This book examines police-community relations in an ethnically divided society, focusing on the attitudes and experiences of the Catholic minority and the Protestant majority, and the lower-class and middle-class sections of those populations. These groups attach great importance to, but are often polarized over, issues of police accountability, the handling of complaints against the police, the legitimacy and professionalism of the police force (the Royal Ulster Constabulary), use of deadly force, and the various forms of counterinsurgency policing which is preeminent in Northern Ireland.

The study specifies the conditions under which an ethnic group's relations with the police are likely to deteriorate or improve. Comparisons to other societies make this more than a case study of Northern Ireland. It is a major contribution to the literature on policing and ethnic conflict.