Walk the walk : how three police chiefs defied the odds and changed cop culture

**From "one of the most interesting sociologists of his generation" and a former cop, the story of three departments and their struggle to change aggressive police culture and achieve what Americans want: fair, humane, and effective policing.** What should we do about the police? After the murder of George Floyd, there's no institution more controversial: only 14 percent of Americans believe that "policing works pretty well as it is" (CNN, April 27, 2021). We're swimming in proposals for reform, but most do not tackle the aggressive culture of the profession, which prioritizes locking up bad guys at any cost, loyalty to other cops, and not taking flak from anyone on the street. Far from improving public safety, this culture, in fact, poses a danger to citizens and cops alike. __Walk the Walk__ brings readers deep inside three unusual departments—in Stockton, California; Longmont, Colorado; and LaGrange, Georgia—whose chiefs signed on to replace that aggressive culture with something better: with models focused on equity before the law, social responsibility, racial reconciliation, and the preservation of life. Informed by research, unflinching and by turns gripping, tragic, and inspirational, this book follows the chiefs—and their officers and detectives—as they conjured a new spirit of policing. While every community faces unique challenges with police reform, __Walk the Walk__ opens a window onto what the police could be, if we took seriously the charge of creating a more just America. One of the most interesting sociologists of his generation and a former cop, Neil Gross followed three departments as they overcame the greatest barrier to change in law enforcement: aggressive police culture. What should we do about the police? After the murder of George Floyd, theres no more controversial institution: only a mere 14 percent of Americans believe that policing works pretty well as it is. We are swimming in proposals for reform, but these are all aimed at regulating or limiting police power, not changing its aggressive culture, one of the greatest barriers to achieving the fair, humane, and effective policing most people desire. Above all, that culture prioritizes locking up criminals, tactical safety, not taking flak from anyone, and loyalty to other cops. In Walk the Walk , Neil Gross recounts two years embedded within three unusual departmentsin Stockton, California; Longmont, Colorado; and LaGrange, Georgiathat have confronted the aggressive culture of policing and replaced it with something better, healthier, and more community-minded, with a code focused on equality before the law, racial reconciliation, and the preservation of life. Character-driven, by turns thoughtful, tragic, hard-charging, and inspirational, this book tells the stories of those departments and how they changedand of the chiefs, officers, and detectives who are their lifeblood. While every community faces its own unique challenges with police reform, Longmont, Stockton, and LaGrange provide a glimpse of what policing could be, if we took seriously the charge of building a more just America.