Police and Government: Histories of Policing in Australia

This work provides a wholly new account of this history. Starting from the assumption that policing is a fundamental responsibility of government, it explores the political and historical conditions under which police have been organized in Australia. It argues that the relations between the institutions of "police" and "government" in Australia require analysis from three different perspectives: the relations of police forces and executive government, the role of police in the governing of populations in Australia, and finally the very problem of the government of police themselves. The book draws on a wealth of archival research, a knowledge of comparative policing history, and the author's experience in contemporary criminal justice policy and reform.