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Cited by 3Policing Practices and PerceptionsCriminal Justice and PenologyRace, History, and American Society

To Protect and to Serve: Police, Power, and the Production of Inequality in the United States

Open access
Felker-Kantor, Max·2024·Crime and Justice
DOI 10.1086/732194
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Abstract

The history of policing in the United States has garnered renewed attention over the past two decades. Historians have rethought the operation and function of police in American society. This body of scholarship, which can be characterized as a critical history of policing, has demonstrated the ways the police became powerful, independent political forces in cities and the role of law enforcement in shaping American life beyond crime prevention or control, most notably in maintaining racial, sexual, gender, and class inequality. The history of policing has been separated from the history of crime, taking account of theoretical frameworks that treat crime as a category that is socially and politically constructed over time. Scholarship since the turn of the twenty-first century highlights several themes including the relationship between crisis and reform, the maintenance of social control, the influence of imperialism and empire, and resistance and repression. The history of police and policing in the United States is a vibrant and distinct field on the cutting edge of the carceral turn in American historiography.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review essay surveys historical scholarship on twentieth-century American policing published since 2000, arguing that this "critical history of policing" has reframed police as violent, independent political actors central to producing and maintaining racial, class, gender, and sexual inequality rather than as neutral crime-fighters. Felker-Kantor organizes the field around the roots of police power, the Reform Era, postwar professionalization, and policing of urban uprisings, and maps an agenda for future research.

Key findings

The essay is a synthesis of others' findings rather than new primary research; the numbers below are those it reports from the reviewed literature.

  • Recent historians treat professional policing's nineteenth-century origins as entwined with enslavement, settler colonialism, and racial control, not only class conflict; slave patrols date to as early as 1691 in South Carolina, and the Charleston City Guard and Watch professionalized as early as 1783, before Boston (1838) and New York (1844).
  • Reform cycles (Lexow Committee 1894, Wickersham Commission 1931) did not eliminate violence or corruption but often expanded police power; the third degree persisted and was transformed rather than abolished.
  • Professionalization insulated police from oversight: the LAPD's Bloody Christmas beating (1951) "occurred not in spite of police professionalism, but because of it"; Philadelphia's Police Advisory Board (1958) was dismantled in 1969.
  • Policing of urban unrest is framed as a "cycle" (Hinton) in which police violence sparked rebellion and police claims of victimhood won more resources; federal funding of $20.6 million flowed to local departments for 359 programs between 1965 and 1968, and Hinton catalogued 1,949 incidents of racial unrest between May 1968 and December 1972. Detroit's STRESS unit (1971–1974) arrested more than 6,000 people and killed at least 18 Detroiters, all but one Black. Chicago's Burge torture regime coerced confessions from more than 118 African Americans from 1972 to 1991.

Methods

Narrative historiographic review essay covering historical scholarship (and a few historical sociologists) on twentieth-century US policing published since 2000, explicitly excluding a narrative synthesis of policing history itself (done elsewhere by Balto and Felker-Kantor 2022). The essay is organized into five sections: nineteenth-century roots of police power; the Reform Era through World War II; postwar professionalization; police and urban uprisings; and future research directions. No primary data collection or formal analysis is conducted; the author synthesizes and critiques the reviewed literature.

Limitations

The author states that the review focuses on work by historians rather than the wider multidisciplinary literature, that most reviewed works examine police in cities (leaving sheriffs, state police, highway patrols, tribal police, and suburban policing understudied), that there is little comparative historical work on police and riots, and that historians have paid less attention than social scientists to community policing, police accountability, and street-level officer work. Evident from the text: the essay is a synthesis of secondary scholarship, so its claims rest on the accuracy of the works reviewed, and several cited works are dissertations or forthcoming, indicating an unsettled evidence base.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1086/732194

Cites

122 of 122 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

7 of 251 cited sources checked · 5 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation

    World War II provided impetus for police organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to solidify and promote standardization of policing across the country.

    “World War II provided impetus for police organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to solidify and promote standardization of policing across the country (Schrader 2021).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2021 source
  • Premisecitation

    World War II facilitated expansion and standardization of policing that positioned departments to take advantage of professionalization initiatives in the postwar years.

    “World War II facilitated expansion and standardization of policing that positioned departments to take advantage of professionalization initiatives in the postwar years.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2021 source
  • Premisecitation

    The NYPD's treatment of Black residents set the stage for the Harlem uprisings of 1935 and 1943.

    “Historians of New York City have argued that the NYPD's treatment of Black residents set the stage for the Harlem uprisings of 1935and 1943(Johnson 2003;;Suddler 2019;C. Taylor 2019;King 2024).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Johnson 2003

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Suddler 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites C. Taylor 2019

      The Introduction discusses police torture of African American suspects in Chicago, not the NYPD or the Harlem uprisings. Searches for the 1935 and 1943 Harlem uprisings and for NYPD treatment of Black residents found no passage addressing the claimed connection; no page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Premisecitation

    The NYPD long treated African Americans in Harlem with brutality and abuse.

    “Although part of a liberal law-and-order context, the NYPD long treated African Americans in Harlem with brutality and abuse (C.Taylor 2019).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites C.Taylor 2019

      The Introduction describes brutality and torture of African American suspects by Chicago police, including in the Andrew Wilson case. Searches for the NYPD, Harlem, and New York found no passage addressing the claimed treatment of African Americans in Harlem. The Chicago account does not establish or contradict that separate claim. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Findingnone given

    Recent scholarship has shown more fully how the early forms of police in the United States were centrally concerned with the maintenance of race, class, gender, and sexual inequality.

