This book takes a critical and comparative approach to the analysis of the governance of police stops across Europe. It draws on an EU COST Action research network on Police Stops which engaged academics and practitioners from 29 countries to better understand the practice of police stops. It begins by examining how police stops are defined and the various legal rules and levels of accountability afforded. The chapters are arranged by theme to focus on a core aspect of the governance of police stops. These include: legal frameworks and police discretion; internal governance; external accountability and civilian oversight; possibilities for legal recourse; and the different roles of data and technology. Each compares the distinct approaches evident across Europe, often employing case studies. The book adopts a critical approach, acknowledging governance as contested and involving diverse (state, non-state and supranational) actors. It considers implications for policing in a rapidly changing environment globally.

Smart societies pose new challenges for police organizations. Demands for more efficiency and effectiveness test police organizations which are often resistant to change. This book uses the concept of the abstract police to describe the way in which police organizations have tried to adapt to these new evolutions and the consequences. The chapters stem from a conference called "Street Policing in a Smart Society" which sought to frame and analyse these developments in policing. In this book, the concept of the abstract police is introduced, analysed and then challenged from different angles, looking at the evolutions related to technology, plural policing, police discretion and police decision making. As such, the book is a reflection of current debates on policing and police organization, aiming to give input to the debate by providing new insights on police and police work.

In today's globalized society, an international exchange of ideas and views is indispensable within the field of social sciences, including criminology and criminal justice studies. The research group Governance of Security (GofS) fosters contemporary international discourses on issues of crime and crime control. In 2008, GofS started a research paper series, combining theoretical and empirical articles on issues reflecting the research activities of GofS. This research group is a collaboration between Ghent University and Ghent University College in Belgium. GofS concentrates its research around the study of administrative and judicial policy that have been developed with respect to new issues of crime and insecurity. The GofS series Governance of Security Research Papers (GofS) is published by Maklu Publishing (Belgium). Readings on Criminal Justice, Criminal Law and Policing Volume 2 of GofS's series Governance of Security Research Papers includes the following: Punishment across Borders: The Rationales behind International Execution of Sentences Interpreting the Concept of 'Discretionary Power' within the Execution of Sentences: A Comparison between the Belgian and French Situation Esperanto for EU Crime Statistics: Towards Common European Offense Definitions in an EU-level Offense Classification System Developing a Framework for the Legal Rights of Victims and Witnesses What Can European Institutions and the International Criminal Court Learn from Each Other? Purpose Limitation in EU-US Data Exchange in Criminal Matters: The Remains of the Day Some Criminal Law Reflections on the Sexual Transmission of HIV Reading about Crime in Post-Intervention Societies: A Critical Assessment Policing and Leadership: The Case of the Belgian Chiefs of the Local Police Reflections on the Possible Integration of Intelligence-Led Policing into Community Policing: The Belgian Case Reliability and Correlational Validity of Police Interview Competences: Assessing the Stability of the Police Interview Competency Inventory The Role of Europol in Joint Investigation Teams: A Foretaste of an Executive European Police Office? Checking Aspects of a "Nodal Orientation" for Policing the Port of Antwerp.