The Ethics of Policing

Abstract

High-profile killings by police in Ferguson, Cleveland, Baltimore, New York City, Louisville, Minneapolis, and elsewhere have sparked protests and exposed deep discontent over police practices, especially in communities of color. Investigations of US police departments came to a number of troubling findings—patterns of excessive force, enforcement activities aimed at generating revenue from low-income residents, and persistent racial disparities. These findings cast doubt on the legitimacy of policing in its current form and raise pressing questions about its proper role in a democratic society. The Ethics of Policing offers a wide-ranging analysis of the current ethical challenges facing police and the institutions that oversee them. In particular, its chapters address competing understandings of the role of police, concerns about police use of force, racial bias in police practices, the legacy of policing’s past, and how new technology is transforming policing. Given the complexity of these challenges, making progress on them requires insights from various perspectives. With that goal in mind, this volume takes an interdisciplinary approach that features leading experts in Black studies, criminology, history, law, philosophy, political science, and sociology.