    “Recent scholarship has shown more fully how the early forms of police in the United States were centrally concerned with the maintenance of race, class, gender, and sexual inequality.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • May combine two claims. 69
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 56

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Employment of policewomen was a means to criminalize female heterosexuality, such as abortion practitioners, and to criminalize same-sex desire and queer women; New York policewomen surveilled immigrant midwives, coerced working-class women to testify in abortion trials, and in the 1920s applied these methods to criminalize queer women, representing White women's installation as agents in the car.

    “More recently Elizabeth Evens (2021, p. 3) found that employment of policewomen was a means to criminalize female heterosexuality, such as abortion practitioners, and to criminalize same-sex desire and queer women: “New York policewomen surveilled immigrant midwives, coerced working class women to testify in abortion trials, and, in the 1920s, applied these methods to criminalize queer women.This”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Evens 2021 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In the process, police became independent political actors who both defined threats to urban order and positioned themselves as the proper institutional solution to public safety.

    “In the process, they became independent political actors who both defined threats to urban order and positioned themselves as the proper institutional solution to public safety (see Koehler and Cheng 2023 for a discussion of this process).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Koehler and Cheng 2023 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    World War II was a turning point in policing, creating a series of challenges including manpower shortages, new training and managerial regimes, and fears about crime and delinquency during the war.

    “World War II was a turning point in policing, creating a series of chalenges including manpower shortages, new training and managerial regimes, and fears about crime and delinquency during the war (Schrader 2021;Brooks 2023).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2021 source
    • cites Brooks 2023 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    The critical history of policing scholarship has demonstrated that the police became powerful, independent political forces in cities.

    “This body of scholarship, which can be characterized as a critical history of policing, has demonstrated the ways the police became powerful, independent political forces in cities”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    The critical history of policing scholarship has demonstrated that law enforcement shaped American life beyond crime prevention or control, most notably in maintaining racial, sexual, gender, and class inequality.

    “and the role of law enforcement in shaping American life beyond crime prevention or control, most notably in maintaining racial, sexual, gender, and class inequality.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingreasoning

    The political context of the Black Lives Matter era and calls for defunding the police after 2020 profoundly shaped how historians have approached policing.

    “The political context of the Black Lives Matter era and calls for defunding the police after 2020 profoundly shaped how historians have approached policing.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    The history of policing in the United States has garnered renewed attention over the past two decades.

    “The history of policing in the United States has garnered renewed attention over the past two decades.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    The history of policing has been separated from the history of crime.

    “The history of policing has been separated from the history of crime”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Recent police history has tended to treat the history of crime as related but largely distinct from the history of professional police.

    “Recent police history has tended to treat the history of crime as related but largely distinct from the history of professional police.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Police adopted variations of the Los Angeles Police Department's motto, 'To protect and to serve,' to portray themselves as neutral arbiters fighting crime.

    “Indeed, police adopted variations of the Los Angeles Police Department's motto, “To protect and to serve,” to portray themselves as neutral arbiters fighting crime.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingnone given

    Recent scholarship has emphasized the social and political functions of police in maintaining relations of power and inequality in modern American history.

    “Recent scholarship has emphasized the social and political functions of police in maintaining relations of power and inequality in modern American history.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingcitation

    Scholars of other regions have located the origins of formal, professionalized policing in the racialized project of enslavement.

    “Scholars of other regions have located the origins of formal, professionalized policing in the racialized project of enslavement.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    Historians have started to understand the intersectional nature of policing with a particular focus on race and gender.

    “historians have started to understand the intersectional nature of policing with a particular focus on race and gender.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Findingnone given

    The dominant trend of the police as a project of racial control and domination holds this work together.

    “The dominant trend of the police as a project of racial control and domination holds this work together.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    By 1906 the LAPD made 12,649 arrests, of which 70 percent were for public order charges.

    “By 1906 the LAPD made 12,649 arrests, of which 70 percent were for public order charges.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hernández 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Recent scholarship has challenged the notion that brutality and violence were the products of so-called bad apples, aberrations to what police describe as efficient, professional, and responsive policing.

    “Recent scholarship has challenged the notion that brutality and violence were the products of so-called bad apples, aberrations to what police describe as efficient, professional, and responsive policing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    There is a scholarly consensus that the Lexow Committee set off a cycle of investigation and reform in American policing.

    “There is a scholarly consensus that the Lexow Committee set off a cycle of investigation and reform in American policing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    A larger story of transnational policing remains to be unearthed, especially after the 1960s.

    “but a larger story remains to be unearthed, especially after the 1960s.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Sheriffs' departments and state police have received surprisingly little attention.

    “Sheriffs' departments and state police have received surprisingly little attention.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    The role of police in suburban neighborhoods has attracted little attention.

    “Similarly, the role of police in suburban neighborhoods has attracted little attention”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    Other scholars are exploring ways police have engaged in partisan politics and the role of police officer organizations in shaping policing in American society and governance.

    “Other scholars are exploring ways police have engaged in partisan politics and the role of police officer organizations in shaping policing in American society and governance (Schrader 2019b;Schwartz 2023).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2019b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Schwartz 2023

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Little attention has been paid to police unions after the 1960s despite earlier work that focused on police labor organization.

    “Most surprisingly, however, little attention has been paid to police unions after the 1960s despite earlier work that focused on police labor organization.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingcitation

    At least one recent PhD dissertation focuses explicitly on police unions and labor politics.

    “However, at least one recent PhD dissertation focuses explicitly on police unions and labor politics (Bekemeyer 2021).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bekemeyer 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Study of the transnational nature of policing is still in its infancy.

