A wide-ranging
investigation of how supposedly transformative technologies adopted
by law enforcement have actually made policing worse—lazier, more
reckless, and more discriminatory
American law
enforcement is a system in crisis. After explosive protests
responding to police brutality and discrimination in Baltimore,
Ferguson, and a long list of other cities, the vexing question of how
to reform the police and curb misconduct stokes tempers and fears on
both the right and left. In the midst of this fierce debate, however,
most of us have taken for granted that innovative new technologies
can only help.
During the early
90s, in the wake of the infamous Rodney King beating, police leaders
began looking to corporations and new technologies for help. In the
decades since, these technologies have—in theory—given police
powerful, previously unthinkable faculties: the ability to
incapacitate a suspect without firing a bullet (Tasers); the capacity
to more efficiently assign officers to high-crime areas using
computers (Compstat); and, with body cameras, a means of defending
against accusations of misconduct.
But in this vivid,
deeply-reported book, Matt Stroud shows that these tools are
overhyped and, in many cases, ineffective. Instead of wrestling with
tough fundamental questions about their work, police leaders have
looked to technology as a silver bullet and stood by as corporate
interests have insinuated themselves ever deeper into the public
institution of law enforcement. With a sweeping history of these
changes, Thin Blue Lie is a must-read for anyone seeking to
understand how policing became what it is today.
