An Assessment of Democratic Policing in Turkey

Abstract

This study contends that democracy can be enduring only when the police of a nation accept and embody democratic values in their practices. As an example of a growing trend towards democracy among developing countries, Turkey is engaged in a programme of admittance to the European Union. Recently, the Turkey National Police (TNP) has implemented a series of reforms and changes resulting in a transformation towards democratic policing. This study examined the implementation of a democratic policing framework, using quantitative methods to assess the attitudes of 384 TNP officers. Its focus was the attitudes, values and characteristics of TNP members, organisational capacity, police culture and other contemporary criminal justice policies of the TNP. Multiple regression (OLS) revealed that democratic development, departmental leadership, cynicism for the reforms and aggressive law enforcement orientation were significantly related to the acceptance of democratic policing. Demographic variables, except tenure, were not significantly related to democratic policing. In conclusion, democratic policing was accepted by the organisation and more research is needed to further explore the process through which confronts democratisation of the TNP.