Police history, police reform and police education

Abstract

The paper describes police history, police reform and police education. One of the major findings is that police reform is often prompted by a regime change, and far less frequently by large-scale public disorders or critical issues in criminal investigation. Historically, in most European countries this amounted to processes of centralisation, specialisation and militarisation. Historical analyses of police reforms helps to understand the contemporary processes of police reform. This article stresses that there are still gaps in the historical understanding of how police systems in Europe have been influenced by the North American model and how it has affected numerous police systems around the globe. The paper ends up with a firm position of historical studies on policing within police educational curricula, supported by solid historical research.