Our Book Spotlight this month shines brightly on one of the problems in Ferguson, Missouri, that we’re facing around the country. Officer Friendly is dead, and our streets are patrolled by SWAT robots with a “kick it in and ask questions later” mentality. Supported by a steady flow of money and equipment from the Military-Industrial complex, it’s a problem that is unlikely to disappear anytime soon and will undoubtedly get worse before it 
gets better. It’s a serious and complex issue, so this month we bring you two of the best books we could find on the subject. (Don’t get caught with them!) Clicking the link will take you to the Powells.com site for each book, and a visit to our shop will take you to these books and more in our extensive, in-shop lending library.
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces By Radley Balko
The last days of colonialism taught America’s revolutionaries that soldiers in the streets bring conflict and tyranny. As a result, our country has generally worked to keep the military out of law enforcement. But according to investigative reporter Radley Balko, over the last several decades, America’s cops have increasingly come to resemble ground troops. The consequences have been dire: the home is no longer a place of sanctuary, the Fourth Amendment has been gutted, and police today have been conditioned to see the citizens they serve as an other—an enemy.
In Rise of the Warrior Cop, Balko shows how politicians’ ill-considered policies and relentless declarations of war against vague enemies like crime, drugs, and terror have blurred the distinction between cop and soldier. His fascinating, frightening narrative shows how over a generation, a creeping battlefield mentality has isolated and alienated American police officers and put them on a collision course with the values of a free society.
SWAT Madness and the Militarization of the American Police: A National Dilemma by Jim Fisher
In the United States, military-style police enforcement is fast becoming the norm—even the smallest police departments now field costly SWAT units. While the fact that police forces have increased capabilities to deal with urgent or dangerous situations may seem positive, this type of aggressive response is problematic; court settlements regarding excessive SWAT raids cost law enforcement agencies millions of dollars every year, not to mention that these brute-force strategies often traumatize, injure, and kill innocent people.
This book takes an unprecedented look into the realities of zero-tolerance, militaristic policing, the tactics and equipment used, the problematic “crime warrior” mindset at play, and the statistical evidence of its ineffectiveness. The author’s professional experience in criminology and scholarly knowledge of the topic enables him to candidly address common concerns about utilizing paramilitary law enforcement and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) units in routine, low-risk police work, such as the general loss of freedom, the often tragic results of excessive force, and the effects on race relations.
Written by a former FBI agent and criminal justice professor who has followed policing trends for 35 years, this is the first book to address the issue of SWAT team overuse.
