REIMAGINING POLICE

An overview of policing as well as its intersection with race.

In six chapters plus introduction and conclusion, Tyner, an educator and civil rights attorney, examines the institution of policing, including its history and role in public safety and history, as well as paths for addressing issues to create a more just and effective public safety system. Protests in the summer of 2020 reignited the movement for accountability, and Tyner looks at how we got here by tracing the history of the police as an institution in the U.S. From colonial policing systems and their role in surveilling Indigenous communities and slave patrols that reinforced existing power structures to the transformation to a professional organization, police forces evolved in response to changes in social structures and the law. Chapter Two, “Race and Policing,” helps readers understand how structural racism is intertwined with police brutality. Subsequent chapters explore different models of policing in different U.S. cities as well as abroad. Readers learn about methods of reform and possible strategies for crime prevention and community building. Tyner closes by emphasizing the inextricable role and power of community in shaping public safety values and outlines how teens can get involved and lead change at various levels. Effective callout boxes and infographics define and expand upon terminology and concepts presented in the main text, including Peel’s Principles, Miranda rights, and more.

Informative and rousing.