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The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
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Science and Politics in Police Research: Reflections on Their Tangled Relationship

Samuel Walker

Police research in the United States has been heavilyinfluenced by external politics. This influence isagendasetting rather than truth-suppressing. Agenda-settinginfluence occurs where external political influencecauses researchers to undertake research on a subject orsubjects they had previously neglected. The influence ofpolitics on research has, in some very importantrespects, greatly enriched social science research on thepolice, forcing scholars to confront subjects andmethodological issues they had previously neglected. Therelationship between police research and the externalpolitical environment is extremely complex and is by nomeans simple or one-directional. There are also someimportant examples, notably, community policing, ofwhere research findings have influenced the politicalagenda.

Key Words: police • research • politics • police reform

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 593, No. 1, 137-155 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0002716203262699
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