    “Study of the transnational nature of policing is still in its infancy.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Relatively little is known about state police and highway patrols.

    “Similarly, relatively little is known about state police and highway patrols.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Little has been done on the role of tribal police on Native American reservations and the policing of Indigenous populations.

    “Little has been done on the role of tribal police on Native American reservations and the policing of Indigenous populations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Much less attention has been paid to midsize cities, small cities, and suburbs, especially in the American South.

    “Much less attention has been paid to midsize cities, small cities, and suburbs, especially in the American South.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Many historians became less interested in exploring the intersection between police and politics that informed understandings of policing during the era of the urban political machines.

    “Many historians became less interested in exploring the intersection between police and politics that informed understandings of policing during the era of the urban political machines.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    Most of the work discussed in the paper focuses on large cities with nationally prominent police departments.

    “Most of the work I have discussed focuses on large cities with nationally prominent police departments.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Historians have demonstrated many ways professional police in America informed and borrowed from colonial policing.

    “Historians have demonstrated many ways professional police in America informed and borrowed from colonial policing”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    Historians have taken the study of the police in new directions in the decades since Lane and Monkkonen last reviewed historical work on American policing.

    “Historians have taken the study of the police in new and exciting directions in the decades since Lane and Monkkonen last reviewed historical work on American policing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Lane

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Monkkonen

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    Historians know very little about the work of officers on the street and how that work enforced and helped construct hierarchies, partly as a result of limitations of sources and methodological approaches.

    “Similarly, historians know very little about the work of officers on the street, which is partly a result of limitations of sources and methodological approaches, and how that work enforced and helped construct hierarchies.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Historians have asked new questions and traced ups and downs of police power and discretion over time.

    “They have asked new questions and traced ups and downs of police power and discretion over time.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Collectively, historians have unearthed the central role of professional police in American society, politics, and governance.

    “Collectively, historians have unearthed the central role of professional police in American society, politics, and governance.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Historians have paid much less attention to community policing and its evolution since the 1960s than have other social science disciplines.

    “Notably, historians have paid much less attention to community policing and its evolution since the 1960s than have other social science disciplines.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Contemporary social science on policing is often light on historical context and contingency, lacking attention to change and continuity over time.

    “Contemporary social science on policing is often light on historical context and contingency, lacking attention to change and continuity over time, something that is central to the historical discipline.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Slave patrols, established as early as 1691 in South Carolina, brought White colonists together to prevent insurrection and secure the racial order.

    “Slave patrols, established as early as 1691 in South Carolina, brought White colonists together to prevent insurrection and secure the racial order.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Brucato 2023

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Scholars have challenged assumptions that police in the United States were civil agencies and not rooted in military models or influence.

    “Scholars have also challenged assumptions that police in the United States were civil agencies and not rooted in military models or influence (Go 2024, p. 3).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Go 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    There are roughly 17,000 state and local police departments in the United States.

    “Indeed, there are roughly 17,000 state and local police departments in the United States, and “all have their own way of doing things” (Vitale 2017, p. 21).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Vitale 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Historians have pointed to the nineteenth century as the beginning of professional policing in the United States.

    “Historians have pointed to the nineteenth century as the beginning of professional policing in the United States.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lane 1967

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Richardson 1970

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Reiss 1973

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The consensus has been that the catalysts for professional policing were capitalist development, riots and urban disorder, the presence of so-called dangerous classes in cities, and management of urban growth and complexity of cities.

    “The consensus has been that the catalysts were capitalist development, riots and urban disorder, the presence of so-called dangerous classes in cities, and management of urban growth and complexity of cities (Lane 1967;Richardson 1970;Reiss 1973;Miller 1977;Monkkonen 1981).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lane 1967

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Richardson 1970

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Reiss 1973

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The development of local police departments in southwestern cities was necessary to legitimize government, facilitate control over previous inhabitants, and advance the colonial project.

    “As borderlands historians have argued, the development of local police departments in southwestern cities was necessary to legitimize government, facilitate control over previous inhabitants, and advance the colonial project (Behnken 2022, pp. 3-5).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Behnken 2022

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    It is impossible to understand the centrality of the police to the war on crime or war on drugs in the 1970s and 1980s without reckoning with the shifting nature of local-level policing in the decades before.

    “He shows that it is impossible to understand the centrality of the police to the war on crime or war on drugs in the 1970s and 1980s “without reckoning with the shifting nature of local-level policing in the decades before” (p.3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Balto 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Resistance and assertiveness of Black southerners produced crises that led to the birth of modern policing across the region.

    “Others have shown the ways that resistance and assertiveness of Black southerners produced crises that led to the birth of modern policing across the region.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Baker 2021 source
    • cites Prince 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Whites in New Orleans came to see violent crime in racial terms and empowered the police to crack down on so-called Black crime while often ignoring other forms of deadly violence that did not fit their preconceived notions of criminality.

    “Whites in New Orleans came to see violent crime in racial terms and empowered the police to crack down on so-called Black crime while often ignoring other forms of deadly violence that did not fit their preconceived notions of criminality.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Adler 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police in the South worked to shore up the racial hierarchy and were a key component of the developing system of Jim Crow segregation and exclusion of African Americans from civic life.

    “Police in the South also worked to shore up the racial hierarchy and were a key component of the developing system of Jim Crow segregation and exclusion of African Americans from civic life.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Randolph 2024 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Local officials in Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans built police power in response to urbanization, economic modernization, and demographic change.

