Accountability, the idea that people, governments, and business should be held publicly accountable, is a central preoccupation of our time. Criminal justice, already a system for achieving public accountability for illegal and antisocial activities, is no exception to this preoccupation, and accountability for criminal justice therefore takes on a special significance. Seventeen original essays, most commissioned for this volume, have been collected to summarize and assess what has been happening in the area of accountability for criminal justice in English-speaking democracies with...

Every modern democracy in our increasingly complex world must confront a fundamental problem: how should politicians manage police, ensuring that they act in the public interest while avoiding the temptation to utilize them in a partisan manner? Drawing on first-hand experiences from six democracies, the authors describe how frequently disagreements arise between politicians and police commanders, what issues are involved, and how they are resolved.

Governing the Police is organized into three parts: the intellectual and governmental context of democratic governance; the experience...

Every modern democracy in our increasingly complex world must confront a fundamental problem: how should politicians manage police, ensuring that they act in the public interest while avoiding the temptation to utilize them in a partisan manner? Drawing on first-hand experiences from six democracies, the authors describe how frequently disagreements arise between politicians and police commanders, what issues are involved, and how they are resolved.

Governing the Police is organized into three parts: the intellectual and governmental context of democratic governance; the experience...