M. Sparrow (2016). Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform

Abstract

With police officers and police departments under more scrutiny than ever before, and the need for reform being demanded from community groups, politicians, and police executives, the arrival of this book couldn’t be timelier. I will address three points regarding Handcuffed: level of balance and research, implications for the profession, and who would benefit from reading this book. Handcuffed is a well-balanced book. This book gives the reader an objective and well-researched perspectives on matters related to reform in policing today. Sparrow goes into detail on the matters of contention in policing and how these issues prevent public safety from progressing into the 21st century. The author approaches each subject with surgical precision in getting to the heart of the issues. In addition to introducing the pressing issues, this book presents practical solutions stakeholders can incorporate in their respective fields. This book diagnoses flaws in the profession, and like a roadmap, guides the reader from beginning to end; showing all the valleys, peaks, and landmines along the way. Chapter 1 begins with the state of policing today. From the YouTube and Ferguson effect, and the mistrust of the police, the author sets the stage by describing the recent phenomena of events across the USA where the police are scrutinized more frequently than ever before. Although each case is different from each other, the author skillfully draws parallels between each of those incidents. Handcuffed makes the case in how these events are connected to the larger systemic issues in some police organizations today, thus leading to adversarial relationships between officers and citizens. This book specifically addresses some of the failed practices contributing to the crisis in policing. The author uses examples such as zero-tolerance policies contributing to the calamity where the mission is counterintuitive, and in some cases, undermine working in partnership with the community. The author transitions to another predicament in policing, community-oriented policing (COP) and problem-oriented policing (POP). This book analyzes why POP and COP are not as effective in policing today. Handcuffed examines in detail where these particular models work well, and where they fall short. In Chapter 2, the author shifts the conversation to how the vague definition of success has become detrimental to law enforcement organizations. With the interpretation of ‘success’ being ambiguous to multiple stakeholders, Handcuffed describes the current tug of war between police executives and other collaborators. The author goes into extensive detail showing how the conflict in defining ‘success’ has damaged public perception of the police. The author transitions the discussion on the ambiguous definition of success to how do police executives actually use science when solving problems. One of the emerging trends in the reform movement is the call for the police to use more scientific research in their practices. The author lays out the genesis of the evidence-based policing (EBP) movement and how some inroads have been made. The author explains the dichotomies of how police executives and researchers view the appropriateness of science in policing. Those familiar with EBP know of the fracture between police executives, and those pushing for EBP in the profession. The author is very critical of EBP; grounding his denunciation of the EBP movement on social-scientists wanting to play more of a leading role in governing science in the profession. One of his perspectives of EBP is that researchers are pretentious in their knowledge of research, believes these researchers want to be should be seen as the gatekeepers of that knowledge. The author believes EBP advocates are pushing the police into using programmes academics have established as effective. Sparrow believes the splinter between social-scientists and the police is based on limitations of EBP’s ‘approved methodologies and the difficulties of applying them in a policing environment.’ Although the author believes that there needs to be a deeper relationship between police and academia, he believes that much harm could be done to the policing profession if EBP is given a dominant position in that relationship. This book comprehensively examines the role leaders in policing, and researchers can play in the pursuit of public safety. One area where this book falls short is in the emergence of the ‘pracademics’ in this arena. For example, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has created the Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars Programme. These individuals are sworn peace officers involved in research, bridging the gap between researchers and practitioners. There are other sworn peace officers involved as Research Fellows, adding credibility to the EBP movement in an effort to bridge the gap between academics and the police. Overall, Sparrow presents an outlook where science may be mutually beneficial to academics and practitioners. Handcuffed moves to another critical issue facing stakeholders in policing; the relationship between the police and private security. Handcuffed does an effective job analyzing three critical issues in this chapter: The realization of private police is here to stay; police cannot necessarily say if they like or dislike private security and at times private polices’ interests will seldom be aligned with the public. For the sake of this discussion, private police includes volunteers, commercial security-related enterprises (private investigators, security companies, hired guards, etc.). In regards to private policing’s interests, the author details incidents where private policing is not held to the same standards as regular police. Sparrow highlights the fact that private police aren’t held to formal and legal standards as public police. Private police are not concerned with civil liberties (search and seizure, Miranda, etc.), and are not being as well trained as public police. The author helps illustrates his case with practical scenarios that address these issues. He speaks on the opportunities and flaws with the relationships. The author urges the public police to monitor the quality of the private police in different neighbourhoods, insuring equal protection, and discover ways to address any deficits. The author analyzes the effectiveness of current engagements between both sides, and offers solutions in focusing on future engagements with the overall mission of focusing on the public’s interests. The final chapter of this book analyzes the opportunities available for the police and other partners of the regulatory field. Oftentimes we hear of successful organizations such as Ceasefire and its effectiveness because law enforcement partnered with members of the public and private sector in targeting individuals known as high-risk criminals. Handcuffed draws on the interconnectedness of many different groups working in unison to modify the behaviour of these hardened criminals. The author makes a compelling argument conveying ideas and concepts when partnerships are formed, and potential benefits for police and the community.