    “Brandon Jett (2021, pp.1-3) has focused on the ways local officials in Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans built police power in response to urbanization, economic modernization, and demographic change.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jett 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police brutality in the South was endemic to the operation of law enforcement and aimed at facilitating racial domination.

    “Police brutality in the South was endemic to the operation of law enforcement and aimed at facilitating racial domination (Adler 2024).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Adler 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police power operated at the behest not only of political machines but also of White residents who looked to the police to 'preserve exclusion.'

    “Police power operated at the behest not only of political machines but also of White residents who, recognizing this, looked to the police to “preserve exclusion” (Flowe 2020, p. 29).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Flowe 2020 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Police corruption led to demands for reform and accountability 'roughly every twenty years.'

    “Historians of policing have long pointed out that police corruption led to demands for reform and accountability “roughly every twenty years” ( Johnson 2003, pp. 5-6).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Johnson 2003

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The cycle of outrage and reform is driven by the two competing visions of police-one that sees police as providing the promise of state protection and another that sees the police as representing the threat of state violence.

    “Michelle Phelps notes, “This cycle of outrage and reform is driven by the two competing visions of police-one that sees police as providing the promise of state protection and another that sees the police as representing the threat of state violence” (Phelps 2024, p. 17).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Phelps 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The shift from White mob violence to modernized policing in the South has been confirmed, and police torture and the decline of lynching were interconnected processes.

    “The narrative of a shift from White mob violence to modernized policing in the South has been confirmed by Silvan Niedermeier (2019), who has described police torture and the decline of lynching as interconnected processes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Niedermeier 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Torture and violence did not disappear; they were transformed as governing officials attempted to bring the police under the rule of law.

    “But torture and violence did not disappear.They were transformed as governing officials attempted to bring the police under the rule of law (Dale 2016).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Dale 2016

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    August Vollmer played a pioneering role in promoting professional policing.

    “Many scholars have pointed to the pioneering role of August Vollmer in promoting professional policing (Oliver 2017).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Oliver 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Various ethnic immigrant groups used policing to gain employment and political influence in machine-era urban America.

    “While many scholars have shown that various ethnic immigrant groups used policing to gain employment and political influence in machine-era urban America (Fogelson 1977;Monkkonen 1992), the process was hardly simple or straightforward.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Fogelson 1977

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Monkkonen 1992

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Concern for interracial sex served to criminalize Black men who engaged in interracial sex and to control the autonomy of working-class White women.

    “Concern for interracial sex, which existed long before the Mann Act, served to criminalize Black men who engaged in interracial sex and to control the autonomy of working-class White women (Flowe 2020, p. 95).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Flowe 2020 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    New York police often operated on racist assumptions about the hypersexuality and immoral behavior of Black women, which meant Black women did not receive the protection of femininity afforded their White counterparts.

    “New York police often operated on racist assumptions about the hypersexuality and immoral behavior of Black women, which meant Black women did not receive the protection of femininity afforded their White counterparts.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hicks 2010

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The police became part of the project of racial definition and management in colonial spaces, such as in the Philippines, and adopted similar measures in American cities prior to World War II.

    “In the process, the police became part of the project of racial definition and management in colonial spaces, such as in the Philippines, and adopted similar measures in American cities prior to World War II.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Go 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Concern for prostitution during wartime led to the growth of police power, disproportionately affecting Black women.

    “Nothing led to the growth of the police power like concern for prostitution during wartime, something that often fell disproportionately on Black women.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Brooks 2023 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The law reinforced beliefs that prostitution was a threat to the nation's war effort, and the NYPD expanded its antiprostitution policing.

    “This law reinforced beliefs that prostitution was a threat to the nation's war effort, and the NYPD expanded its antiprostitution policing (Brooks 2023, pp. 20-21).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Brooks 2023 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Policing upheld a particular racial hierarchy and power structure, especially as police torture began to be used in private spaces of the station house and jail in place of public lynching.

    “Policing upheld a particular racial hierarchy and power structure, especially as police torture began to be used in the private spaces of the station house and jail in place of the public spectacle of lynching.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Niedermeier 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Sexual policing focused on maintaining public order and relied on officer discretion to target individuals engaged in arrestable behavior.

    “This type of policing focused on maintaining public order and relied on officer discretion to target individuals engaged in “arrestable behavior” (p.8).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fischer 2022

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police intellectuals and colonial officials developed tools to bring Filipino nationalists under constant surveillance and harassed labor movements; this led to new surveillance technologies and practices used by law enforcement around the globe.

    “Police intellectuals and colonial officials developed tools to bring Filipino nationalists under constant surveillance and harassed labor movements; this led to new surveillance technologies and practices used by law enforcement around the globe (McCoy 2009(McCoy , 2015)).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites McCoy 2009

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites McCoy 2015

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    August Vollmer's experience serving in the Philippines was the source of many of his innovations, and he brought ideas, techniques, and technologies from his colonial police experience to the modernization of the Berkeley Police Department and the LAPD.

    “Recent scholarship has highlighted that his experience serving in the Philippines was the source of many of his innovations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Go 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Three forces challenged police power in the 1950s and 1960s: pro-growth governing coalitions in cities displaced older machine politics, antipolice civil rights movements demanded an end to discretionary order-maintenance policing, and White liberals supported police professionalization and civil rights.

    “Chris Agee has noted three forces that challenged police power in the 1950s and 1960s: pro-growth governing coalitions in cities displaced older machine politics, antipolice civil rights movements demanded an end to discretionary order-maintenance policing, and White liberals supported police professionalization and civil rights (2020, p. 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Agee 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Vagrancy laws were typically written so broadly that they gave officers near-unlimited discretion and allowed police to target and arrest people based on their identity, which was a means of ensuring racial, ethnic, sexual, and class order and control.

