Post-Charlottesville: Violent/Nonviolent cops in the face of bullying?

With the tragic killing in Charlottesville, VA and the subsequent debates about police behavior pre and post Charlottesville bullying, it seems time to mention Policing Society. I wrote the book during a sabbatical in England where I compared the Greater Manchester Police Department with the Oakland Police Department.

I chose Manchester and Oakland for my tale of two cities because  they were remarkably similar cities with historically different policing philosophies. For starters: Both are sports-crazed cities (Manchester United and Manchester City; the Oakland Raiders and A’s ). Both have significant minority populations. And both are having financial trouble, since much of their industry and manufacturing disappeared in the late 20th Century.

Police should enforce the playground/societal rule of “No bullying Allowed.”

My hypothesis for my research was that the calm, unarmed legacy of the Bobbies would mean Manchester’s cops were more civil,  nonviolent, and humanitarian than Oakland’s. I figured they’d enforce the societal rule of “No bullying allowed” as opposed to the bullying, violent, authoritarian approach that Oakland was often known for.

 

Was I ever surprised when I analyzed my research data regarding how police in two similar UK and US cities responded to family crises and domestic disturbance calls. Oakland was more humanitarian and nonviolent than Manchester. Read why in Policing Society (Contact the author or Kendall/Hunt.)

 

The departmental rule for cops should be  “No bullying Allowed.”