Road Policing as a State Tool: Learning from a Socio-historical Analysis of the California Highway Patrol

La police de la route comme outil d'Etat, le cas de la California Highway Patrol

Fabrice Hamelin (1) , Vincent Spenlehauer (1)

1 INRETS/GARIG - Groupe d'Analyse du Risque routier et de sa Gouvernance

The vast majority of Anglo-American police and policing social studies illustrate, both theoretically and empirically, an a-statist, localist and, to a lesser extent, privatist organization. This article reconsiders this common perspective by exploring the socio-historical monographs of the California Highway Patrol. This inquiry reveals how a state can utilize a new and marginal policing objective*road risk and criminality*to develop a powerful and relatively autonomous police organization, which, despite its name, exists more as a police on the road than a police of the road, and plays a vital role in the Californian police system. Surprisingly, the California Highway Patrol embodies the model of a state institution much more common in ''Older Europe'' than in America.

Mots clés: Policing; State; Road policing; Highway patrol; California; Institution; Profession

Domaines: Science politique; Histoire; Sociologie

Fabrice Hamelin, Vincent Spenlehauer. Road Policing as a State Tool: Learning from a Socio-historical Analysis of the California Highway Patrol. Policing and Society, 2006, 16 (3), pp.261-284. ⟨10.1080/10439460600811950⟩. ⟨hal-01969614⟩