The politics of police accountability

Police expulsions in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6264666
AutoresHernán Flom (0000-0001-9906-4263, Department of Political Science Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen37
Número2
Páginas453-473
Fecha de publicación2024-04-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGovernance (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0952-1895 • E-ISSN: 1468-0491
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/gove.12779
OpenAlexW4360985026
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas31

Police accountability has long been deemed an essential component of democratizing reform. Reformist administrations in Latin America and other developing regions have consequently created oversight agencies to monitor police misconduct. However, the literature has not yet explored how these institutions operate and the politics that undergird them. This paper examines how police accountability institutions work in developing democracies. I focus on the police of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, using an untapped database of more than 6400 expelled police officers. I find that the extent to which reformist ministers expel police officers and thus exercise greater control of the police peaks during their first year in office. Contrarily, it is not bolstered by mid‐term electoral victories or factors such as scandals or violent crimes. The paper extends our knowledge of the politics of police accountability in developing democracies, outlining the incentives and obstacles for politicians to control the police

Accountability · Criminology · Economics · Incentive · Latin Americans · Misconduct · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Work (physics · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Engineering · Law · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration