In philosophical terms, why are the police now perceived as agents of social control?

The interactions between the police and the public have been somewhat tenuous throughout the years of formal policing. Though the police and the criminal justice system adopt an objective stance towards upholding the law, this often lays in disjuncture with the unpredictable nature of reality and the human condition. This attempt at rigidity appears to be met with conflict and hostility on a regular basis. This begs the question as to why this has become so. If the police force are protecting society which is their supposed intention, why are they are now perceived as agents of social control?

The methods of study adopted to analyse this topic are a combination of inter-disciplinary theories. The first chapter particularly draws on the works of ethical philosophies so to establish a more comprehensive perspective of the philosophical basis of the criminal justice system. In the chapter that explores the perceptions of the police and their media representations, critical and literary theories along with the philosophies of media have been utilised to inform the argument of this thesis. To reinforce this discussion, media sources surrounding a current debate about police behaviour have also been examined to highlight the applicability of philosophy in everyday life. Finally, the section which explores the concepts of police control and surveillance within society draws on Foucauldian ideas and the philosophy of technology, which incorporates the issues surrounding the concept of the ‘cyborg’ and questions of decreasing human subjectivity within society. By utilising a multitude of theories and approaches to inform the topic at hand, along with personally interpreting these notions and adding my own opinions, hopefully this has shed some philosophical light as to why the police have come to be perceived as agents of social control.
Though the conclusions that have been established by researching and writing this thesis are somewhat tenuous and fragmented, it is evident that there are prevalent issues that have important implications in everyday society. The notion of supposed legal objectivity in contradistinction with the subjectivity of the human condition is particularly necessary to re-evaluate in terms of improving police-public relations. The progression of technology which has aided surveillance and dataveillance is not only unstoppable but irreversible too. However, it appears that current ontological debates have yet to catch up with the increasing technocracy of society, and perhaps a re-assessment of ontological questions is essential to further understand the role of the police and police technology within our lives.