Policing Hatred

Policing Hatred explores the intersection of race and law enforcement in the controversial area of hate crime. The nation’s attention has recently been focused on high-profile hate crimes such as the dragging death of James Byrd and the torture-murder of Matthew Shepard. This book calls attention to the thousands of other individuals who each year are attacked because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. The study of hate crimes challenges common assumptions regarding perpetrators and victims: most of the accused tend to be white, while most of their victims are not. Policing Hatred is an in-depth ethnographic study of how hate crime law works in practice, from the perspective of those enforcing it. It examines the ways in which the police handle bias crimes, and the social impact of those efforts. Bell exposes the power that law enforcement personnel have to influence the social environment by showing how they determine whether an incident will be charged as a bias crime. Drawing on her unprecedented access to a police hate crime unit, Bell’s work brings to life the stories of female, Black, Latino, and Asian American detectives, in addition to those of their white male counterparts. Policing Hatred also explores the impact of victim’s identity on each officers handling of bias crimes and addresses how the police treat defendants’ First Amendment rights. Bell’s vivid evidence from the field argues persuasively for the need to have the police diligently address even low-level offenses, such as vandalism, given their devastating cumulative effects on society.

In a contemporary setting of increasing social division and marginalisation, Policing Hate Crime interrogates the complexities of prejudice motivated crime and effective policing practices. Hate crime has become a barometer for contemporary police relations with vulnerable and marginalised communities. But how do police effectively lead conversations with such communities about problems arising from prejudice? Contemporary police are expected to be active agents in the pursuit of social justice and human rights by stamping out prejudice and group-based animosity. At the same time, police have been criticised in over-policing targeted communities as potential perpetrators, as well as under-policing these same communities as victims of crime. Despite this history, the demand for impartial law enforcement requires police to change their engagement with targeted communities and kindle trust as priorities in strengthening their response to hate crime. Drawing upon a research partnership between police and academics, this book entwines current law enforcement responses with key debates on the meaning of hate crime to explore the potential for misunderstandings of hate crime between police and communities, and illuminates ways to overcome communication difficulties. This book will be important reading for students taking courses in hate crime, as well as victimology, policing, and crime and community.

Bridging the River of Hatred portrays the career of George Clifton Edwards, Jr., Detroit's visionary police commissioner whose efforts to bring racial equality, minority recruiting, and community policing to Detroit's police department in the early 1960s were met with much controversy within the city's administration. At a crucial time when the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum and hostility between urban police forces and African Americans was close to eruption, Edwards chose solving racial and urban problems as his mission. Deeply committed to social justice, Edwards was a historical figure with vast political and legal experience, having served as head of the Detroit Housing Commission, a member of Detroit's common council, a juvenile court judge, a Michigan Supreme Court justice, and judge on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Incorporating material from a manuscript that Edwards wrote before his death, supplemented by historical research, Mary M. Stolberg provides a rare case study of problems in policing, the impoverishment of American cities, and the evolution of race relations during the turbulent 1960s.

In this gripping memoir, retired Ontario Provincial Police officer Dan Rocheleau shares highlights from his early life and his many years working for various departments in Ontario and Quebec. After his training at police college in Brampton and Aylmer, Ontario, Rocheleau became an undercover officer, helping to investigate and arrest criminals in outlaw motorcycle clubs and within organized-crime groups. He uses action-packed storytelling to illustrate his dangerous and sometimes amusing experiences, from negotiating with bikers in a motel room to chasing drug smugglers by boat on the St. Lawrence River. He also takes on the darker side of law enforcement in Canada by sharing his encounters with both police corruption and political corruption. Police work is a challenging job, with many ups and downs, and this book is an intimate look at the impact it had on Rocheleau and his family during his rewarding thirty-year career.

This collection of essays focuses on law and society research examining how police manage the job put to them and the extent to which the law figures in what they do. In step with law and society scholarship, many of the articles are empirical explorations of the ways in which law enforcement works 'on the ground' in a variety of policing contexts ranging from patrol to police interrogation.

'Hate Crime is essential reading for researchers, students and practitioners seeking to understand this complex and contested subject. It is thoroughly researched and theoretically informed, but will be accessible to newcomers to the field and to people delivering practical responses to offending and victimisation. Clearly written and with case-study illustrations, Chakroborti and Garland bring this challenging subject to the reader in a vivid and readable form.' - Ben Bowling, Professor of Criminology, King’s College, London. This engaging and thought-provoking text provides an accessible introduction to the subject of hate crime. In a world where issues of hatred and prejudice are creating complex challenges for society and for governments, this book provides an articulate and insightful overview of how such issues relate to crime and criminal justice. It offers comprehensive coverage, including topics such as: " racist hate crime " religiously motivated hate crime " homophobic crime " gender and violence " disablist hate crime The book considers the challenges involved in policing hate crime, as well as exploring the role of the media. Legislative developments are discussed throughout. Chapter summaries, case studies, a glossary and advice on further reading all help to equip the reader with a clear understanding of this nuanced and controversial subject. Hate Crime is essential reading for students and academics in criminology and criminal justice.

Since the publication of the first edition of 'Hate Crime' in 2005, interest in this subject as a scholarly and political domain has grown considerably both in Britain and North America, but significantly also in many other parts of the world. As such, this second edition fully revises and updates the content of the first, but within a broader international context. Building on the success of the first edition, this accessible, cross-disciplinary text also includes a wider range of international issues, and addresses new and emerging areas of concern within the field. The book will be of particular interest to academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students, criminal justice practitioners, and policy-makers working within the area of hate crime and related fields of crime, social justice, and diversity. It will also be of value to others who may hold a more general interest in what is undoubtedly a rapidly evolving and increasingly important area of contemporary and global social concern.