Comparative Policing: The Struggle for Democratization

Maria (Maki) Haberfeld is a Professor of Police Science, in the Department of Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She was born in Poland and immigrated to Israel as a teenager. She holds two Bachelor or Art degrees, two Master degrees, and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. Prior to coming to John Jay she served in the Israel National Police, and left the force at the rank of Lieutenant. She also worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Field Office, as a special consultant. She taught at Yeshiva University and New Jersey City University. Her research interests and publications are in the areas of private and public law enforcement, specifically training, police integrity, and comparative policing (her research involves police departments in the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, and Israel). She has also done some research in the area of white-collar crime, specifically organizational and individual corruption during the Communist era in Eastern Europe. For about 4 years (1997-2001), she has been a member of the research team, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, studying police integrity in three major police departments in United States. Currently she is a Principal Investigator of the National Institute of Justice sponsored research project in Poland, where she studies the Polish National Police and its transformation to Community Oriented Policing. Her research in Poland focuses on the balancing act between the public perceptions of the new police reform and rampant accusations of corruption and lack of integrity. One of her publications, a book titled Critical Issues in Police Training (2002), is the first academic text, ever published, that covers all the phases and aspects of training of police officers in the United States. She has presented numerous papers, on training related issues, during professional gatherings and conferences, and written a number of articles and book chapters on police training, specifically police leadership, integrity, and stress. In addition, she has been involved in active training of police officers on issues related to multiculturalism, sensitivity, and leadership, as well as technical assistance to a number of police departments in rewriting procedural manuals. She is a member of a number of professional police associations, like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, International Police Association, American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, and American Society for Industrial Security. Recently she has been involved in coordinating a special training program for the NYPD. She has developed and co-developed a number of courses for this special program and has delivered training to the NYPD supervisors in the area of counter-terrorism policies and leadership. After the WTC disaster she became a member of a special counter-terrorism task force, at John Jay College, working on the establishment of a counter terrorism institute, which will serve as resource data base for local and federal law enforcement agencies. She is also currently involved in the training of the Czech National Police, a project sponsored by the Transparency International Czech Republic.