Durkheimian Approach

This paper will address the reasons why policing should be explained through a Durkheimian perspective. Durkheim’s perspective is relevant to the topic of policing because it looks at police as moral officers, who exemplify the communities’ views and it is relevant through policing methods today. I argue, through the interpretations of Robinson and Scaglion (1987) who draw a similar perspective to Durkheim, and Using Marquis (1992) which provides compelling examples, the importance of adopting a Durkheimian approach as opposed to a Weberian approach. To emphasize my choice, I will highlight what each theorist attempts to address as well as a counterargument of my examples from a Weberian standpoint. The purpose is to gain a further understanding

Drawing on Sir Robert Peel, they emphasize three major themes which have remained prevalent across time (Robinson and Scaglion 1987). First, the police are a part of the general population and some of the population make up the police force, the police reflect the general morals and values of the community they speak on behalf of (Robinson and Scaglion 1987). This relates to Durkheim because he emphasized the importance of having a police force which represent and protects the communities’ beliefs, he said this is essential for policing to work (Terpstra 2011). It is essential to him because as Sir Robert Peel also points out that the polices ability to function successful, depends on a significant amount of citizen involvement in individual-policing, for Durkheim it is critical to have this natural connection between the police and the population in which they protect (Robinson and Scaglion 1987; Terpstra 2011). Moreover, this enables the police to reinstitute social order in a proactive manor that would be difficult to obtain without these community connections (Robinson and Scaglion 1987; Terpstra 2011). Lastly, Sir Robert Peel highlights how the police are a representation and an expression of a democratic society (Robinson and Scaglion 1987). This demonstrates Durkheim’s concern about

Through demonstrating the work of Robinson and Scaglion (1987) we see evidence of Sir Robert Peel that relates to that of Durkheim and are still relevant in today’s policing. Using Marquis (1992) we can distinguish Durkheim’s theory at work, which emphasizes the importance of this approach. As the 21st century further develops a Durkheimian approach would offer great implications of the directions in which policing should proceed. Police in society today are being held accountable for their violent actions more and more with the influence of technology watching their every move. Adopting a Durkheimian point of view, polices role will shift with less of an emphasis on the use of force, but a problem oriented method of policing (Griffiths 2015). This method entails the develop of new social working skills for the police, and an emphasis on taking power away from the state and putting it more in the hands of the community, in an attempt to empower proactive prevention, this is consequently achieved through trust between the community and police (Griffiths