    “Vagrancy laws were typically written so broadly that they gave officers nearunlimited discretion.They allowed police to target and arrest people based on their identity, which was a means of ensuring racial, ethnic, sexual, and class order and control.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Goluboff 2016

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Liberal administrators in San Francisco, called cosmopolitan liberals, sought to bring the police under the rule of law and deployed the harm principle to reorient policing away from order maintenance.

    “Chris Agee (2014) has argued that liberal administrators in San Francisco, whom he calls “cosmopolitan liberals,” sought to bring the police under the rule of law and deployed the harm principle-the notion that the police should focus only on crime that physically or materially harmed others-to reorient policing away from order maintenance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Agee 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Imperial feedback did not end police violence or brutality and may have exacerbated it, leading to new rounds of reform.

    “Imperial feedback did not end police violence or brutality.It may have exacerbated it, leading to new rounds of reform.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    La Guardia promoted an anti-Tammany agenda and attempted to root out police corruption.

    “Emphasizing a “nonpartisan” and “nonpolitical” approach, La Guardia promoted an anti-Tammany agenda and attempted to root out police corruption (King 2024, pp. 54-59).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites King 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The police used gambling laws in Chicago and New York to exercise authority over the black community while also continuing to profit from payoffs and bribes.

    “The police used gambling laws in Chicago and New York to “to exercise authority over the black community” while also continuing to profit from payoffs and bribes (p.12).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Vaz 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The police looked to make racialized populations visible and were not merely reacting to understandings of race but instrumental in constructing racial categories.

    “The police looked to make racialized populations visible and, in the process, were not merely reacting to understandings of race but instrumental in constructing racial categories.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Guariglia 2023

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    These efforts culminated in strengthening of the Wayward Minor Law in 1945, which set the stage for strengthened policing of the juvenile delinquency crisis in the 1950s.

    “These efforts culminated in strengthening of the Wayward Minor Law in 1945, which set the stage for strengthened policing of the juvenile delinquency crisis in the 1950s (Suddler 2019;Brooks 2023).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Suddler 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Brooks 2023 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Although vagrancy laws were ruled unconstitutional and limits were placed on police discretion, the police found new ways to justify discretionary power.

    “Although they were ruled unconstitutional, particularly in Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156 (1972), and limits were placed on police discretion, the police found new ways to justify discretionary power.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Goluboff 2016

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The loss of unfettered discretion did not end discriminatory police practices; instead it imbued them with new discretionary powers to target behaviors and groups that did not fit the model of economic growth and fairness of the liberal order.

    “However, the loss of unfettered discretion did not end discriminatory police practices.Instead it imbued them with new discretionary powers to target behaviors and groups that did not fit the model of economic growth and fairness of the liberal order (Murakawa 2014).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Murakawa 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Kefauver Committee exposed the persistence of police corruption and graft in the numbers and policy rackets and added impetus to efforts to bring the police under the rule of law through professionalization.

    “The Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, otherwise known as the Kefauver Committee, exposed the persistence of police corruption and graft in the numbers and policy rackets (pp.31-32), and added impetus to efforts to bring the police under the rule of law through professionalization.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Vaz 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Valentine and La Guardia framed the focus on sexual policing as part of the war effort and protection of service members while using the war to promote their vision of order and morality more broadly.

    “Valentine and La Guardia framed the focus on sexual policing as part of the war effort and protection of service members while using the war to promote their vision of order and morality more broadly (Brooks 2023, p. 70).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Brooks 2023 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    White women experienced a 20 percent decrease in arrests for prostitution while Black women experienced a 20 percent increase.

    “White women experienced a 20 percent decrease in arrests for prostitution while Black women experienced a 20 percent increase (Fischer 2022, pp. 77-78).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fischer 2022

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The police used complaints of brutality and demands for accountability to portray themselves as victims and advance their own agenda.

    “Aggressive policing targeting Los Angeles's Black and Mexican American communities in the 1960s is the subject of my work, which highlights the ways the police used complaints of brutality and demands for accountability to portray themselves as victims and advance their own agenda (Felker-Kantor 2018b).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Felker-Kantor 2018b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Municipal police departments such as the NYPD and LAPD moved away from policing minor disorder, but the HAPD continued to crack down on behaviors such as loitering and noise well into the 1970s.

    “Municipal police departments, such as the NYPD or LAPD, moved away from policing minor disorder (which would revive with the adoption of order maintenance and broken-windows policing in the 1980s), but the HAPD continued to crack down on behaviors such as loitering and noise well into the 1970s.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Umbach 2011

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Professionalism meant autonomy and the ability of the police to police themselves.

    “Professionalism meant autonomy and the ability of the police to police themselves.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Sexual policing, especially of Black women perceived to be engaged in sex work, was central to the expansion of police discretionary power in the postwar United States.

    “Other historians have noted the centrality of sexual policing, especially of Black women perceived to be engaged in sex work, in the expansion of police discretionary power in the postwar period.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Fischer 2022

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police became insulated from external oversight while also promoting an image of proactive policing concerned with preventing crime rather than its causes.

    “Police became insulated from external oversight while also promoting an image of proactive policing concerned with preventing crime rather than its causes (Felker-Kantor 2018b).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Felker-Kantor 2018b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    Professionalization following World War II further insulated the police from political oversight and went a long way toward making the police independent partisan entities in cities.

