IntroductionThe debate over police independence versus police accountability has been hotly contested since at least the 1960s.1 At the heart of the debate are questions relating to the degree and manner of oversight to which police police forces should be subjugated, while maintaining the independence of such police forces to carry out their duties without undue political (or other) interference. This essay examines the principles underlying the “independence of the police office,” the notion of accountable government, and how the interaction between these two ideas has been characterized in the literature. It will be demonstrated that police independence and accountable government (i.e. police accountability) are not mutually exclusive concepts and that they can (and occasionally do) coexist. The Office of Constable (or Police Independence) A casual reading of the literature discussing the office of constable tends to suggest that the principle is an easily definable, compelling and stable phenomenon. A more prescient analysis, however, reveals that the idea itself is and has always been a highly contested, nebulous, and transitory concept. Indeed, as Stenning points out, the idea itself is unique to only a few “common law jurisdictions and…until very recently, has been entirely the creation of a judicial ruling…with no clear constitutional basis or statutory provisions”.2 Furthermore, even between the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, there are marked distinctions “on the content, scope, application, acceptability and alleged implications of the idea” of the office of constable.3 To the extent in which an agreement was reached regarding the meaning of the independence of the office of police officer, ...... middle of the document ...... urnal of Police Science & Management, vol. 6, no. 3, 2004, pp. 115-125Smith, G., “Citizen Oversight of Independent Police Services: Bifurcated Accountability, Regulatory Creep and Learning Lessons,” Regulation and Governance, Vol. 3, 2009, pp. 421-441Stenning, P., “The idea of ​​political police “independence”: international interpretations and experiences”, in Beare, M. & Murray, T., (eds.), Police & Government Relations: Whose Calling the Shots, University of Toronto Press, pp. 183-256Walsh, D.P.J. & Conway, V., “Police Governance and Accountability: Overview of Current Issues”, Crime Law and Social Change, Vol. 55, no. 2-3, 2011, pp. 61-86Wood, D. & MacAlister, D., “Accountable, Responsive and Independent: On the Need for Balance in Police Governance”, International Journal of Police Science and Management, vol. . 7, no. 3, 2005, pp. 197-207