Book review: The End of Policing
| Author | Becky Shepherd |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0264550520939324 |
| Subject Matter | Book review |
Book review
Book review
The End of Policing
Alex S Vital
Verso; 2017, pp. 272; £16.99; hbk
ISBN: 9781784782894
Reviewed by: Becky Shepherd, Criminology Lecturer, London South
Bank University, UK
The End of Policing was published in 2017. However, given the protests against
repeated extrajudicial executions of Black citizens in America at the time of writing
(June 2020), this feels an appropriate time to discuss Vitale’s comprehensive dis-
section of US policing.
Vitale analyses key aspects of policing, with chapters on police reform attempts;
the historical development of policing; and the policing of sex work, mental health,
immigration, schools, political protests, homelessness, drugs and gangs. Although
Vitale is a distinguished academic, this is not a densely written obscure tome: it is
highly readable and richly packed with evidence to support his central thesis. The
thrust of the book is that reforming policing is not sufficient: substantially less poli-
cing is needed overall, with a concomitant diversion of funding into community
initiatives which would impact more effectively on crime rates and quality of life,
such as housing, employment, education and meaningful funding for social change.
He takes the position that the racist and oppressive nature of policing is a
structural and political choice, in which case it is misguided to expect Black officers,
who face endemic discrimination and disadvantage within the force themselves,
and who are also not immune to racist narratives, to somehow instigate meaningful
reform. He cites clear evidence to demonstrate that more racially diverse police
workforces do not reduce rates of violence or killings. Similarly, diversity and
equality training will never eliminate injustice within the existing model of policing
as it is insufficient to overcome ingrained cop culture which perceives Black citizens
Probation Journal
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550520939324
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The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
2021, Vol. 68(4) 493–495
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