ABSTRACT
Exceptions can be identified, of course. Scholars working in the Marxist tradition come most readily to mind as people who are consistent in their quest for a theory of the police. In iconoclastic mood, Paul Rock has described the development of the sociology of crime and delinquency as an erratic and fragmented enterprise. Scholars interested in crime, deviance and social control lay claim to an intellectual heritage derived from a vast sociological terrain. Michael Banton’s pioneering work, The policeman in the community, is surely the general starting point of a contemporary sociology of the British police and for research about the occupational culture in particular. As Banton was finishing his fieldwork, Maureen Cain began her questionnaire and observational study of rural and urban policing. Alfred Schutz argues that the starting point for sociological enquiry is ‘commonsense knowledge’ and he has formulated a theory of the relevancies of knowledge.
