Transforming Police in Central and Eastern Europe

Police reform in countries in transition from state socialism toward more democratic forms of governance has risen to prominence in recent years. Reforming policing systems that served primarily to protect the party-states from their opponents into systems that serve and protect civic society has come to be seen as an essential prerequisite and concomitant of the democratization process in transitional countries. This book describes what has happened to the policing systems in fourteen countries in central and eastern Europe; what reforms in ideology, organization, policies and practices have been undertaken; what has changed in the way policing is accomplished; and an assessment of whether the policing system has moved closer toward democratic policing. As such, it provides a comparative overview of what has been achieved since 1989. "Marina Caparini" is senior fellow at the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. "Otwin Marenin" is professor in the Department of Political Science/Criminal Justice, Washington State University.