At the End of the Line: Colonial Policing and the Imperial Endgame 1945-80

Colonial Policing and the Imperial Endgame is the first comprehensive study of the colonial police and their complex role within Britain's long and turbulent process of decolonisation - an explosive era marked by political upheaval and colonial conflict. End of empire provides the colourful backdrop back-drop for Georgina Sinclair's incisive examination of the role Colonial Police Service, following its creation in 1936, as efforts were made to standardize all imperial police forces and mould colonial policing to the British model. From the British Caribbean to the Middle East, the Mediterranean to British Colonial Africa and on to Southeast Asia, colonial police forces struggled with the unrest and conflict that stemmed from Britain's withdrawal from its empire. As the shadow of decolonisation grew ever longer, so colonial police forces reverted back to their traditional role as a colony's first line of defence. At the same time, as tensions increased throughout the empire, so the power the police escalated via the development of police intelligence systems and counter-insurgency units. Colonial Policing and the Imperial Endgame shows how coercion rather than consent, a controversial viewpoint, was more commonly associated with the work of police forces during this period of political dislocation. The study of colonial policing during this period facilitates a greater understanding of the processes of decolonisation. Hence, this book will be vital reading for specialists and undergraduates studying the histories of policing, the British Empire and decolonization, whilst enabling the general public to access a highly readable account of the general history of British policing and imperial history.

Author: Georgina Sinclair
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 06/01/2010
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9780719071393

About the Author

Georgina Sinclair is Research Associate in the European Centre for the Study of Policing at The Open University