Abstract
This article reflects on the implementation of a Swiss community policing project in Sarajevo Canton,
Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2011. The case study explores how police practitioners might support the
development of partnership-based policing models in the context of a developing and transitional
society. It uses the concept of ‘policy translation’ to illustrate the potential benefits and challenges of
enrolling the situated agency of low ranking police officers to support international reforms by
contrasting the approaches of two ‘specialist’ units to implementing this model in different sectors.
Motivated officers from RPZ1 made important progress towards nurturing the idea of partnership and
promoting an enhanced public image for the Sarajevo Canton Police while their counterparts in RPZ2
struggled to match their successes due to contextual obstacles and limited enthusiasm. Drawing from
these examples, the author theorises the ability of motivated officers to renegotiate police culture and
support the development of democratically responsive policing models ‘from the bottom up’.
Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2011. The case study explores how police practitioners might support the
development of partnership-based policing models in the context of a developing and transitional
society. It uses the concept of ‘policy translation’ to illustrate the potential benefits and challenges of
enrolling the situated agency of low ranking police officers to support international reforms by
contrasting the approaches of two ‘specialist’ units to implementing this model in different sectors.
Motivated officers from RPZ1 made important progress towards nurturing the idea of partnership and
promoting an enhanced public image for the Sarajevo Canton Police while their counterparts in RPZ2
struggled to match their successes due to contextual obstacles and limited enthusiasm. Drawing from
these examples, the author theorises the ability of motivated officers to renegotiate police culture and
support the development of democratically responsive policing models ‘from the bottom up’.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2013 |
| Event | 2013 European Society of Criminology Conference - Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary Duration: 04 Sept 2013 → 07 Sept 2013 |
Conference
| Conference | 2013 European Society of Criminology Conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Hungary |
| City | Budapest |
| Period | 04 Sept 2013 → 07 Sept 2013 |
Keywords
- police culture
- police reform
- bottom-up
- bosnia-herzegovina