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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2025
Police anywhere are problematic as a public institution for a variety of reasons, such as their authoritarian and adversarial role, the fact that they can legally use force, the opportunities for corruption they are offered, lack of agreement over the morality they enforce, and the fact that they must act quickly in situations where only limited information is available.
The English police are of interest in this regard because they occupy a rather unique position in appearing to be more loved than hated, something that can hardly be said for police in most other countries. The degree of consensus and voluntary compliance with law, though easily exaggerated by the anglophilic American, seem more pronounced than in most other countries.