SOC313H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: New York City Police Department, Grenade, State Security Department
Document Summary
The police are the gatekeepers of the criminal law system. Police: modern specialized body of people who carry out much of the law enforcement functions in today(cid:859)s so(cid:272)iety. Policing: the attempt to maintain security through surveillance and the threat of sanction. Can be a role of police officers. Police are not the only people who can carry out policing: ex. Religious police in nigeria (also present in saudi arabia) Not actual law enforcement cannot make arrests: ex. May be hard to distinguish the difference between private police and government police: ex. Fills the role of policing ability to investigate and solve crimes. Social structure: patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. People create social structures once they are created they become very firm and patterned. Examples: family, religion, law, economy, class, culture, geography, social and political institutions.