Kirjahaku

Community policing seems always in vogue, yet its essential qualities remain elusive. There has been a rush to evaluate community policing before commentators have got to grips with what community police officers do which is distinctive. This book demonstrates, in detail, how community police officers go about such matters as gathering crime-relevant information from people in the local community, how they apply informal social control to public disorder situations, and how they 'play' the police organization itself in order to obtain resources they need and to secure their own advancement. However, such a brief is not sufficient in itself. The point is to use such a discussion of working practices to assess the conceptual apparatus which has been developed to understand community policing, and to evaluate the potential of community policing to achieve the objectives which policy-makers have set for it. That is the agenda of this book.

Courting violence analyses how the courts handle cases of physical violence. It examines how lawyers and judges go about questioning defendants, witnesses and victims, how testimony and physical evidence is used, what victims, witnesses and defendants think of the trial process, and the views of lay and professional participants about violent offences. The book is based on original fieldwork at criminal trials and interviews with those involved. It is known that courtroom language, and the handling of evidence, influences the outcome of cases, and that those unfamiliar with the courts may feel bewildered and intimidated by courtroom language and procedures. The book examines the workings of such processes in cases of physical violence, with careful attention to assumptions made by lawyers, judges and others as they relate to gender, social class, ethnicity, and people exhibiting patterns of behaviour, such as young men who drink heavily in groups. Key findings examine lay participants' understanding of courtroom procedure and language, satisfaction with their ability to participate competently, and willingness to assist the courts again. The book profiles the frustrations caused by the restricted role granted lay participants in trials, and reports problems concerning the experience of minority ethnic groups. Other themes include resource problems; the potential to improve proceedings by technological means; the role of the police, expert witnesses and interpreters; and variations in approaches to the judicial role. Understandings of violence are treated as contingent and legally-reified, and victimisation as a negotiated process. Using accessible and engaging data the book shows readers the contemporary practice of criminal trials in the crown courts, highlights some of the most contentious and sensitive problems in criminal justice, and suggests improvements. It functions both as an accessible overview of the work of the courts and an insight into how society deals with serious crime.

The National Front was one of the most controversial political parties in Britain. This exploration, first published in 1981, of the NF ideology and its meaning for members is based on a participation observation study which involved the development of relations with its headquarters, and with branch staff and members in several English cities. The fieldwork was carried out at marches, branch meetings and rallies, and candidates, activists, ordinary members and opponents of the NF were interviewed. Nigel Fielding examines in detail the ethnography of the National Front, describing its history, electoral performance and some demographic characteristics of its membership. He investigates the party ideology, concentrating on the key aspects of race, nationalism and conspiracy theory. The party’s involvement in overt and covert political action is discussed, and tolerance of ambiguity in adherence to ideology, are explored. In a final chapter the author discusses the case for regarding active NF membership as evidence of a commitment to an alternative conception of social reality founded on fundamental disagreement with the political and social order of the status quo. This book examines the problem of the relationship between the beliefs and actions of the political deviant in the context of a group which is involved in political activism.

The National Front was one of the most controversial political parties in Britain. This exploration, first published in 1981, of the NF ideology and its meaning for members is based on a participation observation study which involved the development of relations with its headquarters, and with branch staff and members in several English cities. The fieldwork was carried out at marches, branch meetings and rallies, and candidates, activists, ordinary members and opponents of the NF were interviewed. Nigel Fielding examines in detail the ethnography of the National Front, describing its history, electoral performance and some demographic characteristics of its membership. He investigates the party ideology, concentrating on the key aspects of race, nationalism and conspiracy theory. The party’s involvement in overt and covert political action is discussed, and tolerance of ambiguity in adherence to ideology, are explored. In a final chapter the author discusses the case for regarding active NF membership as evidence of a commitment to an alternative conception of social reality founded on fundamental disagreement with the political and social order of the status quo. This book examines the problem of the relationship between the beliefs and actions of the political deviant in the context of a group which is involved in political activism.

Policing remains one of the most controversial areas of criminal justice. Recent years have seen major changes in every aspect of policing: new constructions of the police mission, new ways of delivering police services and new arrangements for police accountability. The police have had to respond to international terrorism, international organized crime, the new faces of migration and asylum, globalization and the reconstitution of societies in the post-Communist and Islamic world. This completely revised second edition argues that through these changes enduring and fundamental divisions can be traced. The book is relevant to those studying criminology, police studies, sociology, social policy and law, wherever their interests touch on the police.