Policing Unrest

“Policing unrest has become a key problem for American policing over the last decade, and one that has raised questions about the role of police in American society. This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to depart from the rhetoric and understand the problem from the perspectives of police and the community.” (David Weisburd, co-editor of Police Innovation: Contrasting Perspectives) “Policing Unrest is a significant and timely book that highlights the importance of addressing the Ferguson protests and the ongoing tensions between Black communities and law enforcement. Using both theoretical nuance and empirical evidence, Tammy Rinehart Kochel gives voice to both police officers and community residents to raise and deliberate policy questions about improving police-community relations.” (Jennifer E. Cobbina, author of Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Why the Protests in Ferguson and Baltimore Matter, and How They Changed America) “Kochel affords readers a vantage point on protests that they will not find in journalism or social media: that of officers who policed – and were the objects of – protests in Ferguson, Missouri. She adroitly weaves extant theory through new empirical evidence not only to tell the story of protest policing and its aftermath, but also to shine new light on core issues of policing through the prism of the protests and the larger crisis of police legitimacy.” (Robert E. Worden, co-author of Mirage of Police Reform: Procedural Justice and Police Legitimacy) “Drawing on interviews with dozens of personnel who policed the protests in and around Ferguson, Missouri following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer, Kochel explores the officers’ shared experiences.” (Law and Social Inquiry)

Tammy Rinehart Kochel is Associate Dean for Research, Diversity, and Personnel for the College of Health and Human Sciences and Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.