Book Review: Newburn, T. (Ed.). (2005). Policing: Key Readings. Portland, OR: Willan. Pp. 834

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310567
• Author: John M. Marks
• Date: 01 December 2007
• Published date: 01 December 2007
• Subject Matter: Articles

It seems that the powerful academic interest in building on past research, which is very evident

throughout this book, prevents researchers from breaking truly new ground. As Gudykunst et al.

point out, the issue of power is largely ignored through all the theories presented (p. 26); the outcome

being that the discussion of how us–them dichotomies such as individualism–collectivism are

designed by discourses of the Centre are never deeply discussed, and the inherently unequal nature

of cultural politics is hidden beneath the detailed technicalities of theory building.

Adrian Holliday

Canterbury Christ Church University, North Holmes Campus, UK

Newburn, T. (Ed.). (2005). Policing: Key Readings. Portland, OR: Willan. Pp. 834.

DOI: 10.1177/1057567707310567

Tim Newburn is currently the president of the British Society of Criminology, as well as the

director of the Mannheim Centre for the Study of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He earned his

PhD in sociology at the University of Leicester. Currently a faculty member of the Social Policy

Department within the London School of Economics and Political Science, he has authored or coau-

thored 28 books on a variety of criminological and criminal justice issues since 1991, including

numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. His research interests outside of policing include juvenile

offenders, juvenile justice, drug and alcohol use and abuse, and corrections policy making, among

others. In Policing: Key Readings, he introduces students (and perhaps academics) to 45 leading

publications that reflect an international consensus of the Western style of policing.

Although this reader is probably not appropriate for undergraduates, graduate students and scholars

alike would do well to have a copy on their bookshelf. Most introductory criminal justice textbooks

do reference many of the publications that make up this volume. There simply may not be enough

time in the semester to give equitable attention to this paperback and meet additional coursework

objectives. Conversely, professors that teach advanced undergraduate courses might consider struc-

turing this reader into their class syllabus. For all intents and purposes, his editing methodology is

solid given that present-day publications focusing on the Western style of policing are not often peer

reviewed and because subjective interpretations can be ambiguous or sometimes just plain wrong.

The discipline of criminal justice is a social science, not a social study.

Specifically, the editor did not act alone when initially editing out equally deserving contributions to

the literature that were not included but could have framed this reader. Three Canadians (Jean-Paul

Brodeur, Richard Ericson, and Pat O’Malley), two Australians (Christopher Devery and David Dixon),

three Englishmen (Rob C. Mawby, Peter Neyroud, and Tank Waddington), and four Americans

(Herman Goldstein, Peter Manning, Gary T. Marx, and Wesley Skogan) were consulted for their

independent views and thoughts as to what ought to or may perhaps be included. Academics familiar

with the literature may recognize a sample of influential contributions that make up this reader by

author and year of publication such as Silver (1967), Greenwood, Chaiken, and Petersilia (1977),

Van Maanen (1978), Goldstein (1979), Wilson and Kelling (1982), Klockers (1988), Williams and

Murphy (1990), Heidensohn (1992), Skolnick and Fyfe (1993), Finnane (1994), Bratton (1998), or

Dunlap, Jr. (2001).

Note that reading this volume from start to finish is advantageous but not necessary. The editor

deliberately approaches the study of Western policing from a historical perspective. Each publication

fits neatly into one of six sections: (a) the emergence and development of the police; (b) the role and

function of the police; (c) police culture; (d) policing strategies; (e) deviance, ethics and control; and

(f) the emerging pattern of policing. Contents list each publication by author(s) and identify which

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