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literary_ya's review against another edition
5.0
“Yes, a lot has changed. And change is good, but it’s not necessarily progress. If black men & women continue to die disproportionately at the hands of police, as they have over the past few years, we haven’t made progress. If the relationship between communities of color & law enforcement remains as toxic as ever, we haven’t made progress....”
This is a must read. To anyone and everyone.
“Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. EVERYBODY CAN DO SOMETHING.”
This is a must read. To anyone and everyone.
“Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. EVERYBODY CAN DO SOMETHING.”
wwtpeng's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very important book, a sad book, a personal book for the author. I want to remember every name mentioned. The victims, the people doing great work in disadvantaged communities, and the good officers. Horace's background gives him a great perspective in which to investigate this book. The title is a bit misleading. You may come to the conclusion from reading the title that Horace was simply a police officer, but rather he has been apart of many intergovernmental task forces through his work with the ATF. This gives him the inroads to give such a complete investigation with this book.
The book is very well written, and although there are times Horace evokes hyperbole, I think it works to keep the reader engaged. There is great focus on systemic problems in Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, which all get multiple chapters. What is interesting about these three cities is that they have similar problems that were caused by different issues within their respective police forces, but similar solutions have been enacted in each City, of which, there has started to be a positive affect. I am sure many of the issues discussed in these chapters are seen throughout law enforcement institutes throughout the country, these need to be acknowledged, but at the same time, it is more important to acknowledge the solution.
Towards the end Horace starts to focus on mental illness. He does not offer any solutions for police engagement with the mentally ill, but does explain that police are not trained as mental illness professionals.
I think the book could cover more on engagement of force on the mentally ill and how they can better handle these situations. I would have liked to see some interviews with psychiatrists and psychologists.
The book is very well written, and although there are times Horace evokes hyperbole, I think it works to keep the reader engaged. There is great focus on systemic problems in Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans, which all get multiple chapters. What is interesting about these three cities is that they have similar problems that were caused by different issues within their respective police forces, but similar solutions have been enacted in each City, of which, there has started to be a positive affect. I am sure many of the issues discussed in these chapters are seen throughout law enforcement institutes throughout the country, these need to be acknowledged, but at the same time, it is more important to acknowledge the solution.
Towards the end Horace starts to focus on mental illness. He does not offer any solutions for police engagement with the mentally ill, but does explain that police are not trained as mental illness professionals.
I think the book could cover more on engagement of force on the mentally ill and how they can better handle these situations. I would have liked to see some interviews with psychiatrists and psychologists.
direja's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this book 3.5 stars if allowed but couldn’t quite get myself to err on the side of 4 stars.
I kept looking for an acknowledgement of responsibility for law enforcement’s violent and racist internal culture but that really came only in the epilogue and in one passively written sentence at that.
The author offers stories of police brutality along with what feel like defensive justifications as explanations by saying police aren’t equipped to handle mental health issues or the systemic racism that society brings to the table. As if police departments are bound by society’s biases, incapable of creating their own culture of growth and accountability. Society plays its role, yes. And so does police culture. No one in America can escape culpability for our systemic racist policies and practices.
I also expected some ideas from the author (former career police officer and a criminal analyst for network cable shows) on a path forward. I think the author could have gone at least one chapter deeper to lay out some specifics of how PDs might improve community relations and create institutional change toward developing an anti racist culture within law enforcement agencies. He touches on some of his ideas but never fully fleshes them out or puts them together in a clear format.
All that said, this was a good primer for me to better understand how things work in (at least some) PDs. I’ll be thinking about how I can do better and promote better policies and practices as I move forward in my social work career.
I kept looking for an acknowledgement of responsibility for law enforcement’s violent and racist internal culture but that really came only in the epilogue and in one passively written sentence at that.
The author offers stories of police brutality along with what feel like defensive justifications as explanations by saying police aren’t equipped to handle mental health issues or the systemic racism that society brings to the table. As if police departments are bound by society’s biases, incapable of creating their own culture of growth and accountability. Society plays its role, yes. And so does police culture. No one in America can escape culpability for our systemic racist policies and practices.
I also expected some ideas from the author (former career police officer and a criminal analyst for network cable shows) on a path forward. I think the author could have gone at least one chapter deeper to lay out some specifics of how PDs might improve community relations and create institutional change toward developing an anti racist culture within law enforcement agencies. He touches on some of his ideas but never fully fleshes them out or puts them together in a clear format.
All that said, this was a good primer for me to better understand how things work in (at least some) PDs. I’ll be thinking about how I can do better and promote better policies and practices as I move forward in my social work career.
bpkrutko's review against another edition
3.0
While the book offers detailed descriptions of the cases of Michael Brown and Ferguson and provides some nuanced analysis on the war on drugs - it falls short of presenting comprehensive steps towards police and justice reform. It isn't enough to describe the Ferguson ticket scheme without also addressing the federal and state tax policies that created it or address the ongoing civil forfeiture crisis.
monikakris's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to the audio book! Great representation on the prevalence of systemic racism in the United States. Centuries of inequalities and disparities, black police officer Matthew Horace provides a narrative of personal experiences and those of other African Americans.
bookwormmichelle's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this discussion of policing and race. As a longtime cop himself, the author appreciates the jobs cops do and realizes how hard it is; he has sympathy for that. But his discussion of the obvious race problems in policing is wide-ranging, encompassing his own stories and many of the stories behind the "headline" problems. He discusses how hard it is to change a department culture, and the problems that can occur. He has sections from a wide range of OTHER police officers, from normal guys to police chiefs. I think I'd put this on a short list of can't-miss reads for the problems of race and policing.
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