From: Papachristos, A. V., Brazil, N. and Cheng, T. (2018), Understanding the Crime Gap: Violence and Inequality in an American City. City & Community, 17: 1051-1074. doi:10.1111/cico.12348
In the Journals: December 2018
Tag Archives: NYPD
In the Journals – June 2015
DragNet: January 26 – February 8, 2015
“I see how challenging the tour is to my class…they describe their discomfort of being the observers in what many liken to a human zoo,” writes Ieva Jusionyte in my favorite post of the month.
It might be time for New York City’s Bill de Blasio to compare policing notes with Rafael Correa, writes Greg Grandin for The Nation. Ecuador’s president not only faced similar police-related challenges back in 2010, but managed to come out stronger than ever. Stay tuned to Anthropoliteia’s twitter feed for ongoing coverage of the NYPD-de Blasio fiasco.
What’s in a case study? The possibility that it is just that- a single set of potential results. Although police departments across the US are quickly adopting body-worn cameras, the results obtained by Rialto, CA’s pilot study are coming under scrutiny. New questions of interest include whether the verbal warnings (“You’re being recorded”) given by officers are the source of reduced citations, and whether any observed reductions in offenses will fade over time.
“I see how challenging the tour is to my class…they describe their discomfort of being the observers in what many liken to a human zoo,” writes Ieva Jusionyte in my favorite post of the month. Jusionyte demonstrates how the often “bland” classroom topics of theory and the criminal justice system take on new meanings when studied in the up-close-and-personal context of Florida State Prison. Jusionyte is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida.
Our loyal readers will recognize this familiar question posed by Dylan Kerrigan: Do police agencies need anthropologists? Kerrigan discussed issues raised by Anthropoliteia’s Jennie Simpson in his post for The Guardian Trinidad & Tobago last month. Perhaps a new question to ask is whether or not police agencies are ready to face “the cultural dynamics obstructing their innovation”.
Anthropoliteia was pleased to feature a “rebuttal” to the police-anthropologist question. Professor Wilson Pena-Pinzon’s post, “A Response to ‘Do Police Departments Need Anthropologists?'”, examines the flip-side of the police-anthropology coin by approaching it from a cross-cultural perspective. Pena-Pinzon is a professor and researcher for the Department of Anthropology at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the Escuela Colombiana de Carreras Industriales.
Finally, be sure to check out Anthropoliteia’s YouTube channel for new episodes in our interview series. Dr. A. Lynn Bolles sits with us to discuss police racism, violence and the actions of the 2014 AAA Meetings. Dr. Bolles is an affiliate faculty in the University of Maryland’s Anthropology, African American Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature AND Latin American Studies departments (phew!).
Did I miss something? No worries- it does happen on occasion. If you have any suggestions for DragNet, or if you want to call attention to a specific blog or article, send an email to anthropoliteia@gmail.com with the words “DragNet” in the subject header and I’ll get on it!
DragNet: January 13 – 25, 2015
Despite nearly 2 decades separated from the things he loves by prison bars, it’s apparent that Agustin’s mind has kept memories of them in pristine condition.
NY Daily News‘ Juan Gonzalez‘ critique of Patrick Lynch kicked-off a series of posts covering the current NYPD-de Blasio scuffle. Some question whether Lynch’s “screaming and yelling” leads to better lives for officers, or merely more headaches.
While many have voiced concern about racist practices of NYPD, one group in particular has been rendered silent: minority NYPD officers. Heather Mac Donald recently interviewed several current and former minority NYPD officers about their experiences of racist police practices while both on and off-duty. These conversations update those Mac Donald originally conducted back in 2002.
If you’re a New Yorker, chances are you’ve heard a lot less people complaining about traffic citations over the past few weeks. About two-thirds less people, to be exact. With Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “perceived lack of support” for NYPD, the city’s largest police union has urged officers to retaliate by not arresting individuals unless it is absolutely imperative to do so. Read about the impact this directive has had on New York’s total arrest rate.
