Social partnership in law enforcement: theoretical and methodological aspects of the research

Abstract

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the search for the reasons for the unsatisfactory practice of building social partnerships in the law enforcement sphere. The main problem of the current state of affairs, according to the author, is the presence of an axiological barrier in the minds of the intended subjects of interaction: internal affairs bodies and public law enforcement organizations. The length of time it takes to overcome the axiological barrier, as well as the lack of progressive dynamism in building an effective system, are burdened by a lack of understanding of the nature of the phenomenon of social partnership. This circumstance contributed to the dominance of a predominantly normative basis for mobilizing the movement of «social activists» and predetermined the administrative-command methods of stimulating public activity «from above.» This has given rise to simulation and over-centralized practices that exclude the value content of the communication process, initiative, interest, independence, personal responsibility and other mandatory attributes of a partner form of interaction.The purpose of the research is to determine the essential characteristics of social partnership, systematization and accounting of which will allow us to propose a conceptual basis for its formation in the law enforcement sphere. The research method is abstract situation modeling where the development of partnerships is analyzed through a system-activity approach. It makes possible to study both the systemic properties of social partnership and the specifics of the activity content of the analyzed model, which generates successful joint actions of subjects in the process of building a social partnership.The results and key conclusions of the research have made it possible to describe the essential features of the partnership form of interaction, present the author’s definition of social partnership in the law enforcement sphere and propose the main directions for its activation in order to build truly partnership practices.

Keywords

• social partnership
• interaction between police and society
• social management
• law enforcement