Neil Gross

This was a fascinating book, which I honestly had trouble putting down. Given the subject matter, I was not expecting to be nearly so interested in it. Not that I don't care about the subject; just that I didn't really think it could make such good reading and pull me into it the way it did.

Walk the Walk is very well written and thoroughly researched with numerous references. The author is a former police officer and leading sociologist. In this book he describes three police departments across the country whose Chiefs have made many positive changes to policing through a variety of progressive and markedly different methods, not the least of which is accountability. My use of the word progressive may be misleading, as one of the Police Chiefs is a staunch Republican, Trump supporter and does not believe training to be the root problem of policing in the U.S.

How these three men, these three vastly different Police Chiefs, turned their vastly different Police Departments into forces that practice empathy, non-violence whenever possible and racial equity is an absolutely compelling, extremely interesting story. My respect for these three men and their officers that follow the procedures implemented is immense.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, particularly, of course, to Americans; who need to understand that this divided country must come to some agreement on policing. The book gives us some history on the troubled course of policing in the U.S. It explains the police culture that is nearly universal in America and the tragic outcomes that culture has led to. From what seems a hopeless scenario, we watch as three departments have performed what to me seems to be magic--running a humane, professional, accountable Police Department. My thanks to the author for a very informative book that allows us to glimpse some hope in resolutions to the policing dilemma.… (más)

Walk the Walk by Neil Gross offers a look at what policing could be by looking at three departments where change for the better has started.

I will preface my comments with my general stand on police. I am generally an abolitionist, thinking a very limited, if still present, police force is the best ultimate goal. That said, no change can be complete and immediate, alternatives have to be established and functional as we step away from our current state of police being more like the paramilitary arm of a white supremacist government. If what I think would be a better society is to ever exist, there will have to be many incremental steps. I think this book offers some hope for how we can work toward a better society without having to take an all or nothing stand on either a paramilitary force or immediate abolition.

What I found most interesting here was the look at how difficult it can be to make even the smallest and most humane changes to a system that largely relies on giving maximum power to many people who are not even remotely prepared emotionally or intellectually to wield such power. To the point where even the "good" officers become "bad" by simply keeping quiet about what they know. Once a couple of first steps are made, however, it becomes easier for everyone, from the officers themselves to those they are supposedly serving and protecting, to work toward making everyone safer and more secure in their everyday lives.

I would recommend this to those who care about how to make change, whether your ultimate goal is a still large but more compassionate police force or the abolition of what we now think of as a police force. Change has to be incremental and any move toward solving problems rather than just locking people up needs to be seriously considered, especially in places where it seems to be working.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)