Policing in France

Description

The eminent contributors to a new collection, Policing in France, provide an updated and realistic picture of how the French police system really works in the 21st century. In most international comparisons, France typifies the "Napoleonic" model for policing, one featuring administrative and political centralization, a strong hierarchical structure, distance from local communities, and a high priority on political policing. France has undergone a process of pluralization in the last 30 years. French administrative and political decentralization has reemphasized the role of local authorities in public security policies; the private security industry has grown significantly; and new kinds of governing models (based on arrangements such as contracts for service provision) have emerged. In addition, during this period, police organizations have been driven toward central government control through the imposition of performance indicators, and a top-down decision was made to integrate the national gendarmerie into the Ministry of Interior. The book addresses how police legitimacy differs across socioeconomic, generational, territorial, and ethnic lines. An analysis of the policing of banlieues (deprived neighborhoods) illustrates the convergence of contradictory police goals, police violence, the concentration of poverty, and entrenched opposition to the states’ representatives, and questions policing strategies such as the use of identity checks. The collection also frames the scope of community policing initiatives required to deal with the public’s security needs and delves into the security challenges presented by terrorist threats and the nuances of the relationship between policing and intelligence agencies. Identifying and explaining the diverse challenges facing French police organizations and how they have been responding to them, this book draws upon a flourishing French-language literature in history, sociology, political science, and law to produce this new English-language synthesis on policing in France. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners working in and around French policing, as well as students of international law enforcement. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Preface Series Editor’s Preface 1. Policing in France PART I: Historical Background 2. The Evolving Organization of Policing: From the Ancien Régime to De Gaulle and the Police Nationale 3. The Colonial Legacy of French Policing 4. The Dual French Police System: Centralization, Specialization, Competition PART II: Organizational Features and Reforms 5. Police Centralization and its Pathologies 6. Intelligence-led Policing in Criminal Investigations: Implementing Reform 7. Specialization in Criminal Investigations 8. Oversight of the French Police PART III: Changing Institutional and Political Context 9. The Expansion of Private Policing in France 10. The Pluralization of Local Policing 11. Security Partnerships in France PART IV: Police Problems and Strategies 12. Policing the Banlieues 13. Identity Checks as a Professional Repertoire 14. A Social History of Protest Policing in France 15. Domestic Intelligence and Counterterrorism in France 16. Border Policing in France 17. Police and the Public in France 18. Community Policing Initiatives in France 19. Policing and Gender in France 20. The Police and Sexual Violence Index