Episode 172: The End Of Policing

Public safety and policing. Does one need the other? Is having police manage matters of social disorder the way to best solve our social problems? L. Joy brings Professor Alex Vitale to the front of the class to give us more history and context we need to reimagine and get engaged around public safety. 

Homework:

• Look around your community to see if social supports are fully funded. Are social programs robust enough to prevent collateral consequences? If not, reach out to your local elected officials to find out why and find out what local organizations are working on the issue.

• Read Professor Vitale’s Book “The End of Policing” https://amzn.to/3ITe9Jl 

Our Guest:

Alex Vitale is Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, and a Visiting Professor at London Southbank University. He has spent the last 30 years writing about policing and consults both police departments and human rights organizations internationally. Prof. Vitale is the author of City of Disorder: How the Quality of Life Campaign Transformed New York Politics and The End of Policing. His academic writings on policing have appeared in Policing and Society, Police Practice and Research, Mobilization, and Contemporary Sociology. He is also a frequent essayist, whose writings have been published in The NY Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Nation, Vice News, Fortune, and USA Today. He has also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, PBS, Democracy Now, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Find out more about Professor Vitale on his website http://www.alex-vitale.info/.