Our Enemies in BlueOur Enemies in Blue
Police and Power in America
Title rated 4.65 out of 5 stars, based on 3 ratings(3 ratings)
Book, 2015
Current format, Book, 2015, Third edition, Available .Book, 2015
Current format, Book, 2015, Third edition, Available . Offered in 0 more formatsLet's begin with the basics: violence is an inherent part of policing. The police represent the most direct means by which the state imposes its will on the citizenry. They are armed, trained, and authorized to use force. Like the possibility of arrest, the threat of violence is implicit in every police encounter. Violence, as well as the law, is what they represent. Using media reports alone, the Cato Institute's last annual study listed nearly seven thousand victims of police misconduct in the United States. But such stories of police brutality only scratch the surface of a national epidemic. Every year, tens of thousands are framed, blackmailed, beaten, sexually assaulted, or killed by cops. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on civil judgments and settlements annually. Individual lives, families, and communities are destroyed. In this extensively revised and updated edition of his seminal study of policing in the United States, Kristian Williams shows that police brutality isn't an anomaly, but is built into the very meaning of law enforcement in the United States. From antebellum slave patrols to today's unarmed youth being gunned down in the streets, peace keepers have always used force to shape behavior, repress dissent, and defend the powerful.
Title availability
About
Subject and genre
Details
Publication
- Oakland : AK Press, [2015]
Opinion
More from the community
Community lists featuring this title
There are no community lists featuring this title
Community contributions
Community quotations are the opinions of contributing users. These quotations do not represent the opinions of Omaha Public Library.
There are no quotations from this title
Community quotations are the opinions of contributing users. These quotations do not represent the opinions of Omaha Public Library.
There are no quotations from this title
From the community