Publishers Weekly
01/09/2023
U.S. police officers kill more than 1,000 people every year, notes sociologist and former cop Gross (Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care?) in this well-researched and hopeful study of efforts to reduce police brutality. Among other factors, he traces the problem to cops’ “social isolation,” which leads them “to believe that lawmen are the only people they can trust and that the most important thing is to protect their brothers in blue, even if it means lying to cover for wrongdoing.” Spotlighting Stockton, Calif.; Longmont, Colo.; and LaGrange, Ga.; Gross details how the chiefs of all three cities’ police departments replaced an “aggressive crime fighter” approach with “healthier, more socially responsible models.” Under Operation Ceasefire in Stockton, police and community organizers reduced a “skyrocketing” murder rate by reaching out to gang members before violence occurred, offering them job training and other “carrots,” while directly communicating the consequences for illegal behavior. In Longmont, a restorative justice program, coupled with a shift toward harm reduction in drug cases, helped turn things around. Gross’s suggestions for reform also include more inclusive recruiting practices and grants for departments willing to experiment with new methods. Tightly focused and consistently persuasive, this is a crucial guide to solving a pressing social issue. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Informed and impassioned... thoughtful and important. Gross’s optimism about police reform offers an antidote to the cynicism and gloom that pervade most such discussions. His book is replete with both empathy and pragmatism."
—The New York Times
"A vital contribution to the debate over policing and the possibility of reform."
—Chris Hayes
"Excellent... Gross cuts through hyperbole and ideology to examine the realities of crime and law enforcement, presenting strong evidence that change is possible and the police can and should do better in our democratic society."
—Booklist
"Tightly focused and consistently persuasive, this is a crucial guide to solving a pressing social issue."
—Publishers Weekly
“This book shows what policing could be.”
—Library Journal, starred review
"A conversation-provoking look at the real world of police work and ways to make it better for all concerned."
—Kirkus
“A crucial and timely read.”
—Jonathan Lemire, “Way Too Early,” MSNBC
“Walk the Walk is something that everyone needs to read, conservative, progressive and everything in between."
—John Fugelsang, “Tell Me Everything,” Sirius FM
“An illuminating look at the possibilities of policing, Neil Gross’s book should be required reading for every precinct across the country. Walk the Walk is infused with hope and wisdom, and offers a new vision of what law enforcement could be.”
—Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises
“Walk the Walk is mandatory reading and truly a roadmap to success in police reform.”
—Art Acevedo, former chief of the Austin, Houston, and Miami police departments and past president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association
“A must-read for anyone who believes the time for change in policing is long overdue. As a former cop and distinguished sociologist, Neil Gross brings unique insight and empathy to this vexing subject. He knows how hard it is to achieve meaningful reform, yet he makes a convincing case: change is possible.”
—Eyal Press, author of Dirty Work
"A great strength of the book is the close rendering of individual officers' experiences... Gross humanizes and complicates a profession that is easy to stereotype."
—National Civic Review
“A refreshing break from our hyper-polarized debate over public safety and criminal justice reform, Walk the Walk shows that better policing is possible.”
—Matthew Yglesias, author of One Billion Americans
“Neil Gross brings the debate on police reform to life with this nuanced and highly readable account of how three very different police agencies managed to change their culture and behavior. Walk the Walk is a crucial and timely contribution to our understanding of the state of American policing and its prospects for change.”
—Elliott Currie, author of A Curious Indifference
Library Journal
★ 03/03/2023
Former Berkley, CA, police officer Gross (sociology, Colby Coll.; The New Pragmatist Sociology) notes that the United States has a much higher rate of police killing per capita than any other wealthy democracy. Police killings are, in fact, the largest cause of death for men between the ages of 25 and 29, and that likelihood increases significantly for people of color. This book discusses how the residents in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Stockton, CA, Longmont, CO, and LaGrange, GA, view the attitudes and actions of their respective police departments. As a result of this study, these three areas' police departments created reforms to treat citizens and suspects with more dignity, held community meetings to address racial inequality, and stressed de-escalation over force when arrests are made. This book shows what policing could be. VERDICT This study belongs in social behavioral sciences collections. Ideal for scholars and general readers interested in this current, relevant, and much debated topic. Readers may want to pair this title with Jill Leovy's Ghettoside, which examines the critical differences between murder investigations of Black victims vs. white ones.—Claude Ury
Kirkus Reviews
2023-01-24
A former police officer sociologist examines reform through the lens of three departments and their farsighted leaders.
Gross, the author of Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care?, opens with a description of a traffic stop from his days as a Berkeley police officer. Such stops, trainers tell officer candidates, are dangerous even if for minor infractions: “you might pull over someone with a felony warrant…or a guy with anger issues looking for a fight.” All too often, the suspect is Black or brown, the officer White, and the situation ambiguous. Fortunately, the author’s episode ended without bloodshed. But he wonders if he had undertaken “de-escalation training” and had used a calmer tone, if it might have gone better still. It’s that intention to create calmer encounters that motivates police reform efforts in three communities in California, Colorado, and Georgia, with chiefs who understand that doing better is a mandate that begins at the top. “Not to put too fine a point on it,” Gross writes, “but some cops are assholes,” incapable of reining in aggression. Yet a friendly approach usually defuses potentially explosive situations. Other efforts include hiring more minority officers, who are less likely to use force and to enforce minor infractions, as well as enlisting minority communities to help formulate policies. Revised policies that limit armed response have led to demonstrably lower death rates. In the case of Longmont, Colorado, its chief’s directives “prioritized humaneness and social responsibility.” Gross points out that finding decent officers is a challenge: Not many people want careers in law enforcement, and “risk-averse mayors or city managers” often install leaders who don’t rock the boat—and don’t last long. As Gross shows, more work is needed, but his case studies constitute a step in the right direction.
A conversation-provoking look at the real world of police work and ways to make it better for all concerned.
