CRI205H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Toronto Police Service, Bow Street Runners

• School: UTSG
• Department: Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies
• Course: CRI205H1
• Professor: Scot Wortley

Document Summary

Policing is the act of maintaining an reproducing social order. The police are institutions and individuals, given the right by the state, to use coercive force to maintain and reproduce social order. The role of the police: the functionalist perspective. There is a consensus within society regarding norms, values and laws. There is widespread agreement over how to deal with issues of crime and punishment. The criminal law is a reflection of this consensus. The police are the authority within the criminal justice system. Every criminal event, every victim and every offender are treated equally. The relationship between the state and society is characterized by conflict between different social classes and interest groups. The system, including law and justice institutions, operates as a system of control of the powerless in favour of the powerful. The police are a key institution that operates within the context of social conflict.