Policing Perspectives and Challenges in the Twenty-First Century - Böcker

Robertson and Chaney examine how the early antecedents of police brutality like plantation overseers, the lynching of African American males, early race riots, the Rodney King incident, and the Los Angeles Rampart Scandal have directly impacted the current relationship between communities of color and police. Using a phenomenological framework, they analyze how African American college students perceive police to determine how race, gender, and education create different realities among a demographic. Based on their qualitative and quantitative findings, Robertson and Chaney offer recommended policies and strategies for police and communities to improve relationships and perceptions between the two.

Robertson and Chaney examine how the early antecedents of police brutality like plantation overseers, the lynching of African American males, early race riots, the Rodney King incident, and the Los Angeles Rampart Scandal have directly impacted the current relationship between communities of color and police. Using a phenomenological framework, they analyze how African American college students perceive police to determine how race, gender, and education create different realities among a demographic. Based on their qualitative and quantitative findings, Robertson and Chaney offer recommended policies and strategies for police and communities to improve relationships and perceptions between the two.

Using Philadelphia as a case study, this book examines numerous themes within policing, such as historical-cultural sentiment, the role of city officials in the exacerbation of abuse, federal litigation, and civil activism aimed at curbing police violence. While Philadelphia was one of the first cities to implement reforms spearheaded by the African American community, the Philadelphia police department (PPD) has successfully eluded every attempt at reform, largely by fortifying and insulating themselves from any form of oversight. The PPD has evolved into a politically autonomous entity; the city has subsequently relinquished control, evidenced in police immunity from court decrees, mayoral edicts, litigation, community outcry, and internal discipline. An analysis of the legal mechanisms, internal police structure, and external efforts to oversee police is essential for successful reform measures in Philadelphia and across America.

Using the commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a case-study, along with two other states as controls, this book examines how BARJ legislation “trickles down” to the law enforcement level through Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy (PJJSES) and the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA). This legislation is a direct application of the BARJ model to law enforcement, essentially directing police discretion in the direction of informal dispositions. The decision to dispose formal action (such as, a referral to either juvenile court/probation, criminal court, or adult criminal court) or informal action (for instance, handling the situation within the department and/or releasing the juveniles to parents with a warning), play an integral role in determining which juveniles contact the justice system. To this end, while the overall focus of our volume and research is specifically on the impact of the PJJSES and its 2012 amendments on the number of formal dispositions of juvenile suspects by law enforcement officers, it speaks more broadly to the ability of the BARJ model to affect police officer behavior through influencing their decision-making processes.

Offering a diagnostic global perspective on police brutality, Towards Anti-policing: Prefiguring Possibilities beyond the Thin Blue Line raises critical questions about whether policing is needed at all and what underlying purpose it actually serves. In this post-pandemic era, where the grip of authoritarianism has only tightened, Towards Anti-policing positions radical grassroots activism as a first line of critical defiance against the ‘Fear Terror Paradigm’ of policing logics and the pervasive brutality that this form of community control represents.

Ben Peterson explores the erosion of communal self-governance in contemporary American society and its consequences: rising social disorder and increased dependence on formal institutions such as policing and incarceration.Drawing on thinkers such as Elinor and Vincent Ostrom, Russell Kirk, Glenn C. Loury, and James Q. Wilson, Peterson investigates the concept of the “social commons”—the shared moral and relational space we inhabit and shape through norms and actions. Arguing that restoring the social commons requires informal mechanisms of governance that cultivate virtue and mutual accountability, Peterson critiques both abolitionist and punitive paradigms, advocating instead for a middle path rooted in a character-centered approach to community life. He highlights the unique role of religious communities—especially Christian congregations—as vital sanctuaries of moral order capable of renewing the social fabric and offering hope amid chaos.Listen to the author discuss the book with Dr. Glenn Loury on the Glenn Show here: https://tinyurl.com/3534j8xh.

This book takes an in-depth look at the LAPD over a 60-year period. It is about the ways in which the use of force, particularly deadly force, has been controlled (or not) by internal and external forces. The Department has been at the center of numerous controversies, including the killing of Eula Love (1977), the beating of Rodney King (1991), the riots that followed the acquittal of officers in the King beating (1992), the Rampart scandal (1999), questionable officer-involved shootings (OISs), and the complaints of over-policing during the George Floyd protests (2020). At the same time, however, the Department has been at the forefront of change and innovation. It continuously revises its policies regarding use of force, implements new training curricula, and has developed an extensive accountability process. Some of these changes have occurred voluntarily, others have been imposed or mandated upon them. Yet, despite these changes, the LAPD and its officers continue to be embroiled in issues regarding controversial shootings, charges of racial bias, and questionable tactics during social justice protests. The book is grounded in data, analysis, historical documents, and personal observations by the author. It provides details about each of the controversies and solutions that occurred, and, most significantly, it includes recommendations about how to make these positive changes permanent.

