Are the recent scandals around UK policing the product of a temporary crisis or rather inscribed deep in the police institution? This timely book presents a critical perspective on key areas of current controversy: police, communities and schools; the policing of protest; and police, gender and sexuality.
Bringing together researchers and community activists, the book gives voice to the lived experiences of those more likely to be subjected to police misconduct and discrimination. It challenges current thinking on police from both abolitionist and reformist perspectives, offering a fresh take on recent crises and attempts at reform.
Introduction – Tracey Davanna and Federica Rossi Part 1: Police, Communities & Schools 1. Brixton: 50 Years of the Police Against Black People – Matt Clement and Amania Scott-Samuels 2. TBC – Karen Graham 3. The Influence of Policing Priorities on a Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction – James Alexander 4. “Police out of School”: A Brief History of Local Resistance to Police in Schools – Federica Rossi Part 2: Police, Policing and Protest 5. The Public Order Act 2023 and the Right To Protest – Kevin Blowe 6. ‘Get in the Protest Pen!’ What’s Wrong With the Right To Protest? – Koshka Duff and Matthew Hall 7. Policing Environmental Protests – Angus Nurse 8. Resistance and Repression Inside HMP: Prison Officers as an Extension of the Police – Organisers 9. Underpolicing of Foxhunting: The Intersection of the Law, Police and the Hunting Act 2004 – Tracey Davanna 10. A Self-Reflective Account – Destiny Boka-Batesa Part 3: Police, Gender and Sexualities 11. Women in the Police: ‘I’m Just Tired of the Dick Pics…’ – Chris Magill 12. Collision Course? The Incompatibility of Machoism and Wellbeing in Police Organisational Culture – Jamie Ferrill and Sian Lewis 13. Interview With Sukhdev Reel – Shaminder Takhar 14. “A Much Bigger and Troubling Picture”: How Examining Wayne Couzens Can Shine a Spotlight on the Harms of the Criminal Justice System – Nic Aaron 15. Since the Clapham Common Vigil: Applying a Reflexive Approach to Activism Against the British Police – Patsy Stevenson Conclusion – Tracey Davanna and Federica Rossi
Reviews for Policing in Crisis?: Policing and Resistance in 21st Century Britain
'By mobilizing academic research and insights from on-the-ground organizers, this volume brings into relief the stark crisis facing UK policing and the ways in which it is a permanent crisis stemming from the core nature of the policing institution. It will be certain to stimulate productive debates about how we produce truly safe and just communities.' Alex S. Vitale, City University of New York 'Timely and thought-provoking, this book foregrounds key voices exposing an institution perennially ‘in crisis’ and exploring paths from its reform to abolition.' Tanzil Chowdhury, Queen Mary, University of London