    “Professionalization following World War II further insulated the police from political oversight and intervention.It went a long way toward making the police independent partisan entities in cities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The United States Office of Public Safety gave American policing a global reach while also incorporating lessons learned from counterinsurgency operations in Vietnam into domestic police practices.

    “Stuart Schrader (2019a) has similarly shown that the United States Office of Public Safety (OPS) gave American policing a global reach while also incorporating lessons learned from counterinsurgency operations in Vietnam into domestic police practices.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2019a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Nearly every time the police faced criticism, they successfully responded by claiming victimhood and low officer morale, which would lead to inefficient policing and a rise in crime.

    “Nearly every time the police faced criticism, they successfully responded by claiming victimhood and low officer morale, which would lead to inefficient policing and a rise in crime (Balto 2019;King 2024).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Balto 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites King 2024

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Racial liberals hoped the Philadelphia Police Advisory Board would bring the police under control, but they focused on bad apples rather than on a systemic problem of policing and racial inequality.

    “Racial liberals hoped it would bring the police under control, but they focused on “bad apples” rather than on a systemic problem of policing and racial inequality (Schneider 2020, pp. 51-74).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schneider 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Burge torture regime in the Chicago Police Department's Area 2 was not a case of 'bad apples'; officers tortured and coerced confessions from more than 118 African Americans from 1972 to 1991.

    “The Burge torture regime was far from being a case of “bad apples”; officers engaged in the torture and coerced confessions of more than 118 African Americans from 1972 to 1991 (Baer 2020, p. 2).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baer 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    OPS trainers operated in at least 52 countries, and officers from at least 77 countries attended training in the United States between 1962 and 1974.

    “OPS trainers operated in at least 52 countries, and officers from at least 77 countries attended training in the United States between 1962 and 1974.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schrader 2019a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Chicago Police Department did not protect Black Chicagoans or their property from White rioters in the 1919 Red Summer but policed and criminalized them instead.

    “Balto demonstrates that the Chicago Police Department did not protect Black Chicagoans or their property from White rioters but policed and criminalized them instead.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Balto 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The dominant theme of the historical literature has been the mobilization of racial stereotypes and presumptions of criminality to justify police discretion and use of force.

    “The dominant theme of this literature has been the mobilization of racial stereotypes and presumptions of criminality to justify police discretion and use of force.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    Historians have reached consensus that the police used constructed fears of Black criminality and violence to garner resources and authority.

    “Historians have reached consensus that the police used constructed fears of Black criminality and violence to garner resources and authority.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The overwhelmingly White racial makeup of police departments added to the tension and provoked demands from Black activists for greater representation.

    “The overwhelmingly White racial makeup of police departments added to the tension and provoked demands from Black activists for greater representation (Sugrue 2008, p. 330).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Sugrue 2008

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The relationship between police violence causing urban rebellion and a police response that produced conditions for more violence and future unrest is what Elizabeth Hinton called 'the cycle.'

    “This relationship is what Elizabeth Hinton has called “the cycle” (2021, p. 21), or the dialectic of police violence causing urban rebellion and a police response that produced the conditions for more violence and future unrest.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hinton 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Police responded to mass violent protest with calls for more resources and authority, leading to renewed potential for occupation and repression in Black and Mexican American neighborhoods.

    “Police, in turn, responded with calls for more resources and authority, leading to renewed potential for occupation and repression in Black and Mexican American neighborhoods.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The LAPD used statistics on 'Mexican crime' to bolster theories of race and criminality and create fears of a 'crime wave.'

    “The LAPD used statistics on “Mexican crime” to bolster theories of race and criminality and create fears of a “crime wave.””
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Zoot Suit Riots politicized Mexican American youth in the following years and set the stage for the Chicano movement of the 1960s.

    “Pagán shows that these riots politicized Mexican American youth in the following years and set the stage for the Chicano movement of the 1960s (Pagán 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Pagán 2003

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Racial liberals tried to make policing fairer, but ingrained assumptions about racial inferiority and a common view that abusive policing was a problem of individual officers rather than of the policing system exposed the limits of liberal reforms.

    “Racial liberals tried to make policing fairer but ingrained assumptions about racial inferiority and a common view that abusive policing was a problem of individual officers rather than of the policing system itself exposed the limits of liberal reforms (Schneider 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schneider 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Departments across the country requested weapons and antiriot gear, developed antiriot plans and strategies, and pushed for legal authority to assert command and control to put down unrest.

    “Departments across the country, in turn, requested weapons and antiriot gear, developed antiriot plans and strategies, and pushed for legal authority to assert command and control to put down unrest (Ribeiro 2013;McLaughlin 2014;Levy 2018).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Ribeiro 2013 source
    • cites McLaughlin 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Levy 2018

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Police-community relations in cities ranging from Los Angeles to Detroit to Newark to New York City were routinely poor, the source of deep animosity, and at the root of mass violent protest.

    “Police-community relations in cities ranging from Los Angeles (Felker-Kantor 2018b) to Detroit (Fine 2007) to Newark (Mumford 2007) to New York City (C.Taylor 2019) were routinely poor, the source of deep animosity, and at the root of mass violent protest.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Felker-Kantor 2018b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Fine 2007

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Mumford 2007 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Law enforcement officials routinely linked urban unrest with race and criminality, which led to calls by politicians in New York City and Washington for a war on crime.

    “Law enforcement officials routinely linked urban unrest with race and criminality, which led to calls by politicians both in New York City and in Washington for a war on crime.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Lyndon Johnson's call for a war on crime in response to urban unrest led to the establishment of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), which funneled federal dollars through block grants to states to distribute to local law enforcement agencies.

