms and liberties, abuse of police by those in power, overreach of police powers and their accountability, police innovations, factors that influence police behavior, does police activity actually influences crime incidences and rates, and biased policing. In this article, we will focus on some of those issues.  

                                    History of the Police 

The London Metropolitan Police, established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, became the first professional municipal police force. Peel designed it as an unarmed, uniformed organization focused on preventive patrol and public trust. In contrast, early American police forces in cities such as New York City, Boston, and Chicago were heavily influenced by corruption and political patronage. Officers often ignored orders, accepted bribes, and abused their authority. Because police appointments depended on politicians, administrators had little control over officers’ behavior. Over time, American police began carrying weapons despite regulations against it, eventually leading departments to issue standard revolvers. Unlike London officers, whose authority came from public respect and institutional trust, American police relied more on personal force and weapons. This shift encouraged individual discretion in policing. Although American police initially resisted uniforms, they later adopted militarized uniforms filled with weapons and symbols of authority, creating a more forceful public image.

                                     What is the Police 

Although the police are commonly portrayed as law enforcers and crime fighters, Egon Bittner challenged these assumptions in The Functions of Police in Modern Society (1970). A central argument in Bittner’s work is that defining the police as “law enforcers,” “peacekeepers,” “agents of social control,” or “officers of the court” confuses the role of the police with their actual function. Instead, Bittner argued that the defining characteristic of the police is their authority to use coercive force. He described the police as “a mechanism for the distribution of non-negotiably coercive force” (1971). From a sociological perspective, the police are the institution responsible for dealing with situations in which “something that is happening ought not to be happening and ought to be dealt with by someone now” (Bittner 1980). He further maintained that the police are the principal, and at times the only, state mechanism authorized to apply non-negotiable force in emergency situations.

Similarly, Carl B. Klockars (1985) argued that defining the police according to what they are expected to do is problematic. He explained that the state’s authorization for police to use coercive force grants them both legal legitimacy and territorial authority, distinguishing policing from other occupations. Klockars, therefore, defined the police as individuals or institutions empowered by the state with the general authority to use coercive force within the state’s domestic territory.

In this sense, the police can be understood as the coercive arm of the state or the law. Large-scale observational studies conducted by Albert J. Reiss Jr. and Donald Black demonstrated that police officers spend a significant portion of their time dealing with incidents unrelated to crime (Reiss 1971; Black 1980).

                                    Community Policing.

One of the most significant modern developments in policing is community policing, which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s and introduced major shifts in police practices, organizational structures, and overall policing philosophy. Although community policing has become a global movement, it does not follow a single universal model. Different police agencies have adopted CP using various approaches, including problem solving, broken windows policing, and community building (Mastrofski et al. 1995).

The problem-solving approach emphasizes proactive strategies instead of simply reacting to service calls. It focuses on addressing the underlying causes of problems rather than their visible effects and encourages cooperation with community members and other organizations instead of relying solely on police action. The broken windows perspective argues that police should pay closer attention to minor crimes and public disorder because, if ignored, they may escalate into more serious issues that negatively affect the neighborhood’s quality of life. The community-building model highlights the importance of strengthening relationships with minority communities, promoting crime prevention initiatives, and providing support to victims.

                           Factors Influencing Police Behavior.

There are four primary perspectives used in scientific research to explain the factors that shape police behavior: situational, individual, organizational, and community-based approaches.

Situational explanations emphasize that police behavior is largely influenced by the specific circumstances of interactions between officers and citizens. Research has consistently shown that factors such as the seriousness of the offense, the strength of the evidence, and the behavior or attitude of the citizen can significantly affect police actions. Individual explanations focus on the personal attributes of police officers, including characteristics such as race, gender, education, and professional experience, as well as their occupational attitudes and job assignments. Studies examining how these characteristics influence police conduct have mainly concentrated on coercive actions, such as arrests and the use of force, and the findings have been inconsistent.

Organizational explanations argue that police behavior is shaped by formal and informal socialization processes within police agencies, including police subculture, leadership, departmental policies, organizational structure, and management styles. Community or neighborhood explanations suggest that broader demographic, economic, and political features of communities—such as racial composition, socioeconomic conditions, and forms of local government—also influence police behavior. Overall, situational factors are generally considered to have stronger explanatory value than other perspectives.

