U.S. POLICE : BROKEN WINDOWS NEOLIBERALISM BY CHRISTINA HEATHERTON
The situation in Ferguson is replicated throughout the country, particularly in the poorest regions which are disproportionately Black, Native, and Latino. In her recent dissenting opinion in the case of Utah vs. Streiff, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Sotomayor outlined the dread that permeates the lives of people of color where the constant threat of removal hangs over them. Policing crimes of poverty against people too poor to pay their tickets, court fees, or citations, has made people their bodies “subject to invasion,” making them feel not citizens of a democracy but “subject(s) of a carceral state, just waiting to be cataloged.” This fear permeates the country. Currently, over 7.8 million outstanding warrants are logged in States and Federal Government databases, the majority of which are for minor offenses. How did this situation come to pass? Is this vulnerability new? Why and how has policing been tied to local regimes of accumulation?