Policy making structures of the Turkish national police organisation

This paper first of all considers a theoretical framework of the role of policing. Secondly it considers the general features of the Turkish political system, relating to the policing system. Next the paper looks at the existing policing organisational and policy‐making structures in Turkey. Then it discusses the role of the Government and the representative organisations in policing policy‐making, and then community involvement in policing in general and in policy‐making procedures in particular, indicating the importance of police‐community relations and community consultation. Finally it considers the independence, impartiality and accountability of policing policies by referring to the internal disciplinary control and complaints procedures. The paper suggests that the Turkish police have to review their own policies and organisations, balancing the needs for far greater decentralisation. The police organisation should provide for strategic policy making to guide the force consciously and systematical...