Springer Permission to Shoot?: Police Use of Deadly Force in Democracies

This book explores police abuse and extrajudicial killings in major countries, especially India and the U.S. It is based on primary-source interviews with police officers, those involved in the killings, those who facilitate them, and mute spectators. From the Back Cover Extrajudicial executions by law enforcement officers have blighted parts of the world for generations, but criminological coverage has been superficial and selective. It has often been presented as a problem specific to countries associated with military rule, dictatorial regimes and colonial heritage. Permission to Shoot?: Police Use of Deadly Force in Democracies brings a new dimension to the problem of police abuse of deadly force by concentrating on the social and political settings in India and the United States, both large democracies and vibrant superpowers. The research in the book is based on primary sources―interviews with police officers of varying ranks: with those who are involved in the killings; with those who facilitate such operations, and with those who are mute spectators. The book deals with universal, fundamental themes such as: • Why is it that in a democratic country the abuse of police powers can appear to be overtly and tacitly encouraged? • What motivational techniques and justifications are used to override social norms governing moral conduct, centring on the sector of society mandated to use deadly force against civilians? • What makes ordinary, decent human beings do horrible things? Permission to Shoot? seeks to provide broad guidelines and recommendations for reforms in policing policy and practice. The research peels back the opaque communication that often surrounds this issue, but more than that it shows how that kind of communication acts to support the practice itself. About the Author Jyoti Belur is a Research Associate at the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London in London, UK. After obtaining a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai, she briefly worked as a lecturer of Economics at that university. She then joined the Indian Police Service and served as a senior police officer in the North of India. During her training period at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad she completed a Masters in Police Management (Osmania University). She has since then done another Masters degree in Human Rights at the University of Essex in the UK, after which she completed her PhD at the London School of Economics. Her recent research activities at the Jill Dando Institute include a consultancy project for the London Metropolitan Police to help them get a better understanding of the Muslim communities in a number of London boroughs. Dr. Belur’s key areas of interest are policing and police studies, terrorism and processes of radicalization and extremism.