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The Vigilant Citizen: Everyday Policing and Insecurity in MiamiBy Thijs Jeursen, New York: NYU Press, 2023, pp. 208.

The Vigilant Citizen: Everyday Policing and Insecurity in MiamiBy Thijs Jeursen, New York: NYU... The Vigilant Citizen: Everyday Policing and Insecurity in Miami is an engaging and at times staggering ethnographic account of the way ideas about “good (American) citizenship” are bound up with insecurity and vigilance. Vigilance refers to practices of watchful self‐protection as they are both normalized and institutionalized within but, significantly, beyond police themselves. The book seeks to understand the racism and inequalities associated with policing “in ways that recognize but also go beyond police brutality” (Jeursen, 2023, 5), as they are enacted by everyday citizens in their interactions with others, perceptions of risk, and sense of responsibility for maintaining order. Such vigilant citizenship, in its focus on individual behavior (whether police or civilian), reproduces and obscures the structural conditions of racial inequality and white supremacy.Thijs Jeursen conducted 11 months of ethnographic research in the highly securitized landscape around Miami, Florida, among police officers, private security guards, organizations like the ACLU and Dream Defenders, neighborhood watch groups, residents, gun sellers, and activists. He visits gun‐buyback events, hangs out at the barbershop, and does ride‐alongs with police on patrol. The text's navigation through these myriad engagements provides entrée to a variety of interlocutors and perspectives, who, despite their intersectional and political differences, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal for the Anthropology of North America Wiley

The Vigilant Citizen: Everyday Policing and Insecurity in MiamiBy Thijs Jeursen, New York: NYU Press, 2023, pp. 208.

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References (4)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2023 American Anthropological Association
ISSN
2475-5389
eISSN
2475-5389
DOI
10.1002/nad.12175
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The Vigilant Citizen: Everyday Policing and Insecurity in Miami is an engaging and at times staggering ethnographic account of the way ideas about “good (American) citizenship” are bound up with insecurity and vigilance. Vigilance refers to practices of watchful self‐protection as they are both normalized and institutionalized within but, significantly, beyond police themselves. The book seeks to understand the racism and inequalities associated with policing “in ways that recognize but also go beyond police brutality” (Jeursen, 2023, 5), as they are enacted by everyday citizens in their interactions with others, perceptions of risk, and sense of responsibility for maintaining order. Such vigilant citizenship, in its focus on individual behavior (whether police or civilian), reproduces and obscures the structural conditions of racial inequality and white supremacy.Thijs Jeursen conducted 11 months of ethnographic research in the highly securitized landscape around Miami, Florida, among police officers, private security guards, organizations like the ACLU and Dream Defenders, neighborhood watch groups, residents, gun sellers, and activists. He visits gun‐buyback events, hangs out at the barbershop, and does ride‐alongs with police on patrol. The text's navigation through these myriad engagements provides entrée to a variety of interlocutors and perspectives, who, despite their intersectional and political differences,

Journal

Journal for the Anthropology of North America – Wiley

Published: Oct 1, 2023

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