Policing the Open Road

Policing the Open Road

Author: Sarah A. Seo

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2019-04-08

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 0674980867

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A Smithsonian Best History Book of the Year Winner of the Littleton-Griswold Prize Winner of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award Winner of the Order of the Coif Award Winner of the Sidney M. Edelstein Prize Winner of the David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Legal History Winner of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Prize “From traffic stops to parking tickets, Seo traces the history of cars alongside the history of crime and discovers that the two are inextricably linked.” —Smithsonian When Americans think of freedom, they often picture the open road. Yet nowhere are we more likely to encounter the long arm of the law than in our cars. Sarah Seo reveals how the rise of the automobile led us to accept—and expect—pervasive police power, a radical transformation with far-reaching consequences. Before the twentieth century, most Americans rarely came into contact with police officers. But in a society dependent on cars, everyone—law-breaking and law-abiding alike—is subject to discretionary policing. Seo challenges prevailing interpretations of the Warren Court’s due process revolution and argues that the Supreme Court’s efforts to protect Americans did more to accommodate than limit police intervention. Policing the Open Road shows how the new procedures sanctioned discrimination by officers, and ultimately undermined the nation’s commitment to equal protection before the law. “With insights ranging from the joy of the open road to the indignities—and worse—of ‘driving while black,’ Sarah Seo makes the case that the ‘law of the car’ has eroded our rights to privacy and equal justice...Absorbing and so essential.” —Paul Butler, author of Chokehold “A fascinating examination of how the automobile reconfigured American life, not just in terms of suburbanization and infrastructure but with regard to deeply ingrained notions of freedom and personal identity.” —Hua Hsu, New Yorker


Pulled Over

Pulled Over

Author: Charles R. Epp

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2014-04-04

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 022611404X

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In sheer numbers, no form of government control comes close to the police stop. Each year, twelve percent of drivers in the United States are stopped by the police, and the figure is almost double among racial minorities. Police stops are among the most recognizable and frequently criticized incidences of racial profiling, but, while numerous studies have shown that minorities are pulled over at higher rates, none have examined how police stops have come to be both encouraged and institutionalized. Pulled Over deftly traces the strange history of the investigatory police stop, from its discredited beginning as “aggressive patrolling” to its current status as accepted institutional practice. Drawing on the richest study of police stops to date, the authors show that who is stopped and how they are treated convey powerful messages about citizenship and racial disparity in the United States. For African Americans, for instance, the experience of investigatory stops erodes the perceived legitimacy of police stops and of the police generally, leading to decreased trust in the police and less willingness to solicit police assistance or to self-censor in terms of clothing or where they drive. This holds true even when police are courteous and respectful throughout the encounters and follow seemingly colorblind institutional protocols. With a growing push in recent years to use local police in immigration efforts, Hispanics stand poised to share African Americans’ long experience of investigative stops. In a country that celebrates democracy and racial equality, investigatory stops have a profound and deleterious effect on African American and other minority communities that merits serious reconsideration. Pulled Over offers practical recommendations on how reforms can protect the rights of citizens and still effectively combat crime.


Suspect Citizens

Suspect Citizens

Author: Frank R. Baumgartner

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-07-10

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1108429319

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The costs of racially disparate patterns of police behavior are high, but the crime fighting benefits are low.


Traffic Enforcement and Crash Investigation

Traffic Enforcement and Crash Investigation

Author: Ross A. Olmos

Publisher:

Published: 2010-07-25

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 9780135057988

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The first of its kind, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND CRASH INVESTIGATION, 1/e presents comprehensive traffic related material that new police officers need to know. From the history of traffic laws to future trends, it helps officers understand the basic elements of traffic enforcement and crash investigation. Beyond just a traffic law manual, it includes social and ethical issues and hot topics such as dealing with official misconduct, quotas, tolerances and officer discretion. Its strong coverage of DUIs and up-to-date guidelines help prepare officers for one of their primary responsibilities: traffic enforcement, DUI enforcement and crash related investigations.