What does everyone get wrong about Charlie Hebdo and racism? Well, it’s complicated. But here’s a hint: it usually has to do with one of its two layers, according to Max Fisher of Vox.com. Get the full explanation about the magazine’s multidimensional message here.
Anthropoliteia shared a link to our newest entry in Interrogations, titled “A Lynn Bolles on Political Action at the 2014 American Anthropological Association Meeting“. Feel free to read the highlights from the interview, or catch the full length video here.
Last but not least (and, in fact, in my favorite post of the month) Bruno Renero-Hannan shares the stories of Agustin Luna Valencia. The latter served as mayor of San Agustin Loxicha, a Zapotec village, but has been incarcerated since 1996. Renero-Hannan beautifully reflects Agustin’s memories and love of animals as well as the tales that surround them according to the traditions of his village. Despite nearly 2 decades separated from the things he loves by prison bars, it’s apparent that Agustin’s mind has kept memories of them in pristine condition.
Did I miss something? No worries- it does happen on occasion. If you have any suggestions for DragNet, or if you want to call attention to a specific blog or article, send an email to anthropoliteia@gmail.com with the words “DragNet” in the subject header and I’ll get on it!
DragNet: May 16 – 31, 2014
“An armored military assault vehicle was donated to the department by the US military, fueling discussions about whether there should be (or is) a separation of US police and US military.”
The U.S. isn’t the only country experiencing a stark growth in prison populations. While true that the US has the highest proportion of its citizens behind bars, Brazil and China are among other countries recording higher prison population numbers. In honor of the 40th anniversary of Foucault’s Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975) the Weatherhead Initiative on Global History will be hosting a global conference for social sciences and humanities researchers to discuss the rising role of the prison in the modern age.
A supposedly “shifting” image of the typical heroin user in the 21st century strikingly resembles the rich, white, socialite users of 1880s Boston. A feature by Adam Rathge appeared in Points Blog; chronicling the shift of opiate usage by race and social class during this time frame. Special attention is paid to the impact of state legislation and local law enforcement initiatives prior to the passing of official federal mandates. In other opiate-related news, the question as to whether heroin use should be pursued as a crime versus an illness is being debated in states such as Rhode Island. With this past January seeing a more than doubled rate of lethal heroin overdoses, the state is pushing to equip officers with Narcan to better prevent heroin-related deaths. Read the interview with the state’s Director of Health, Dr. Michael Fine, for details.
$6.2 billion (to most of us) is quite a large sum of money. This is precisely the amount allocated to US police departments by the 41 million speeding tickets issued in any given year. What would happen to law enforcement budgets if cars were (almost magically) able to “drive themselves”? Google’s driverless cars are raising precisely this question among law enforcement officials and civilians alike.
Have you suddenly started noticing people talking a lot about Netflix’s newest series, Orange is the New Black? Even without being caught up, you can still enjoy a roundtable discussion inspired by the show that was hosted by the folks at Public Books.
Is live monitoring of surveillance cameras the way to ensure “effective panopticism”? Syracuse Chief of Police Frank Fowler seems to think so. Earlier in May, Fowler proposed that officers should evolve from their current, reactive use of cameras to respond to crimes that have already committed. Fowler argues that live monitoring of surveillance feeds by officers will convert cameras into a proactive policing tool.
If you’re planning a summer vacation that requires a considerable amount of time in the car, plug into NPR News’ RSS feed we shared last month. A myriad of police-related podcasts are featured, and are sure to make the ride feel faster. In case you exhaust that list, we recommend Archipelago’s feature on policing in downtown Oakland. Listen to Bryan Finoki, Nick Sowers and Javier Arbona as they explore the hyper-policed areas of the former Occupy movement.
Originally published 35 years ago, Policing the Crisis regained the spotlight in our Book Reviews section in May. Merijn Oudenampsen discusses how the book’s message has evolved since its first publication and applies its take-aways to the current climate of Dutch politics.
