Charles R. Epp – författare

In sheer numbers, no form of government control comes close to the police stop. Each year, twelve percent of drivers in the United States are stopped by the police, and the figure is almost double among racial minorities. Police stops are among the most frequently criticized incidences of racial profiling, but while studies have shown that minorities are pulled over at higher rates, none have examined how police stops came to be encouraged and institutionalized. Pulled Over deftly traces the strange history of the investigatory police stop. The authors show that who is stopped and how they are treated convey powerful messages about citizenship and racial disparity in the United States. For African Americans, investigatory stops erode the perceived legitimacy of police stops and of the police generally, leading to decreased trust in the police and less willingness to solicit police assistance. This holds true even when police are courteous throughout the encounters and follow seemingly color-blind institutional protocols. In a country that celebrates racial equality, investigatory stops have a deleterious effect on minority communities that merits serious reconsideration.Pulled Over offers practical recommendations on how reforms can protect the rights of citizens and still effectively combat crime.

In sheer numbers, no form of government control comes close to the police stop. Each year, twelve percent of drivers in the United States are stopped by the police, and the figure is almost double among racial minorities. Police stops are among the most frequently criticized incidences of racial profiling, but while studies have shown that minorities are pulled over at higher rates, none have examined how police stops came to be encouraged and institutionalized. Pulled Over deftly traces the strange history of the investigatory police stop. The authors show that who is stopped and how they are treated convey powerful messages about citizenship and racial disparity in the United States. For African Americans, investigatory stops erode the perceived legitimacy of police stops and of the police generally, leading to decreased trust in the police and less willingness to solicit police assistance. This holds true even when police are courteous throughout the encounters and follow seemingly color-blind institutional protocols. In a country that celebrates racial equality, investigatory stops have a deleterious effect on minority communities that merits serious reconsideration.Pulled Over offers practical recommendations on how reforms can protect the rights of citizens and still effectively combat crime.

The text argues that far from being the fruit of an activist judiciary, the ascendency of civil rights and liberties has rested on the democratization of access to the courts - the influence of advocacy groups, the establishment of governmental enforcement agencies, the growth of financial and legal resources for ordinary citizens, and the strategic planning of grass roots organizations. Pointing to the idea that the shift in the rights of individuals is best understood as a "bottom up" rather than a "top down" phenomenon.

It's a common complaint: the United States is overrun by rules and procedures that shackle professional judgment, have no valid purpose, and serve only to appease courts and lawyers. Charles R. Epp argues, however, that few Americans would want to return to an era without these legalistic policies, which in the 1970s helped bring recalcitrant bureaucracies in line with a growing national commitment to civil rights and individual dignity. Focusing on three disparate policy areas - workplace sexual harassment, playground safety, and police brutality in both the United States and the United Kingdom - Epp explains how activists and professionals used legal liability, lawsuit-generated publicity, and innovative managerial ideas to pursue the implementation of new rights. Together, these strategies resulted in frameworks designed to make institutions accountable through intricate rules, employee training, and managerial oversight. Explaining how these practices became ubiquitous across bureaucratic organizations, Epp casts today's legalistic state in an entirely new light.

It’s a common complaint: the United States is overrun by rules and procedures that shackle professional judgment, have no valid purpose, and serve only to appease courts and lawyers. Charles R. Epp argues, however, that few Americans would want to return to an era without these legalistic policies, which in the 1970s helped bring recalcitrant bureaucracies into line with a growing national commitment to civil rights and individual dignity. 

Focusing on three disparate policy areas—workplace sexual harassment, playground safety, and police brutality in both the United States and the United Kingdom—Epp explains how activists and professionals used legal liability, lawsuit-generated publicity, and innovative managerial ideas to pursue the implementation of new rights. Together, these strategies resulted in frameworks designed to make institutions accountable through intricate rules, employee training, and managerial oversight. Explaining how these practices became ubiquitous across bureaucratic organizations, Epp casts today’s legalistic state in an entirely new light.