I. Bennett Capers
Articles by this Author
Crime, Legitimacy, and Testilying
- By I. Bennett Capers
- Published 09/2/2008
- Volume 83, Issue 3
At its broadest level, this Article examines how the zone of law enforcement, once the mirror is turned, is also a zone of under-enforcement. Except in the most egregious cases—those involving brutality or death, for example—law enforcement officers can engage in otherwise sanctionable and criminal behavior usually without fear of consequences. The point of this Article, however, is not to engage in a jeremiad against police wrongdoing. Rather, the point of this Article to is articulate an argument, acceptable to those on the left and those on the right, to civil libertarians and law and order advocates, and ultimately to the police themselves, for why there should be a more democratic policing of police officers. Essentially, this Article builds upon legitimacy theory to make a utilitarian argument: more policing of the police, far from tying the hands of law enforcement, can actually work to reduce crime in the general community.


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