The Jurisprudence of Police: Toward a General Unified Theory of Law

This exciting work develops a new philosophy of law and a new theory of law enforcement. The concepts developed provide the basis for a general unified theory of law that reconciles what legislators and judges do, with what police do. Legal philosophy is focused on the courts, but not on the police - and what police do has considerable importance for what we understand law to be. Police writers often overlook the subject of police philosophy and how philosophy can inform particular issues of police practice. While there has been much written on police discretion, no one has elaborated a theory that accounts for how that discretion is authorized by the duty of police to secure observance of law, and is subjected to the rule of law. Much attention is devoted to the shift in the police paradigm from a technically oriented professional law enforcement to a problem-oriented community policing. This book accomplishes these ends by drawing in and integrating literature in legal philosophy and police theory. Providing analysis and critical appraisal of the leading positions, it resolves important questions in both fields. The book elaborates a new integrative theory, introduces new concepts, and makes public policy recommendations.