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An inside look at how police officers are trained to perpetuate state violence
Michael Brown. Philando Castile. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. As the names of those killed by the police became cemented into public memory, the American public took to the streets in unprecedented numbers to mourn, organize, and demand changes to the current system of policing. In response, police departments across the country committed themselves to change, pledging to hire more women and people of color, incorporate diversity training, and instruct officers to verbally de-escalate interactions with the public.
These reform efforts tend to rely on a “bad apple” argument, focusing the nature and scope of the problem on the behavior of specific individuals and rarely considering the broader organizational process that determines who is allowed to patrol the public and how they learn to do their jobs. In Before the Badge, Samantha J. Simon provides a firsthand look into how police officers are selected and trained, describing every stage of the process, including recruitment, classroom instruction, and tactical training.
Simon spent a year at police academies participating in the training alongside cadets, giving her a visceral, hands-on understanding of how police training operates. Using rich and detailed examples, she reveals that the process does more than test a cadet’s physical or intellectual abilities. Instead, it socializes cadets into a system of state violence. As training progresses, cadets are expected to see themselves as warriors and to view Black and Latino/a members of the public as their enemies. Cadets who cannot or will not uphold this approach end up washing out. In Before the Badge, Simon explains how this training creates a context in which patterns of police violence persist and implores readers to re-envision the future of policing in the United States.
"Simon brings her subject to life, and her rapport with the officers and cadets reads as genuine. A troubling, nuanced report on the way American police academies train their graduates in the use of force."
"[A] blistering debut study... posits that these training programs make police abuse an inevitability. Readers will come away aghast at the scope of the problem. This trenchant study of the institutional origins of police violence deserves a wide readership."
"This is a brilliant book! Through careful research and compelling writing, Simon shows how racial violence by police officers is organizationally produced, enabled, and sustained. This is an incredibly important and timely book that should be required reading for policymakers, advocates, and the public interested in prospects for police reform. Contemporary American policing is steeped in a long history of racial violence and racial injustice and to overcome it, Simon argues, will require a fundamental reorganization of American policing itself."
"Simon has crafted a richly detailed, emotionally intelligent, and historically informed account of how human beings are transformed into cops. Before the Badge is a noteworthy addition to the all-too-sparse annals of effective ethnography exploring day-to-day human life within the carceral state."
"Simon has conducted a detailed, intricate, and nuanced ethnographic study in which she immerses herself in the police academy training process to shed light on how officers are taught to utilize and, simultaneously, develop apprehension toward violence. This book goes beyond providing rich description; it presents brilliant theoretical insights that aid in comprehending the underlying factors contributing to police harassment and violence, revealing the hidden facets of racialized punitive social control"
"Before the Badge is a remarkable ethnography that reveals the socialization process of state violence at work within policy academy training. Simon compellingly shows the violent ethos that shapes the selection and training of cadets, and police organizations that embrace a worldview that pits the police against the public. Her innovative research makes clear the necessity for a broader vision of justice that relies less on policing and more on community building."
"Before the Badge illustrates how academy training has important implications for understanding patterns of racist police violence."
"Drawing on a year spent at US police academies participating in the training alongside cadets, Simon finds that the training socializes cadets into a system of state violence–as training progresses, cadets are expected to see themselves as warriors and to view Black and Latino/a members of the public as their enemies."
"While the book’s contributions to policing are at the forefront, it also represents an insightful case study for scholars more broadly interested in race, gender, and organizations."
"Before the Badge successfully shows how the police academy trains cops to become 'warriors,' how it upholds police violence, and how it perpetuates racial and gender discrimination despite ongoing efforts at reform and diversification."
"...A timely and thought-provoking exploration of police recruitment and training in the southern United States. Before the Badge is an essential read for anyone interested in gaining deeper insights into police ideological commitments, belief systems, and organizational practices as evident through officer recruitment and training."