Jackson's expertise shines in this innovative analysis of the link between social inequality and law enforcement efforts. The research connects the level of conflict characterizing majority-minority relations to the level of financial investment in police resources. . . . Readers will find scholarly attention to theory, responsible implications for policy, and a careful diagnosis of the limits to law enforcement, along with a bibliography that reflects the cutting edge of research. This book should be available wherever a program in criminology, stratification, or criminal justice studies exists. Choice In a major contribution to the criminology literature, Pamela Irving Jackson examines the societal expectations for police work--from national, regional, and local perspectives--and attempts to identify the conflicts within these expectations. Basing her study upon quantitative analysis of the determinants of police spending in cities throughout the United States during the 1970s, Jackson demonstrates that the history, traditions, socioeconomic traits, and racial and ethnic population mix characteristic of each social context influence the expectations set for police officers and the support they are accorded. An exploration of newspapers' treatment of the police and issues of police/minority relations in selected cities adds depth to the analysis by providing the public perspective on policing and its variations by location and time period. The author's central thesis is that the mobilization of municipal police resources in the early 1970s was influenced by the size of the minority population in the city, especially in locations of historical tension in minority/majority relations. By the end of the decade, Jackson shows, the impact of minority threat in determining municipal police appropriations had changed in form and focus and there developed a new awareness of the role of police and a corresponding recognition of the stress under which individual officers operate. Her conclusions regarding the effect of unrealistic expectations on the overall performance of police work offer an important counterweight to arguments that the police failed to control escalating crime or resort too often to violence in the performance of of their duties. An excellent supplementary text for courses in criminology, criminal justice, and sociology, this book offers a realistic appraisal of the limits of police work that will enable policymakers and the police themselves to make a more accurate determination of the situation in which police work can be most useful.

This insightful book examines the allegations against the professionalism, transparency, and integrity of law enforcement toward minority groups, from a global perspective. It addresses the challenges inherent in maintaining strong ties with members of the community, and draws attention to obstacles in ensuring public confidence and trust in rule of law institutions. Most importantly, the book provides insight into mechanisms and proposals for policy reform that would permit enhanced police-community partnership, collaboration and mutual respect. Acknowledging the consistency of this concern despite geographic location, ethnic diversity, and religious tolerance, this book considers controversial factors that have caused many groups and individuals to question their relationship with law enforcement. The book examines the context of police-community relations with contributed research from Nigeria, South Africa, Kosovo, Turkey, New Zealand, Mexico, Scandinavia and other North American and European viewpoints. It evaluates the roles that critical factors such as ethnicity, political instability, conflict, colonization, mental health, police practice, religion, critical criminology, socialism, and many other important aspects and concepts have played on perceptions of policing and rule of law. A valuable resource for law enforcement practitioners and researchers, policy makers, and students of criminal justice, Policing and Minority Communities: Contemporary Issues and Global Perspectives confronts crucial challenges and controversies in policing today with quantitative and qualitative research and practical policy recommendations.

Case study in social research of intergroup relations in the denver urban area to illustrate factors influencing the relationships between the police and minority groups in the USA - examines public opinion and the views of the police thereon, and covers income distribution, social status (incl. Of the policeman), psychological aspects of group behaviour, sociological aspects, human relations, etc. References and statistical tables.

What relationship exists between minority status and crime? Is this relationship generalizable across different societies? Many western nations are becoming concerned with the problem of crime in general and, in particular, the role of minority groups, be they political refugees, guest workers, immigrants, or native ethnic and racial minorities. A unique cross-cultural exploration. Minorities, Migrants, and Crime highlights the empirical realities of crime and these under-studied populations. Each international expert from the United States or Europe surveys national statistical facts and research as well as political and theoretical debates critical to the issues. Revealing a number of surprising similarities and differences, original chapters examine law enforcement priorities, punishment philosophy and practices, and media coverage against the backdrop of contemporary thought and facts about race, ethnicity, migrants, crime, and criminal justice in the United States. Offering an in-depth examination of international perspectives, Minorities, Migrants, and Crime adds a viewpoint crucial to the law and policy making currently taking place in the United States. Minorities, Migrants, and Crime features state-of-the-art research in the international arena of criminal justice. A thought-provoking read, this book will prove to be an ideal resource for researchers, academics, and students in criminology, criminal justice, corrections, policing, sociology, ethnic studies, policy studies, international studies, immigration studies, and public administration.

The police are perhaps the most visible representation of government. They are charged with what has been characterized as an "impossible" mandate -- control and prevent crime, keep the peace, provide public services -- and do so within the constraints of democratic principles. The police are trusted to use deadly force when it is called for and are allowed access to our homes in cases of emergency. In fact, police departments are one of the few government agencies that can be mobilized by a simple phone call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are ubiquitous within our society, but their actions are often not well understood. The Oxford Handbook of Police and Policing brings together research on the development and operation of policing in the United States and elsewhere. Accomplished policing researchers Michael D. Reisig and Robert J. Kane have assembled a cast of renowned scholars to provide an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the institution of policing. The different sections of the Handbook explore policing contexts, strategies, authority, and issues relating to race and ethnicity. The Handbook also includes reviews of the research methodologies used by policing scholars and considerations of the factors that will ultimately shape the future of policing, thus providing persuasive insights into why and how policing has developed, what it is today, and what to expect in the future. Aimed at a wide audience of scholars and students in criminology and criminal justice, as well as police professionals, the Handbook serves as the definitive resource for information on this important institution.

Proactive policing, as a strategic approach used by police agencies to prevent crime, is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. It developed from a crisis in confidence in policing that began to emerge in the 1960s because of social unrest, rising crime rates, and growing skepticism regarding the effectiveness of standard approaches to policing. In response, beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, innovative police practices and policies that took a more proactive approach began to develop. This report uses the term "proactive policing" to refer to all policing strategies that have as one of their goals the prevention or reduction of crime and disorder and that are not reactive in terms of focusing primarily on uncovering ongoing crime or on investigating or responding to crimes once they have occurred. Proactive policing is distinguished from the everyday decisions of police officers to be proactive in specific situations and instead refers to a strategic decision by police agencies to use proactive police responses in a programmatic way to reduce crime. Today, proactive policing strategies are used widely in the United States. They are not isolated programs used by a select group of agencies but rather a set of ideas that have spread across the landscape of policing. Proactive Policing reviews the evidence and discusses the data and methodological gaps on: (1) the effects of different forms of proactive policing on crime; (2) whether they are applied in a discriminatory manner; (3) whether they are being used in a legal fashion; and (4) community reaction. This report offers a comprehensive evaluation of proactive policing that includes not only its crime prevention impacts but also its broader implications for justice and U.S. communities.