ABSTRACT
The proper role for the police in combating disorder has sparked controversy for as long as the police have existed. Recently much of this debate has been about whether “public order” is a worthwhile goal at all,* but the debate also raises a different question: If we want our public spaces to be orderly, who should have the responsibility for maintaining that order? In principle, the police are not the only possible answer to this question, since a variety of other community institutions might take responsibility for order maintenance. It is in that context that I mean to examine the wisdom of community policing without the police.
