The Politics of Police Accountability

This chapter centres on examining the politics of police accountability, and how this topic has been politicized in Ireland. The inevitability of politicization is reflected on, while also exploring how this can be done in the most democratically positive way. The argument is made that the nature of the state can be determinative in shaping the mechanisms of accountability adopted, and that in Ireland colonialism is central to this. It argues that three phases of politicization can be identified: colonial, postcolonial, and post-postcolonial. Both structures, cases, tribunals, and commentary are analysed in order to make this argument. The chapter suggests what post-postcolonialism looks like in this context, and what its ramifications may be.