There is a reason why people claim great respect for officers of the law: the job, by description, is hard-if not deadly. It takes a certain kind of person to accept the consequences of the job- seeing the very worst situations, on a regular basis, and knowing that one's life is on the line every hour of every day. Working in law enforcement is emotionally and psychologically draining. It affects these public servants both on and off the job. Said plainly, shaking an officers' hand when you see them or posting a sign in the front yard that reads "Support the Badge" is lip service. Even going as far as to donate money to a crowdsourcing fundraising site does little to support the long-term professional development needs of officers. These are surface level signs of solidarity, and do little in terms of showing respect for the job and those who do it. For those who want to do more, this text provides reasons and a rationale for doing better by these public servants. Showing respect does not mean that one agrees with whatever another person or institution claims to be the "right" way. Showing respect and admiration means that we charge individuals to live up to their fullest potentials and integrate innovation wherever possible. In the case of policing in the era of Black Lives Matters, policing as usual simply is not an option any longer. It is disrespectful, to both the officers and those who are being policed, to rest on the laurels of past policing tactics. As we enter a time period in which police interactions are recorded (dash cams or body cams, for example) and new populations are being targeted (Latinx people), there is much to learn about what is working and what is not.
Introduction Sandra E. Weissinger and Dwayne A. Mack 1. Policing with Impunity: Racialized Policing in the 21st Century Dwayne A. Mack and Felicia W. Mack 2 Police Use of Force: Practices, Policies, and the Law Wornie Reed 3 The Psychological Impact of Policing on African American Students Ashley N. Hurst, Marlon L. Bailey, Nolan Krueger, Ramya Garba, and Kevin Cokley 4 Criminalizing Hope: Policing Latino/a Immigrant Bodies for Profit Nayeli Y. Chavez-Duenas and Hector Y. Adames 5 Strengthening the Sanctuary: Institutional Policies to Support DACA Students Dee Hill-Zuganelli and F. Tyler Sergent 6 Sexual Assault (Threat): Policing Brown Women's Bodies on the Mexico-U.S. Border Rebecca G. Martinez 7 "They Don't Really Care about Us": Policing Black and Brown Lives and Futures Derrick R. Brooms 8 To Protect and Serve: Examining Race, Law Enforcement Culture and Social Work Practice Shakira A. Kennedy, Folusho Otuyelu, and Warren K. Graham 9 Leaders are Dealers in Hope: A Look at the Intentional Actions Called for in the Forward through Ferguson Report Sandra E. Weissinger 10 Unfriending the Policing Culture: The Reawakened Black Consciousness Tony Gaskew