    “Elizabeth Hinton (2016) has shown that Lyndon Johnson's call for a war on crime in response to urban unrest led to the establishment of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA), which funneled federal dollars through block grants to states to distribute to local law enforcement agencies (pp. 90-94, 191-202).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hinton 2016

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Claiming victim status positioned the police to get more resources, authority, and political support, showing that police militarization occurred well before the wars on drugs of the 1980s and 1990s.

    “Claiming victim status positioned the police to get more resources, authority, and political support, showing that police militarization occurred well before the wars on drugs of the 1980s and 1990s.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The Afro-American Patrolman's League (AAPL), formed in 1968, represented a form of Black Power policing as Black officers challenged the inherent racism in the Chicago Police Department.

    “The AAPL represented a form of Black Power policing as Black officers challenged the inherent racism in the Chicago Police Department (Agyepong 2013;Pihos 2015;Satter 2016).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Agyepong 2013 source
    • cites Pihos 2015

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Satter 2016 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Decades of police reform had done little to change how the Cincinnati police treated low-income communities of color.

    “It shows that decades of police reform had done little to change how the Cincinnati police treated lowincome communities of color (p.274).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hinton 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Policing practices emerging from the 1960s, including stop-and-frisk tactics and the presence of police in schools, helped repress mass violence as a regular phenomenon.

    “She suggests that policing practices emerging from 1960s, including stop-and-frisk tactics and the presence of police in schools, “helped repress mass violence as a regular phenomenon” (p.3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Hinton 2021

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Matt Lassiter (2023) has highlighted the importance of suburbs to the development of drug policy.

    “Matt Lassiter (2023) has highlighted the importance of suburbs to the development of drug policy”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Matt Lassiter (2023)

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Schneider shows that there are three common explanatory variables for police and riots: activation of boundaries, police use of violence across those boundaries, and failure to hold police accountable.

    “Schneider shows that there are three common explanatory variables: activation of boundaries, police use of violence across those boundaries, and failure to hold police accountable.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Schneider 2014

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Between 1971 and 1974 STRESS officers arrested more than 6,000 people and killed at least 18 Detroiters, all but one Black.

    “Between 1971 and 1974 STRESS officers arrested more than 6,000 people and killed at least 18 Detroiters, all but one Black.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Police abuse and harassment created common cause between Black and gay activists.

    “Tim Stewart-Winter (2015a, 2015b) argues that police abuse and harassment created common cause between Black and gay activists.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Stewart-Winter 2015a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Stewart-Winter 2015b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Pouring resources into local police departments expanded the capacity of officers to engage in violence, exacerbating flashpoints and the potential for more resistance and, in response, more police violence.

    “Pouring resources into local police departments expanded the capacity of officers to engage in violence.This exacerbated flashpoints and potential for more resistance and, in response, more police violence.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Resistance to abusive policing persisted but not in the form of violent mass protest observed in the 1960s.

    “Resistance to abusive policing persisted but not in the form of violent mass protest observed in the 1960s.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Often the only resources poor Black communities received went to policing and law enforcement.

    “However, he suggests, often the only resources poor Black communities received went to policing and law enforcement.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Forman 2017

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The HAPD integrated officers into the lives of public housing residents, engaged in problem-solving policing, and collaborated with community leaders when deciding goals, priorities, and resource allocation.

    “The HAPD integrated officers into the lives of public housing residents, engaged in problem-solving policing, and collaborated with community leaders when deciding goals, priorities, and resource allocation (Umbach 2011).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Umbach 2011

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Policing was a key component of America's global order-maintenance project during the wars on drugs and gangs, leading to resistance not only in America's cities but also in its territories.

    “Policing was a key component of America's global order-maintenance project during the wars on drugs and gangs, leading to resistance not only in America's cities but also in its territories.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The response of the district attorney to the Washington Heights uprising was to double down on the criminalization of participants and insist on the need for expanded police power.

    “The response of the district attorney was to double down on the criminalization of participants in the unrest and insist on the need for expanded police power.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    Policing produced both critiques from the overpoliced and demands for a greater police presence from the underprotected.

    “Policing produced both critiques from the overpoliced and demands for a greater police presence from the underprotected.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The 1992 Los Angeles unrest was influenced by the expansion of inequality and poverty in the city but must also be placed in the context of two decades of failed police reform and antipolice activism since the Watts uprising of 1965.

    “The unrest was certainly influenced by the expansion of inequality and poverty in the city but must also be placed in the context of two decades of failed police reform and antipolice activism since the Watts uprising of 1965.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Daily instances of police abuse continued, but rarely spurred mass violence.

    “Daily instances of police abuse continued, but rarely spurred mass violence.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Mano dura not only criminalized the poorest Puerto Ricans but also served as an assertion of state power to maintain social control.

    “This not only criminalized the poorest Puerto Ricans but also served as an assertion of state power to maintain social control.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
119 of 119

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Most sheriffs in the United States are elected at the county level.

    “since most sheriffs in the United States are elected at the county level.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Police play a central role in virtually all areas of social life.