                 Relationship between Police Activity and Crime.

Early research on the impact of police strategies and practices on crime and crime statistics concentrated on evaluating the effectiveness of the three primary policing approaches: preventive patrol, rapid response, and criminal investigation. These studies found that three central strategies of modern policing had little or no significant effect on crime rates, victimization, or public satisfaction. In contrast, community policing has demonstrated positive outcomes in terms of citizen satisfaction with the police as well as police job satisfaction. Overall, there is limited evidence to suggest that police actions alone can substantially reduce crime. Main explanation for this is that broader social factors—such as unemployment, population age structure, moral education, civil liberties, ambition, and the social and economic opportunities available to individuals—which play a major role in shaping the level and nature of crime within society, are beyond the police’s influence.

                                         Police Culture.

During the historical development of policing, a distinct police culture emerged. Police culture refers to the set of values, norms, and perspectives that shape police behavior and conduct. Some of the earliest studies on this topic include The Policeman in the Community (1968) by Michael Banton and Justice without Trial (1966) by Jerome Skolnick. While Banton emphasized mainly the positive aspects of police culture, Skolnick argued that what he called “cop culture” reinforced solidarity within the police institution by uniting individuals and roles that had little in common. Later studies highlighted the more negative aspects of police culture, including aggressive policing excessive use of force), the “code of silence” (the expectation that officers do not report misconduct by colleagues), corruption, and biased policing.

                                    Excessive Use of Force

Although the excessive use of force by police is relatively uncommon, it remains one of the main causes of tension between law enforcement and the public, particularly among minority communities. Incidents such as the killing of George Floyd in the United States garnered worldwide media attention and incited multiple protests against police brutality. In some situations, police officers kill or seriously injure individuals during arrests. In many other cases, authorities rely on excessive force, intrusive surveillance, arbitrary arrests, and detention to silence peaceful demonstrations. These actions are often driven by racism and other forms of discrimination. Police brutality and excessive force can involve not only the misuse of firearms, but also beatings, asphyxiation, and the deployment of so-called “less lethal” weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, batons, stun grenades, and tasers.

In the most extreme cases, unlawful police violence can deprive people of their right to life or expose them to torture and other forms of ill-treatment. Despite the seriousness of these human rights abuses, police officers responsible for such acts are seldom held accountable. In the United States, officers are often protected by qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields them from civil lawsuits over excessive force unless it can be proven that they violated “clearly established” law.

                                              Corruption

Corruption within police forces can take various forms. According to Walker & Katz’s The Police in America: An Introduction (2002), most common forms are: accepting gratuities (free meals and drinks, or some other gifts), bribes (taking money from the criminals for disregarding or covering up their crimes), theft and burglary (stealing money or other valubales from the police storage or the crime scene), and internal corruption (paying money or giving favors in exchange for the undeserved favorable treatment).

                                           Biased Policing

 Biased policing refers to the practice of law enforcement agencies unfairly targeting certain social groups based on assumptions of criminality rather than evidence. Instead of treating individuals as innocent until proven guilty, police may view members of specific groups as suspicious because of their race, ethnicity, social class, religion, or lifestyle. The most common form is racial and ethnic profiling, though other marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ individuals, the poor, biker gangs, or religious minorities, may also be targeted.

Historically, research on biased policing focused mainly on local and state police departments, but since the 1990s, increasing attention has been given to federal agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Scholars describe biased policing as a form of institutional and systemic racism that reinforces existing social inequalities and supports the dominance of white middle-class values in American society. Its roots can be traced back to slavery and the “black codes,” laws created to control both free and enslaved Black people.

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, racial profiling intensified, particularly against Arab and Muslim Americans. The Patriot Act expanded police powers in the name of national security, contributing to increased surveillance and suspicion of these groups. Common examples of racial profiling include “driving while Black” (DWB) or “driving while Mexican” (DWM), where minorities are disproportionately stopped for traffic violations.

Research has also shown that police often focus more on crimes associated with poor and minority communities while paying less attention to white-collar and corporate crimes, reflecting broader class and racial biases within systems of social control.

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