Our Enemies in Blue [Paperback]

Kristian Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Rather than an aberration enacted by "bad apples," police misconduct is a function of law enforcement's emphasis on repressive values and unenlightened tactics, argues Kristian Robert Williams. Firmly rooted in history and current practice, Our Enemies in Blue offers a clear-eyed account of law enforcement practices, including how police target certain groups and work to preserve power imbalances within society. Efforts to grow the prison industry are revealed along with a surprising account of modern police forces — many of which evolved from protection rackets and slave patrols. As a growing number of United States citizens encounter the criminal justice system, this resource provides useful historical perspective and real-life strategies for opposing abuses of power.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sweeping generalizations and little nuance make self-described anarchist Williams's first book likely to appeal only to a preselected readership who will not be put off by the title and the oversimplified theme that police officers are inherently aggressive, racist and brutal tools of the powers that be. Williams, who has written for Dissent and the Progressive, traces the development of the American police from colonial times and Southern efforts to keep slaves in check. He's strongest in delineating the unintended consequences of well-intentioned efforts to reduce police corruption and brutality, but barely a page goes by without the voicing of extremist views (e.g., a New York PBA rally that became a riot against then-mayor David Dinkins, followed by the election of the police-friendly Rudolph Giuliani, is called a "municipal-level coup"). While the litany of police misdeeds—ranging from collusion with the Klan to the shooting of unarmed Amadou Diallo—makes plain that there has always been unjustified behavior by police, it doesn't prove his argument that nothing can be done to reform the force. His alternate proposal—replacing a government force with a voluntary community patrol—will strike many as naïve in a post-9/11 world, and too rigid when he dismisses, as a form of co-optation, community policing, which has enabled officers to rely less on force.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Beginning with its provocative title, Williams' account of contemporary law enforcement argues that instances of police brutality in the U.S. are not aberrations but, instead, reflect the long, symbiotic relationship between those in power and the police hired to protect that power, a relationship formalized by Tammany Hall in the mid-1800s but that also developed simultaneously in other American cities. Williams--who writes for Dissent, the Progressive, and Labor Notes and is a member of Rose City Copwatch in Portland, Oregon--traces the roots of policing in the U.S. back to the British system of sheriffs and constables, to the colonies, through the slave-holding South, industrialization, the civil rights era, and such mass protests as the 1999 Seattle WTO demonstrations. "If we accept that police forces arose at a particular point in history, to address specific social conditions," Williams writes, "then it follows that social change could also eliminate the institution." Specific remedies are wanting here, but so is a body of literature on this important topic, which makes Williams' book that much more crucial to the discussion. Alan Moores
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Soft Skull Press (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932360433
• ISBN-13: 978-1932360431
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,099,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Officer Friendly?, February 15, 2005

By 

Zen Prole (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Enemies in Blue (Paperback)

Williams' book is a grown-up's antidote to the standard histories of policing. Criticism of this well-researched book *must* rely on shrill misdirection, i.e. "he's an anarchist," because there is really no other avenue. There is no slack in this work and it is a fine companion piece to Katya Komisaruk's "Beat The Heat: How To Handle Encounters With Law Enforcement." Five Stars, no hesitation.

38 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You may not agree., June 23, 2005

By 

Adam L. Lobaugh "rsklnkv" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Enemies in Blue (Paperback)

This book will appeal to those of you who are already educated to the reality that police exist for one reason and one reason alone : To maintain the current class order and hierarchies of society.
Let's be honest here. Poor people go to jail. Not the rich.
The idea that this book is filled with "distortions, lies, urban myths, twisted logic,absurd claims and bizare conlusions" (as one reviewer wrote) is certainly true if you've spent your life living in those wonderful, white, suburban hoods. If, however, you grew up in the neighborhoods consisting primarily of poor, black folk, you'll have no trouble seeing where the author is coming from. The fact that people either love or hate this book speaks volumes in and of itself. It proves many of the points the writer is trying to make. The police no longer 'protect and serve' the citizens of this country. If they ever did. They protect and serve the masters of America. The rich policy makers. The ruling white class.
You may not believe this, but that does not make it any less true.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right On Point, July 30, 2005

By 

John M. Dailey "The Oppressed" (NYC Police State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Our Enemies in Blue (Paperback)

Mr Williams exposes not only the extreme ignorance among the general population (as evidenced by the one-star reviews) of the United States regarding police abuse and corruption, but the institutions that benifit from the existance of a police force. It's no accident that those in positions of power rely on brute force to keep the "rabble" in line. Since 9/11 the violations into people's lives in the form of "sneak-n-peek searches", the TIPS program, spying into library reacords - and then threatening the librarians with prosecution if they inform anyone of this activity - is completely outrageous. The increasing number of unjustifiable searches and seizures, arrests and killings by the police in their "War on Drugs" fiasco has led to the biggest increases in prison populations and deaths. A greater increase in law enforcement does not mean a more protected populace; on the contrary, the more cops you have on the streets the more crime there is. Remember, police forces don't want to eliminate crime all together, because then there would be no reason for a police force, and all the graft and corruption that exists within them. Also, the culture of the police acts as a safe haven for those who have an authoritarian mentality. So, when the powers-that-be want your head clubbed by a cop, he shouldn't be that sympathetic towards your condition.