Cop Watch: Spectators, Social Media, and Police Reform

Toch (emeritus, criminal justice, U. of Albany-SUNY) reviews the history of police reform over the past 50 years, stressing the role of citizen "spectators" in shaping police practice and policy, especially in the era of new digital communication such as social networking sites, cell phones, and blogging. The author also draws on his own original research in crowd behavior. The first part of the book relies on interviews with real police officers in an anonymous West Coast city from 1967 to 1971, shedding light on that city's experience with citizen concerns about police brutality and the subsequent resistance of rank-and-file police officers to reforms. Part 2, the bulk of the book, examines accusations of police brutality in Seattle, 2010-1011. The book includes an extensive list of references, mainly online documentation for the Seattle section. Annotation �穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)