ABSTRACT

Policing the Global South: colonial legacies, pluralities, partnerships, and reform

An increase in intellectual knowledge produced by scholars from the Global South about policing issues not aligned to Northern ideological positions and specific to a non-Northern context represents a conscious shift away from the acceptance of a Northern monopoly over policing scholarship. Policing the Global South purposefully presents criminological scholarship from scholars in the Global South responding to issues within policing contexts in postcolonial developing countries across the globe. It facilitates an examination of the multidimensional nature of policing in the Global South, its relationship with historical, social, and ideological factors, as well as the acknowledgement of complexities engendered through various contextual realities. This chapter introduces the aim and overview of the volume and its organisation through five themes: acknowledging colonial legacies and their impact on policing; navigating plural regulatory systems and policing partnerships; access to justice, community perceptions, and police legitimacy; organisational reform, crime prevention, and community partnerships; and the expanding roles of police organisations.