On the Frontlines of the Welfare State: How the Fire Service and Police Shape Social Problems (Routledge Advances in Sociology Book 206)

Although public safety agencies protect our well-being, they also shape social problems and community inequities. Public safety protections promote what T.H. Marshall called "social rights" of equitable citizenship. On the Frontlines of Welfare State shows how public safety agencies function as welfare state agencies, responsible for a range of essential public functions including emergency service, criminal investigation, regulatory oversight and social service outreach. Furthermore, this volume shows how public safety agencies are being asked to absorb more social welfare functions amidst cut-backs in other areas of the welfare state. Two areas of public safety are examined: arson control and fire prevention, especially within the contexts of urban change and gentrification, and community policing, especially as a mechanism of expanding drug treatment service and prevention programs. Facilitating a greater understanding of institutional biases within the state built around organizational structures, procedures and cultures and their impact on social outcomes, this original and exciting book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of Policing and Fire Control, Public Policy and Administration, Drugs and Substance Abuse and White Collar Crime.--Publisher website Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- About the Author -- 1 The Fire Service, Police, and the Local Welfare State -- 2 Institutional Selectivity -- 3 Fire as a Social Problem -- 4 Fires, Arson, and Institutional Selectivity -- 5 Local Policing, the Welfare State, and Drug Control -- 6 Community Policing and Institutional Selectivity -- 7 Public Safety Agencies, Dimensions of Power, and the Shaping of Social Problems -- Index Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Fire Service, Police, And The Local Welfare State -- 2. Institutional Selectivity -- 3. Fire As A Social Problem -- 4. Fires, Arson, And Institutional Selectivity -- 5. Local Policing, The Welfare State, And Drug Control -- 6. Community Policing And Institutional Selectivity -- 7. Public Safety Agencies, Dimensions Of Power, And The Shaping Of Social Problems. Barry Goetz. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.