Read Occupied Territory Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power Justice Power and Politics Simon Balto 9781469649597 Books

Product details Series Justice, Power, and Politics Hardcover 360 pages Publisher The University of North Carolina Press; 1 edition (April 22, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1469649594

Occupied Territory Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power Justice Power and Politics Simon Balto 9781469649597 Books Reviews

• Excellent sir... excellent sir... excellent sir
• Occupied Territory is a well researched and well written history of the abuses and corruption of the Chicago police department. Anyone wanting a different perspective and insight into our current issues with policing and how we’ve become the global leader in locking up our own citizens should read this book. Spanning Chicago’s history from 1919 to present time, the book presents an infuriating story of continuous policy decisions made in the name of “law and order” that served only to keep blacks and other minorities confined to poverty and second-class citizenship, while at the same time doing nothing to advance “law and order.” The book is an indictment of Chicago’s “political machine” that used the police force in furtherance of racist policies, while at the same time advancing the corrupt goals of the “machine.” One staggering statistic from the book shows the amount of funding for the Chicago Police Department rose to $1.5 Billion annually, while Chicago was closing public schools, and starving budgets for much needed housing and social services. Balto does not place all the blame on the police, but accurately demonstrates that the years of abuse were “a function of political choice, political economy and public policy.” One might expect a heavily footnoted scholarly book to be a dry and difficult read. Quite the opposite. Balto provides much color with stories from victims of police brutality, news articles from the time, and profiles of key power-brokers over the decades. It is a compelling read, and I strongly recommend this book.