The Geography of Law Enforcement Malpractice: National Patterns of Official Misconduct in the United States, 1989–1999

Extract

One of the darkest aspects of U.S. history and culture is encapsulated in crime perpetrated by law enforcement officials. In fact, police abuse of power has long been a footnote in analyses of governments' monopoly on legitimated violence. The history of modern policing itself indicates long-standing concern with excessive, sometimes brutal, control over citizens by law enforcement agents. Such concerns have been articulated variously over time by the public, academics, the press, and within law enforcement ranks. Much of this concern turns on perception, for police malfeasance is notoriously shrouded behind a “blue wall,” well-meaning law enforcement officials are genuinely interested in public perceptions of their services, and news of police malpractice flares selectively and variously across time.