This SSR Backgrounder is about the roles and responsibilities of police in good security sector governance (SSG). Because of their special powers and their proximity to the population, how the police do their work directly affects the security of individuals and communities on a daily basis, as well as the democratic character of the state itself. Although police organizations differ in every country, this SSR Backgrounder explains how the same principles of good SSG and democratic policing can be adapted to every context.

This SSR Backgrounder answers the following questions:

• What are the police?
• What are typical features of effective policing?
• How does democratic policing contribute to good SSG?
• What are typical features of democratic civilian control of the police?
• How does SSR affect the police?