TY - JOUR
AU - Donohue, Richard, H
AB - Sophie Body-Gendrot and Catherine Wihtol de Wenden’s Policing the Inner City in France, Britain, and the US provides an overview of the strategies used by police in three countries, showing how they have similarities and differences based on culture and atmosphere. While offering a historical perspective, the book features a critical discussion of recent problems facing the police and society, including riots, protests, and terrorism. Additionally, the experience of minorities is given special attention. The book is divided into five chapters, each of which provides detail on the three countries. The book presents a historical framework that has caused the social and political challenges in the inner city, or banlieues in the case of France. The research is based on interviews with police, residents, youths, and elected officials in the three countries in focus. Whether set in Britain, France, or the USA, commonalities in the inner city include poverty, drugs, and crime, all of which have a disproportionate effect on immigrants and people of racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups. The authors clearly note the problems associated with comparing these nations, the most important that ‘it is not simply a question of numbers’ (p 4). However, Body-Gendrot and de Wenden’s focus on these populations is essential in understanding the problems facing inner cities and the police strategies employed, especially over the last 40 years. Body-Gendrot and de Wenden provide a slow build up to the policing aspect of the research. For readers without an in-depth knowledge of all three countries of focus, this background is beneficial. Chapter 2, Context of Grievances, details the populations that have come to live in the inner cities. The French experience has much to do with nationality, the authors argue, as well as integration of immigrant groups. The context focuses on political and social effects on minority groups, especially concerning those of non-Europeans, but lacks a direct connection with police at this point. Separately, the data for Britain show a more detailed focus on the numbers of racial and ethnic minority groups and introduces some aspects of policing the inner city. For example, the race riots and social tension resulted in direct political, and in turn, police strategies to control crime and disorder. The chapter’s attention to the USA’s experience also centers on race and the creation of a nation through shared beliefs. Here, the authors spend some time explaining the attitudes and opinions of minority residents with the police. Across each nation, instead of focusing on the history of the inner cities themselves, the authors discuss more recent experiences of racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups. The authors continue a historical overview in Chapter 3. Body-Gendrot and de Wenden’s analysis of France outlines the problems surrounding integration and ‘ghettoization’, some of which contributed to recent riots in cities. In contrast to the title of the book, little attention is given to the policing of these neighborhoods and populations, as well as the police response to riots. Riots and disorders from various groups, including young whites, are also given attention in the case of Britain. Body-Gendrot and de Wenden give some attention to the police response, including no-tolerance measures. A clear difference is marked between the experience of inner city residents in the USA with its counterparts in Britain and France. Instead of the rioting that occurred in Britain and France, the USA moved toward a ‘law and order’ model in the 1960s, where fear became a motive for crime control policy. Again, attention at this stage of the book is still social and structural before briefly mentioning recent events surrounding perceptions of police brutality in the USA. The book was published in 2014, but does mention catalytic events in police–public relations in the USA, including the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the [non-police] death of Trayvon Martin. Here, the authors begin to introduce policing the inner city, or a more general concept of policing in America, by discussing the attitudes and opinions of various groups towards the police. The relationship of history, social policies, and demographics finally come together in Chapter 4. Here, the actual strategies used in policing the inner cities are reflected. The authors are sure to include specific programs including: hot spots policing, identity checks (or ‘stop and frisk’), policing terrorism and community policing. Tinges of racism are also intertwined throughout the strategies, according to the authors. Separate to policing the streets, attention is also given to the composition of the police, and how that may affect inner city residents. Overall, Body-Gendrot and de Wenden briefly brush over hot spots and problem-oriented policing, instead devoting significant attention to identity checks. While this tactic is a controversial one with disparate impacts on poor and minority neighborhoods, other aspects of policing lack discussion within the text. The police role in counter-terrorism and surveillance of Muslims is another relatively new development, mostly in the post-9/11 time period. The details of the reaction to terrorism are helpful not only understanding how law enforcement operates, but how the police affect inner city residents through their strategies. However, during the discussion of policing inner cities, the authors focus on large cities, specifically Paris, London, and New York. While these cities are well-known, international cities of power and commerce, they leave the reader to merely assume what happens in other cities. Body-Gendrot and de Wenden rightly demonstrate some of the major issues with police departments themselves in serving their communities; problems which are seemingly cross-national. Perceptions of racism, lack of minority representation in police forces, and lack of trust of the police are shared issues that deserve further attention to best serve communities. The authors present several of these conclusions in the final chapter of the text. The first surrounds the issue of trust, a concept they built upon throughout the text. Increased trust, and cooperation in the case of France, is needed to improve the experiences of the people with the police. Secondly, the theme of ‘repression’ is discussed. This is not introduced as a widespread cultural term, but rather in tactics the police use in major disorderly events, especially in Europe. Repression as an order maintenance strategy has come under more scrutiny as of late, thereby implying new police actions acceptable to the public are worth consideration. Across the three nations, the ideas of inclusive cities and minority organizational gains could provide a structural means of improving the environment and quality of life for people living in the inner city. Overall, Body-Gendrot and de Wenden provide an introduction to some of the challenges of policing the inner city, with special attention to the historical roots of the causes of crime and violence. They make a reasonable call for improvement in the police, not to make ‘perfect’ police, but officers who are ‘good enough’ (p 121). The book’s focus is primarily on three major cities, perhaps lacking generalizability to other cities across these nations. For the USA, the focus is on New York, the largest city with the largest police department in the country. While national-level discussions are included, the experience and particular challenges of additional cities could improve the overall concepts laid forth in the text. However, Body-Gendrot and de Wenden indicate in the final paragraph that the goal was to provide context and start a debate, which is accomplished throughout. The authors’ arguments, summarized in the final chapters, certainly provide room for implementation, and at least discussion on improving police-community relations. Additionally, Body-Gendrot and de Wenden give an overview of the legal background, history of police, and workings of the inner cities in each country that are valuable in understanding the complexity of the relationship between residents of these areas and their respective police forces. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
TI - Sophie Body-Gendrot and Catherine Wihtol De Wenden (2014).Policing the Inner City in France, Britain, and the US
JO - Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice
DO - 10.1093/police/pay050
DA - 2019-06-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/sophie-body-gendrot-and-catherine-wihtol-de-wenden-2014-policing-the-Il9IZT5I0q
SP - 254
VL - 13
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -