Neighborhood Watch

Policing White Spaces in America

Shawn E. Fields

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781108840064
• eBook ISBN: 9781108882859
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

Although racism has plagued the American justice system since the nation's colonial beginnings, private White Americans are taking matters into their own hands. From racist 911 calls and hoaxes to grassroots voter suppression and vigilante 'self-defense, ' concerted efforts are made every day by private citizens to exclude Black Americans from schools, neighborhoods, and positions of power. Neighborhood Watch examines the specific ways people police America's color line to protect 'White spaces.' The book charts how these actions too often result in harassment, arrest, injury, or death, yet typically go unchecked. Instead, these actions are promoted and encouraged by legislatures looking to expand racially discriminatory laws, a police system designed to respond with force to any frivolous report of Black 'mischief, ' and a Supreme Court that has abdicated its role in rejecting police abuse. To combat these realities, Neighborhood Watch offers preliminary recommendations for reform, including changes to the 'maximum policing' state, increased accountability for civilians who abuse emergency response systems, and proposals to demilitarize the color line.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• A Note on Language
• Introduction A Personal Protection Agency
• 1 Cycles of Racial Fear
• 2 White Caller Crime
• 3 Just a Hunch
• 4 Defending White Space
• 5 Unqualified Immunity
• 6 Permanent Fear
• 7 Rethinking Maximum Policing
• 8 Resisting a “Shoot First, Think Later” Culture
• Epilogue “Send Her Back”
• Index