Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale

19 reviews

skudiklier's review

challenging informative slow-paced

4.75

I've been reading this book for almost an entire year at this point; this is for several reasons, and shouldn't just be taken as "wow this book is slow/dense." It is a very comprehensive look at the areas in which policing fails, the reasons for these failures, the way these failures are systemic, and ways we can help replace policing with other solutions. It is also very dense in the sense that it's a lot of facts, statistics, and figures, with very little to break it up. For me that's harder to get through, so I read it very slowly over the course of a year. But I would highly recommend this book, especially to those who think the police should not be abolished. I have a hard time imagining how someone could read this book and come away still thinking the police are a force for good. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Trafficking, Violence, Xenophobia, and Transphobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

novemberscorpio's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Racism

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse

readalongwithnat's review

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

This is a really eye-opening book that discusses a ton of different topics related to policing, including some I didn’t anticipate, but appreciated learning more about. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Racism, and Slavery

perusing_panels's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

This book is a great introduction to the rationale behind defunding and dismantling the police, with concise well organised chapters focusing on different areas of policing and the ways in which they fail to keep everyone (particularly poor and marginalised people) safe.

The book discusses issues with systemic racism, classism, ableism, and other biases rooted in the misguided ideologies behind current policing systems and methods. It also explains why reforms aren’t enough, the system needs to be dismantled and redefined focusing on community lead alternatives that ensure equal protection and aid for everyone, not just the privileged and wealthy. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Murder

book_enjoyer's review

challenging informative medium-paced

4.25

A thorough breakdown of the failures of American police. I don't know that this book would sway a hardcore cop supporter, but it's a great introduction to the problems in our current system and some potential solutions to push for. Each chapter covers a different aspect of policing--the war on drugs, the school-to-prison pipeline, etc--and provides an overview of how the law enforcement works, empirical evidence of how that enforcement doesn't benefit society, and some possible alternatives. It's a heavy read but a very necessary one, and I appreciated how detailed and specific Vitale is.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, and Police brutality

etosaurus's review

challenging informative

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual assault, Racism, and Gun violence

Moderate: Child death and Drug use

I'm sure my tags are incomplete. This book covers a lot of horrible violence perpetuated by police officers in our society.

bdingz's review

challenging informative slow-paced

When Verso Books made The End of Policing free as an ebook, I took advantage of the offer. I don’t have a Kindle and sometimes found it difficult to read on my computer, so I eventually also borrowed the audiobook from Hoopla and alternated how I read it. 

This book is a good starting point to educate yourself on police abolition, but don’t let it be the only thing you read on the topic. Although it was published in 2017, the author (who is a white man) sometimes uses dated and incorrect language, such as “blacks.” However, otherwise well-written and informative.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Police brutality and Violence

talonsontypewriters's review

informative inspiring medium-paced

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Racism, Ableism, Drug use, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Misogyny, Homophobia, Transphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Addiction, Islamophobia, Child death, Trafficking, and Mental illness

Minor: Pedophilia, Animal death, and Torture

Police violence (especially against people of color, mentally ill people, homeless people, sex workers, and children) and abuse of power, on both a systemic and individual level, is covered in fairly explicit detail, with many specific cases described. Dated terminology ("transgendered") is used in passing.

junefish's review

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Trafficking, Sexism, Racism, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault