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Summary

Burke, Roger Hopkins (2003). Hard Cop, Soft Cop: Dilemmas and debates in contemporary policing Cullompton, UK: Willan Publishing.

Theories about policing and the practice of policing are neither uniform nor static. For a variety of reasons, there are significantly different theories of policing as well as significantly different practices in policing. This collection of essays, written by a number of experts in the field and edited by Roger Hopkins Burke, provides a survey of major perspectives, issues, and debates with respect to contemporary policing and the future of policing. In particular, topics in the book cover a range of approaches from zero tolerance policing at the “hardâ€? end of the spectrum to more welfare or community-style policing at the “softâ€? end of the spectrum. Throughout the discussions in the book is the recognition that policing must be understood broadly in terms of security and order enforced not only by public police forces but also by private security companies, community organizations, families, and more. Policing, thus viewed broadly, is pervasive in society. It is something the public both wants – for security reasons – and fears – because of issues of civil and human rights. With all of this in view, the essays in the book are organized in terms of three parts: Part 1, policing contemporary communities; Part 2, policing contemporary offenses; and Part 3, democracy, accountability, and human rights.

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