    “Another avenue for understanding the central role of police in virtually all areas of social life is to explore law enforcement agencies other than municipal departments.”
2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Appier's first name differs from the reference entry

    Minor

    The text calls the 1998 author Janice Appier, while the corresponding reference lists Janis Appier.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 61

  1. Adler Jeffrey S, Blue-Coated Terror: Jim Crow New Orleans and the Roots of Modern Police Brutality
  2. Agee Christopher Lowen, 1950, The Streets of
  3. Armenta Amada, The Rise of Policing as Immigration Enforcement
  4. Baker Andrew D, To Poison a Nation: The Murder of Robert Charles and the Rise of Jim Crow Policing in America
  5. Behnken Brian D, 1835, Mexican Americans, and Law Enforcement in the Southwest
  6. Bekemeyer, Aaron Thomas. 2021. “The Labor of Law and Order: How Police Unions Transformed Policing and Politics in the United States, 1939–1985.” PhD dissertation, Harvard University.
  7. Bowling Benjamin, 2019, Sheptycki
  8. Boyles Andrea S, Too Close for Comfort
  9. Brucato Ben, Race and Police: The Origin of Our Peculiar Institutions
  10. Cook, DeAnza Avonna. 2023. “Soul Patrols: Race, Representation, and the Limits of Police Reform in America, 1962–2022.” PhD dissertation, Harvard University.
  11. Correia David, 2021, Violent Order: Essays on the Nature of Police.
  12. Epp Charles R, 2014, Haider-Markel
  13. Felker-Kantor Max, Policing
  14. Fine Sidney, 1967, Race Relations, and the Detroit Riot of
  15. Flamm Michael W, 2002, Historian, 64, 643
  16. Fogelson Robert M, Big-City Police
  17. Goluboff Risa, 2016, Vagrant Nation: Police Power, Constitutional Change, and the Making of the
  18. Guariglia Matthew, Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York
  19. Harris LaShawn, Black Women in New York City’s Underground Economy
  20. Hernández Kelly Lytle, A History of the U.S. Border Patrol
  21. Hill Marc Lamont, Policing, Protest, and Possibility.
  22. Hinton Elizabeth, 1960, America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion since the
  23. Hobson Emily, The Rising Tide of Color: Race, State Violence, and Radical Movements across the Pacific, edited by M. H. Jung.
  24. Jett Brandon T, 1920, African Americans and Law Enforcement in Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans
  25. Johansen Anja, Crime and Justice in Historical Perspective, edited by Michael Tonry., 53
  26. Kane Robert J, 2012, White
  27. King Shannon, The Politics of Safety: The Black Struggle for Police Accountability in La Guardia’s New York
  28. Kohler-Hausmann, Julilly. 2010. “Militarizing the Police: Officer Jon Burge, Torture, and War in the ‘Urban Jungle.’” InChallenging the Prison-Industrial Complex: Activism, Arts, and Educational Alternatives, edited by S. J. Hartnett. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
  29. Kuzmarov Jeremy, 2012, Modernizing Repression: Police Training and Nation Building in the American Century. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.
  30. Lane Roger, 1822, Policing the City: Boston
  31. Lane Roger, Modern Policing, edited by Michael Tonry and Norval Morris., 51
  32. Lassiter Matthew D, The Suburban Crisis: White America and the War on Drugs
  33. Levy Peter B, The Great Uprising
  34. McLaughlin Malcolm, Hot Summer of 1967: Urban Rebellion in America.
  35. Mogul Joey L, The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States
  36. Monkkonen Eric H, 1860, Police in Urban America
  37. Monkkonen Eric H, Modern Policing, edited by Michael Tonry and Norval Morris., 51
  38. Myers Tamara Gene, 2019, Youth Squad: Policing Children in the Twentieth Century. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s Press.
  39. National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement.1931., Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement
  40. New York State Legislature, Report and Proceedings. Senate Committee Appointed to Investigate the Police Department of the City of New York
  41. Niedermeier Silvan, 1930, Police Torture, and Civil Rights in the American South
  42. Oliver Willard, 2017, August Vollmer: The Father of American Policing.
  43. Oropeza Lorena, Chicano Protest and Patriotism during the Viet Nam War Era
  44. Parker William H, Parker on Police, edited by O. W. Wilson
  45. Phelps Michelle S, 2024, Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America.
  46. Pihos, Peter. 2015. “Policing, Race, and Politics in Chicago.” PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.
  47. Pishko Jessica, The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy
  48. Provine Doris Marie, 2016, Decker
  49. Ralph Laurence, The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence
  50. Randolph Justin, Mississippi Law: The Long Crisis of Policing and Reform in America’s Jim Crow Countryside
  51. Reiss Albert J, The Police and the Public
  52. Reiss Albert J, Modern Policing, edited by Michael Tonry and Norval Morris., 51
  53. Richardson James F, 1901, Colonial Times to
  54. Schwartz Joanna C, 2023, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable.
  55. Simon Samantha J, Before the Badge: How Academy Training Shapes Police Violence
  56. Skogan Wesley G, Police and Community
  57. Suriel Yalile, 2024, Jude Paul Matias Dizon
  58. Thompson Heather Ann, Politics, Labor, and Race in a Modern American City
  59. Walker Samuel E, 2018, Archbold
  60. Western Bruce, 2023, Yamrot Negussie
  61. White Michael D, 2016, Fradella

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Felker-Kantor, M.
Corresponding author
Felker-Kantor, Max
ORCID
Felker-Kantor, Max
Venue
Crime and Justice
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Published
2024-05-01
Volume
53
Issue
1
Pages
55-102
ISSN
  • 0192-3234 (ISSN-L)
  • 2153-0416
DOI
10.1086/732194
OpenAlex
W4405721291
Cited by
3
References
117
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1
FWCI
5.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
Crime and Justice (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Princeton University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Harvard University
  • Louisiana State University
  • McGill University
  • York University
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Oxford
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
  • Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
Keywords
police history, police powers, social inequality, racial inequality, gender inequality, class inequality, social control, police reform

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-08.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-08.

Cited sources are checked by gpt-6-sol.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

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