SOC 3750 Lecture 3: Sociological Theories of Policing

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 3750
• Professor: joseph pazzano

Document Summary

A perspective that considers the police to be politically neutral force that acts primarily to enforce the law and protect the public. Social contract perspective justifies the use of force as a necessary tool to maintain order and maximize the collective good: accepts deviations from standard police procedure. As members of society, we voluntarily surrender some of our rights and freedoms and delegate them to the police force. Police officers are a protective force against crime and social disorder. Social contract perspective may view police force as legitimate, even if it goes beyond the bounds of reasonable force. Maybe not maybe there"s space in social contract theory to critique officers for a failure to follow the law. On the other hand, this is going to depend in large part on whether the law sanctions police behaviours. Perhaps a supervisory officer gives a command which the rogue officer doesn"t follow.