Policing has generally become a complex area of publicadministration in our
times. Where however a society is sharplydivided on ethnic, linguistic or
economic lines, police takes arerendered even more problematic. The author, a
senior Indian PoliceService officer, with more than three decades of field
experienceand who has also observed the US police from close quarters,attempts a
comparative study of the two systems. His finding, thatnotwithstanding their
obvious cultural differences and disparitiesin terms of economic and
technological development, police forcesin the two countries share common
problems -- a spurt in violentcrime, terrorism, and low police regard for human
rights -- shouldprovide food for thought for the police leadership. There