Introduction

The police are one of the main actors in a democracy because policing is among the public services that most affects people's lives. Public policing shapes social and economic opportunities and, consequently, limits the freedom of individuals to live out their own lives. Thus, one of the tasks of police forces should be to ensure the fulfilment of democratic values for all members of society. Values such as equality, equity, participation in decisions and responsiveness are manifested when police services meet the needs of the public: if coercion is used only exceptionally and in proportion to the seriousness of the transgression; when they are receptive to public opinion about public safety policy; and when they act transparently and remove incompetent or malicious employees from their roles (Jones et al, 1996).

In terms of promoting democratic values, the influence of the police goes further. Police have the power to generate a sense of belonging to a political community, which leads to the public's commitment to democratic institutions (Loader, 2006). This sense of belonging comes from experience and the expectation that institutions, including the police, recognize the legitimate rights of all members of society. The police also function as a mediator of collective identity, a social institution that acts to recognize or deny, sometimes coercively, which voices will be heard or silenced, what claims will be considered legitimate, and how individuals and groups are integrated into the social fabric. The police do not merely guard the community, they also produce meanings about the kind of place that community is or should be (Loader, 2006). Therefore, the quality of policing has a direct impact on the quality of life in a democracy (Goldstein, 1977). The police are therefore an important indicator of the quality of a community's government and its democracy (Jones et al, 1996).

The way the police exercise their authority reflects the relationship between the state and its citizens. As the main state instrument to claim the monopoly of the legitimate use of violence in society, the police can be both a guarantor of, and a threat to, the security of citizens, and must resolve this equation in a way that meets the security demands of all social groups.