Speaking of anniversaries, 2014 also marks 10 years since Jacque’s Derrida’s passing. Anthropoliteia circulated information about an upcoming gathering of Derridian legal scholars organized by Critical Legal Thinking. Speakers include Aggie Hirst and Cathering Kellogg.
In other news, Hamtramck, MI police inspired mixed emotions upon the debut of its newest “addition”. An armored military assault vehicle was donated to the department by the US military, fueling discussions about whether there should be (or is) a separation of US police and US military.
Macedonian police also made headlines in May, with ethnic rioting in Skopje provoking criticisms about excessive use of force. Thanks to Tweeter Chris Diming, who provided an additional post from the Independent Balkan News Agency.
Do anthropologists belong in police departments? Anthropoliteia’s newest regular feature –Practicum– debuted with a post from our new author Jennie Simpson. Tune in to read Jennie’s reflections and experiences about what its like to be a social scientist working for/with departments.
An encounter with “Sky Watch” on a block in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
The editors of Anthropoliteia would like to welcome a special guest post from Orisanmi Burton as part of our series of anthropological reports From the Field
Standard
Figure 1: Surveillance Cameras on Gates Avenue
The first thing I noticed when I reached the corner of Gates Avenue and Lewis Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY was the pair of surveillance cameras perched conspicuously overhead (Figure 1). Each was approximately 15 inches long and five inches wide. Their white color contrasted sharply against the red brick of the building next to me, as if they were designed to be noticed. But their gaze was not trained on me. Instead, they were pointed toward opposite ends of the street corner. I then noticed a second pair of cameras about 300 feet from the first. One of them pointed directly at me. The other had an altogether different design, a sphere suspended in the air. I imagined a camera inside of it that could rotate 360 degrees. Thick black cables sprouted from the back of the devices, extending across the length of the building like arteries. Continue reading
Anthropoliteia In the News (through 11/13/09)
To quote Timbaland, “It’s been a long time/ Shouldn’t have left you / without a dope beat to step to”
That’s right, it’s time for one more pre-AAA Annual Meetings edition of Anthropoliteia In The News.
Cultural Anthropology & Security
Thanks in part to one of our co-Anthropoliteia-ers, Michelle Stewert (along with Vivian Choi), we not along can enjoy a special “virtual issue” of the journal Cultural Anthropology on the theme of “security” but we can look forward to a discussion with several of the authors at this years Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association. The event will be called “Thematizing Security” and will be held Friday December 4th at 12:15pm. Discussion participants will include Didier Fassin, Ilana Feldman, Andrew Lakoff, and Joseph Masco
Policing the Rio Olympics
In the wake of being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, a violent outburst between police and drug gangs which left two dozen dead has garnered increased international scrutiny for Rio police forces, NPR reports. Chief among the Rio police’s strategies are community-policing style attempts to integrate the police force into the poorest and most troubled areas.
Whether these strategies will actually reduce violence is unclear. As one woman lamented, “The violence you are seeing on TV which happened last weekend you have almost every day. If not in this favela, you have it in another favela.”
“Nation’s Top Cop”
Former Boston, New York City–and now Los Angeles–police chief Bill Bratton stepped down from his position as the nation’s “top cop” in order to work for a private security consulting agency. Bratton has been closely associated with both the “zero tolerance” and “broken windows” philosophies of urban policing. On his last day he addressed the LAPD via radio dispatch, repeating his motto, “cops count, police matter” to the listening troops.
(Not) Famous Last Words
Claire Cameron at the New York Times wrote a haunting piece using the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s database of death row executionee’s last words.
The Clock Is Ticking
Anthropoliteia-er Meg Stalcup writes, over at On the Assembly of Things, about the release, by the US Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, of “The Clock Is Ticking,” a progress report on what has happened with the recommendations made in the 2008 World at Risk publication.
Anthropoliteia 