Eastern European countries have been involved in a complex transition towards more democratic forms of government. Since the demise of communism, the building up of an independent judiciary and a general reorientation of the police role within society have been key-issues. On the basis of three country studies in Russia, Lithuania and Mongolia, this book analyses the present state of policing in a variety of post-communist societies in terms of police-public violence, democratic policing, the rule of law and human rights. It is also complemented by recent comparable and previously unpublished police data for Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. Those studies have been carried out amongst the rank-and-file of the uniform branch in Lithuania and Russia which were commissioned by the Soros Open Society Foundation. They were specifically concerning views and experiences concerning police-public violence and current policing problems in general. A third study was carried in Mongolia amongst criminal investigators, and sought to explore (violent) investigative practices. This book seeks to combine a thorough theoretical analysis with unique empirical data. It analyses the different problems of transition of post-communist societies towards more democratic forms of government with unique data from both outside and inside the police, offering: *comparable insights into the level of police-public violence in six post-communist societies *in-depth insight into the various national policing issues *information concerning the effectiveness of internal and external accountability mechanisms *comparative analyses of current policing practices *analysis of existing opportunities and impediments for the development of democratic policing in accordance with human rights standards in such societies