Abstract
The intention of this article is to provide a structural and operational analysis ofpolicing beyond the police in Northern Ireland. While the polity enjoys low levels of‘officially’ recorded crime as part of its post-conflict status, little empirical analysisexists as to the epistemological roots of security production outside that of the PoliceService of Northern Ireland. The empirical evidence presented seeks to establish thatbeyond more prominent analyses related to paramilitary ‘policing’, the country is infact replete with a substantial reservoir of legitimate civil society policing – thecollective mass of which contributes to policing, community safety and quality of lifeissues. While such non-state policing at the level of locale was recognised by theIndependent Commission for Policing, structured understandings have rarely permeatedgovernmental or academic discourse beyond anecdotal contentions. Thus, thepresent argument provides an empirical assessment of the complex, non-state policinglandscape beyond the formal state apparatus; examines definitions and structures ofsuch community-based policing activities; and explores issues related to co-opting thisnon-state security ‘otherness’ into more formal relations with the state.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 522-543 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Policing and Society |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 16 Dec 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published online - 16 Dec 2014 |
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Keywords
- policing
- security
- community
- non-state policing
- Northern Ireland
