NCJ Number
137466
Date Published
1991
Length
316 pages
Annotation
This analysis of policing in Northern Ireland focuses on how police work is conducted within the constraints imposed by that society's divisions and how police roles are affected by the political conflicts, terrorism, and other violence in the country.
Abstract
The discussion also compares policing in Northern Ireland with that in the United States and England. The analysis is based on extensive interviews and participant observation research with a unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The discussion emphasizes that police in divided societies have a paradoxical role. They continue to operate benignly in conducting their routine duties; at the same time, they are forced to function as a militarized, repressive force to contain political violence. In Northern Ireland, controversy over policing is widespread. The police themselves recognize how their two roles often conflict and how this conflict is a source of stress. Index, glossaries, and 322 references