Policing in the Information Age: The Evolution of a 21st Century Police Form (From Public Policing in the 21st Century: Issues and Dilemmas in the U.S. and Canada, P 61-81, 2005, James F. Hodgson and Catherine Orban, eds. -- See NCJ-209717)

• NCJ Number: 209720
• Author(s): Ronald Stansfield
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using a spectrum model, this chapter analyzes police forms and structure and argues that the public policing era has ended and the private policing era has begun.

Abstract

A new, post-modern reality or a new, informational order is having profound implications for policing in the 21st century. Many parts of the world are being transformed from industrial communities into informational communities. What this means is that where it used to be public policing, private policing is now becoming the average mode of policing. In this chapter the author argues that public policing is in a crisis in large urban centers throughout the United States and is a result of communities reorganizing to accommodate the new information technologies. The author believes the history of policing teaches that no amount of tinkering will stop the inevitable decline of public policing. Using a spectrum model (a device to analyze consciousness), this article analyzes police forms and structure to argue that the public policing era has ended and in its place is private policing. Discussion questions and references