Recent Book: Preventing Riots: Community Relations and Riot Prevention
| Date | 01 May 1968 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6804100505 |
| Published date | 01 May 1968 |
| Author | L. Newton |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
RECENT
BOOKS
PREVENTING RIOTS
RAYMOND
M.
MOMBOISSE:
Community Relations and
Riot
Prevention.
Charles C. Thomas. Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A. $9.50.
The author is a member of the
Riot Advisory Committee of the
President's Commission on Law
Enforcement Advisory Committee,
of the California Peace Officers'
Association and also Deputy Attor-
ney General of the State of Cali-
fornia. He has undertaken a de-
tailed and analytical study of the
problem of community relations, its
application to the American police
officer, and the assistance which an
understanding of it can afford to the
prevention of riots. Mr. Momboisse
has been assisted by constructive
and detailed advice from American
police sources
but
running through-
out
his book is an underlying theme
exhorting the reader to study the
causes of riot and thus prevent it
rather
than
waiting to deal with it
when it comes.
That
part
of the book, and
it
is
amajor part, dealing with the study
of human behaviour allied to the
causes of riots, might be considered
to be outside the scope of the
average police officer, either in
Britain
or
America. Such things as
prejudice and its conseq,uences,
minority groups, discrimmation,
racial, religious and ethnic friction,
are dealt with scientifically and at
length. On the credit side it is true
to say that the author is
not
con-
tent to highlight the obvious diffi-
culties
but
strives industriously to
give the solutions to the problems.
Explored at length is the problem
of the minority group, which is
assessed as a potentially high source
of danger in riot causation.
It
is
a little surprising to find tha t
although many suggestions for im-
proving the situation are listed there
is no mention of any scheme similar
May
1968
to the British Race Relations Board
and its local Conciliation Com-
mittees. One would have thought
that some such scheme would have
had great appeal and value.
In the final comments on a
Minority Relations Programme,
mention is made of the controlling
of "Hate Groups". One is startled
to find that a suggested effective
way of control of such a group is
that adequate information concern-
ing the hatemongers' activities
should be furnished, by the police,
to friendly inquirers and that the
police should privately expose the
character and message of the rabble
.rouser to city officials and others
who might otherwise be disposed
to cooperate with the individual.
Complaints against the police are
dealt with fully, and, in the main,
the proposals examined for the re-
cording and investigation of these
differ very little from those in
existence in Great Britain. The
author sets out, critically and clinic-
ally, the case for a Police Review
Board; a body independent of the
police which would review citizens'
complaints. Just as judiciously, he
effectively disposes of the need for
such a board, as did the Royal Com-
mission in Great Britain, by endors-
ing the principle that the administra-
tion of discipline should rest with
the chief police officer and any
whittling away of this responsibility
would weaken the command; this in
turn would lead to a loss of morale
and confidence.
This is not, however, a book
from which the British police officer
would gain much in the way of
answers to well-known questions.
L.
NEWTON
209
To continue reading
Request your trial