Policing the Poor: From Slave Plantation to Public Housing (Northeastern Series on Gender, Crime, and Law)
Websdale (criminal justice, Northern Arizona Univ.;  Understanding Domestic Homicide) challenges the popular belief  that community policing is all good and benefits the poor.  Sharing the results of an ethnographic study he conducted at the  Edgehill projects in Nashville, he argues that the socioeconomic  conditions of the projects result from years of racist behavior  toward American blacks that can be traced to the origins of  slavery and have continued because of global capitalism.  Websdale concludes that the Nashville poor are well aware that  they are subject to rigorous social quarantining, numerous  social stigmas, and stringent surveillance. Furthermore, he  disagrees with the common perception that community policing  brings law enforcement officers closer to the public, allowing  them to assess neighborhood problems more effectively. As the  author himself admits, however, it is difficult to generalize  from one case study to another, and with his lack of credible  evidence to support his own anti-community approach to policing,  it is doubtful that many people who are not already convinced  will benefit from this analysis. Not recommended. Tim Delaney,  Canisius Coll., BuffaloCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.