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Content: Democratic societies strive
for equal law enforcement. Citizens are to be treated in equivalent ways. Police are trained to behave in a universalistic fashion. Should their
personal attitude depart from the demands of the role they are playing,
this must not effect their behavior. Police show neutrality if they simply
enforce the rules regardless of the characteristics of the persons or group
involved (e.g., their race or social class). But apart from this ideal,
there is a second sense in which police are not neutral –they are agents
of a particular state and enforce the laws of that state. To those who
disagree with those laws, police behavior will not appear neutral since
it is on behalf of the regime in power. This is one reason why even in
a democratic society police are likely to be much more controversial than
other agencies of government. Varieties of and Supports
for a Democratic Police
There are social scientific
and moral debates over what practices are most conducive to a democratic
police (e.g., centralization vs. decentralization, specialists vs. generalists,
internal vs. external controls, closeness or distance from those policed,
maximum or minimum discretion, single vs. lateral entry). But it is clear
that a democratic police can take many forms.