Comparative
Criminal Justice
Systems
AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
ON POLICING
Reichel / Dammer and Fairchild
Policing
“Policing is no longer a local community
service provided by local agencies
addressing local problems.”
(Dammer and Fairchild, 2006)
Question
How will globalization affect the way police agencies
(worldwide) perform their job?
Are populations static?
In times of change, what issues
must the police be aware of?
(content, context, time)
The Changing Role of Police
Multi-jurisdictional
Multi-cultural
Multi-political
Multi-technical
Question
In times of civil tension and
the concern for public order how should officer discretion
be controlled in a democratic society?
Types of Police Structures
Centralized



Single: Ireland, Israel,
Nigeria, Poland, Saudi
Arabia
Multiple Coordinated:
Austria, France,
England/Wales
Multiple Uncoordinated:
Belgium, Italy, Spain,
Switzerland
Decentralized

Single: Japan

Multiple Coordinated:
Australia, Canada, Germany

Multiple Uncoordinated:
Mexico, United States
Policing – Global Cooperation

Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization);
Lyons, France.

Europol (European Police Organization); The Hague,
the Netherlands.

The Amsterdam Treaty/Schengen Agreement

European Arrest Warrant (Euro-warrant)
Interpol

Two governing bodies: the General Assembly and the
Executive Committee.

183 members, each with their own National Central Bureau
(NCB) – a global conduit for communication and data sharing.

NCB’s created because of difference in police forces,
languages, and legal systems.

Major role is to supply transnational crime information to
national police forces.

Interpol is not based on an international treaty or convention;
it is not an international police force, it does not investigate
crime.
NCB Responsibilities*
1.
Maintain open channels to all police units
in its own country.
2.
Maintain connections with the NCBs of all
other member countries.
3.
Maintain liaison with the General
Secretariat.
Europol

Operates under a mandate for preventing and combating
“organized” criminal activities operating in several
countries.

Its efforts are directed against crimes such as drug
trafficking, illicit vehicle trafficking, trafficking in human
beings, terrorism, and money laundering.

It has no police authority across the EU.

Its role is to facilitate the exchange of both personal and
nonpersonal data among Europol liaison officers who
represent the various law enforcement agencies.
The Schengen Convention

13 European countries. The creation of a single external
border which abolished internal border checks. A common
visa program among member countries.

Exhibits coordination among police, customs, and judiciary
officials in each country. Accentuates cross-border
surveillance (customs), hot pursuit (police), and extraditions
(judiciary).

Member countries have a common data base.
Euro-Warrant

An example of harmonization and approximation in
the EU.

The objective is to replace lengthy extradition
procedures.

Two key aspects include: Abolishment of the
principle of dual criminality for 32 serious offenses;
the requirement of the surrender of a country’s own
nationals.
Questions
Do you feel that the concepts of
community policing, zero-tolerance policing,
and proactive policing
will have an effect on the
global community in the near future?
If so, in what way?
Will heterogeneity have an affect?
Civil Order Control*
(Six Model Nations)

England: Depends on regular street police although little attention is paid to
civil order control forces.

France: Specialized troops in both the national police and the military (not
always accountable to the public).

Germany: Youngest officers do civil order control work; mature officers focus
on street work.

Japan: Specialized civil order police in each prefecture.

China: Public security police with assistance from the army.

Saudi Arabia: Relies on the military to handle serious civil disorder.
* Generally, the “front line” responsibility for civil order, as for deviance control,
rests with the street police.