This book takes an in-depth look at the LAPD over a 60-year period, exploring the ways in which the use of force, particularly deadly force, has been controlled (or not) by internal and external forces.The Department has been at the center of numerous controversies, including the killing of Eula Love (1977), the beating of Rodney King (1991), the riots that followed the acquittal of officers in the King beating (1992), the Rampart scandal (1999), questionable officer-involved shootings (OISs), and the complaints of over-policing during the George Floyd protests (2020). At the same time, however, the Department has been at the forefront of change and innovation. It continuously revises its policies regarding use of force, implements new training curricula, and has developed an extensive accountability process. Some of these changes have occurred voluntarily, others have been imposed or mandated upon them. Yet, despite these changes, the LAPD and its officers continue to be embroiled in issues regarding controversial shootings, charges of racial bias, and questionable tactics during social justice protests. The book is grounded in data, analysis, historical documents, and personal observations by the author. It provides details about each of the controversies and solutions that occurred, and, most significantly, it includes recommendations about how to make these positive changes permanent.

While AI-assisted tools promise greater efficiency, consistency, and accuracy in criminal justice, they also introduce ethical, procedural, and epistemological challenges demanding careful oversight.Carl E. Dement Jr. and Melissa A. Smith investigate the rapidly evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and the written narratives that shape the criminal justice process. Drawing on original interviews with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, and forensic specialists, they examine how large language models are transforming the way case narratives are drafted, reviewed, and interpreted. Situating these shifts within wider debates about trust, human judgment, and the role of technology in public service, the book blends empirical insight with careful analysis, offering a balanced, accessible framework for understanding both the promise and the risks of AI-assisted writing in criminal justice settings. Dement and Smith ultimately show that the integrity of future justice narratives will depend not on AI alone, but on thoughtful human–AI collaboration grounded in expertise, ethics, and accountability—reminding readers that how and who writes justice shapes how we deliver it.

Police Response to Mental Health Calls for Service: Gatekeepers and Street Corner Psychiatrists focuses on closing the gap in literature surrounding police responses to mental health calls for service, with an emphasis on the effect of training and relationships with mental health agencies, in order to better understand the interaction between police officers and individuals with mental health diagnoses. Kayla G. Jachimowski and Jonathon A. Cooper pay close attention to Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) and its impact on how police officers would respond to these calls for service, also examining how the relationships between police, the community, and mental health service providers impact police response. Jachimowski and Cooper argue for the importance of police training about mental health disorders and explore the likelihood of diverting individuals with mental illness from the criminal justice system. Scholars of criminology, sociology, and psychology will find this book particularly useful.

Police violence of all types receives much attention from the media, and this is especially true for police homicides that often lead to demonstrations and protests. Police violence is a volatile, recurring social justice issue that often receives media attention, leads to demonstrations or protests and increases the tension between law enforcement agencies and the community they serve. Tom Barker examines police homicide and the different behavior patterns that lead to it, ranging from misadventure to intent. To better understand this complex issue, Barker has created 3 main categories: accidental homicides, justifiable homicides and criminal homicides. Barker includes a variety of cases from accidental deaths involving careless, reckless or negligent law enforcement officers to murders committed by LEOs engaged in organized crime or serial sexual homicides. This book will be of interest to those studying criminology, criminal justice, sociology, political science, etc.

Hu and Lovrich introduce the "electronic community-oriented policing (E-COP)," concept to explore how social media can impact police strategies on improving and maintaining police-public relation. Using empirical evidence and theoretical foundations, this book demonstrates the importance of this timely refinement to traditional community-oriented policing strategies as we move further into the twentieth century. E-COP represents a systematic approach to policing that applies knowledge derived from theories of individual behavior, social behavior, and mass communication dynamics to contemporary policing practice. This book would be of interest to policing researchers, scholars, and students as well as police practitioners wishing to improve their use of social media resources to connect to the public they serve in the digital age.

Hu and Lovrich introduce the "electronic community-oriented policing (E-COP)," concept to explore how social media can impact police strategies on improving and maintaining police-public relation. Using empirical evidence and theoretical foundations, this book demonstrates the importance of this timely refinement to traditional community-oriented policing strategies as we move further into the twentieth century. E-COP represents a systematic approach to policing that applies knowledge derived from theories of individual behavior, social behavior, and mass communication dynamics to contemporary policing practice. This book would be of interest to policing researchers, scholars, and students as well as police practitioners wishing to improve their use of social media resources to connect to the public they serve in the digital age.

