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Thin Blue: The Unwritten Rules of Policing South Africa
In this provocative new book, Steinberg argues that policing in crowded urban space is like theatre. Only here, the audience writes the script, and if the police don t perform the right lines, the spectators throw them off the stage. Several months before they exploded into xenophobic violence, Jonny Steinberg travelled the streets of Alexandra, Reiger Park and other Johan...more
Paperback, 183 pages
Published
September 15th 2009
by Jonathan Ball Publishers
(first published November 15th 2008)
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Author Jonnny Steinburg persuasively analyzes the ways in which law enforcement during the apartheid era in South Africa left an indelible imprint on the people's minds, making them very reticent to submit themselves to the moral authority of today's policemen. The result is a society that has very little trust in and respect for police officers and must, instead, find innovative and dangerous means of private security. The cops go around with chips on their shoulders, feeling impotent and enrag...more
I read any Jonny Steinberg (so far) in one sitting or as close as I can manage. This was slighter that The Number or The 3-Letter Plague, but strong and provocative. I do wonder why the reluctance to write (about) women. Jonny, why don't you? Here and in 3-Letter Plague, JS refers to the centrality of women to the situations/stories but barely connects. The whole question of domestic violence is NOT "hollow".
A helpful book in understanding certain elements of crime and policing in South Africa. It is not one of Steinberg's best books but the overarching argument, that the South African populace has not consented to accepting the authority of the post-apartheid police force, is important to consider.
For those of us who read the front page of South African newspapers on a daily basis, Thin Blue provides the missing info behind the gory photos and headlines on what's wrong with policing in this country - and it's not just a money problem. I had picked this up as an "in-between" book but within a few pages it had shot to the top ranks of South African non-fiction in my extremely objective list.
Mar 13, 2011
Sam Beckbessinger
added it
Brilliant look at the complexities of policing South Africa - a country that doesn't necessarily consent to being policed.
A bit on the academic/sociological side, but a devestating look at the politics of policing South Africa.
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