Police Role in Democracy. Was It Fulfilled During the G20 in Toronto
Viewed by many as the most legitimized form of government, Democracy is a form of government for the people by the people. Acting supposedly in the main interests of the majority of its residing population, democracy is meant to accommodate the many. This paper will be examining if that is indeed true with the manner of policing tactics used during the G20 meetings in Toronto in June 2010. Faced with a major challenge of the largest scale protest in Canadian history, police agencies from all over Canada came together to try and keep a democratic level of policing, while maintaining social order and providing security to the international delegates. Leaning more towards the latter, the police did not fulfill the main democratic role set in place for them by the Canadian citizens. The police did act in accordance, for the most part, within Canadian law, but legislation was passed and as well orders given through politicians which ultimately ended with an undemocratic system of policing being implemented during the G20. The police are the face of security within democratic societies, but what went on behind the scenes and the reasons for why certain actions were implemented go far beyond the joint police forces used in Toronto. Political objectives carried heavy weight on the actions of the police which pulled them farther away from performing their democratic duties of protecting the people in their own nation. Examining what democracy is and how the police fit within a democratic country is essential to understanding what occurred during the G20 in Toronto. International pressure, and political factors will be brought to the limelight to show that while police were the main actors in the events that occurred in Toronto, the politicians where the puppeteers ultimately pulling the strings. To understand the role that the police play within a society, one must first understand the ideology and system of government that is set in place within a nation. An ideology
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