To understand police related deaths in the US, we need to understand the structures and systems that enable police to operate in the way they do. Giving voice to a previously unheard group in society, this book articulates the experiences of the families of those who died after police contact. David Baker considers the disproportionate number of deaths in marginalized communities, for example: people of color, people who are mentally unwell, and LGBTQ people. Each chapter begins with a short case study drawn from this qualitative research to humanize the story of the person who died and put the key issues into context. By examining these deaths and the investigatory processes that follow, Baker argues that an increasingly aggressive police mindset allied with relatively toothless regulatory frameworks effectively lead to police being enabled by the criminal justice system to use lethal force with relative impunity. Baker combines his qualitative research with the wide base of existing literature on police use of force in the US and maintains that the effects of these deaths go beyond merely policing and criminal justice but are corroding the core fabric of American society.

To understand police related deaths in the US, we need to understand the structures and systems that enable police to operate in the way they do. Giving voice to a previously unheard group in society, this book articulates the experiences of the families of those who died after police contact. David Baker considers the disproportionate number of deaths in marginalized communities, for example: people of color, people who are mentally unwell, and LGBTQ people. Each chapter begins with a short case study drawn from this qualitative research to humanize the story of the person who died and put the key issues into context. By examining these deaths and the investigatory processes that follow, Baker argues that an increasingly aggressive police mindset allied with relatively toothless regulatory frameworks effectively lead to police being enabled by the criminal justice system to use lethal force with relative impunity. Baker combines his qualitative research with the wide base of existing literature on police use of force in the US and maintains that the effects of these deaths go beyond merely policing and criminal justice but are corroding the core fabric of American society.

Global Perspectives in Policing and Law Enforcement provides an exposition of policing and law enforcement practices, challenges, and opportunities in twenty different countries that were carefully selected to represent diverse geographic regions of the world. Each chapter presents policing from a different cultural background with diverse historical law enforcement experiences, varied social and demographic characteristics, and wide-ranging approaches to political leadership. By examining critical data and highlighting cracks within law enforcement across multiple countries, the contributors to this volume have created a framework of policing as it transitions into a modern outfit. Divided into parts, the book focuses on a large sample of countries from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin and Central America, North America and the Caribbean, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Such a broad coverage makes this book a critical reference point for those interested in criminal justice, criminology, political science, anthropology, and many others.

Global Perspectives in Policing and Law Enforcement provides an exposition of policing and law enforcement practices, challenges, and opportunities in twenty different countries that were carefully selected to represent diverse geographic regions of the world. Each chapter presents policing from a different cultural background with diverse historical law enforcement experiences, varied social and demographic characteristics, and wide-ranging approaches to political leadership. By examining critical data and highlighting cracks within law enforcement across multiple countries, the contributors to this volume have created a framework of policing as it transitions into a modern outfit. Divided into parts, the book focuses on a large sample of countries from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin and Central America, North America and the Caribbean, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Such a broad coverage makes this book a critical reference point for those interested in criminal justice, criminology, political science, anthropology, and many others.

In Everyone a Sheriff, the word "sheriff" serves as a metaphor for programs involving citizens in social control initiatives. Partnership between community members and their local police force is at the heart of any effective strategy aimed at reducing urban crime and insecurity. Ordinary community residents represent a vast, untapped resource in the fight against crime, disorder, and fear. The real story of citizens long association with the policing function is revealed. The book highlights include: an in-depth examination of volunteerism primarily at the law enforcement level; the importance of preparing youth and minorities for careers in policing and homeland security; the need for transitioning police and citizen volunteers from serving not only as peacekeepers, but becoming "peacemakers"; a realistic view of various pitfalls when regular and volunteer police are thrust into patterns of co-existence when fighting crime out on the street or seeking solutions to crime; numerous examples of current police-sponsored citizen academies, police cadet and junior deputy programs; histories of the invention of police and citizen-supported neighborhood crime watch programs. The only way to successfully cross the divide between the police and public is to give meaning to the phrase: "the police are the people, and the people are the police."

In Everyone a Sheriff, the word "sheriff" serves as a metaphor for programs involving citizens in social control initiatives. Partnership between community members and their local police force is at the heart of any effective strategy aimed at reducing urban crime and insecurity. Ordinary community residents represent a vast, untapped resource in the fight against crime, disorder, and fear. The real story of citizens long association with the policing function is revealed. The book highlights include: an in-depth examination of volunteerism primarily at the law enforcement level; the importance of preparing youth and minorities for careers in policing and homeland security; the need for transitioning police and citizen volunteers from serving not only as peacekeepers, but becoming "peacemakers"; a realistic view of various pitfalls when regular and volunteer police are thrust into patterns of co-existence when fighting crime out on the street or seeking solutions to crime; numerous examples of current police-sponsored citizen academies, police cadet and junior deputy programs; histories of the invention of police and citizen-supported neighborhood crime watch programs. The only way to successfully cross the divide between the police and public is to give meaning to the phrase: "the police are the people, and the people are the police."