Power of the Badge - Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States

"More than 3,000 sheriffs across the United States occupy a unique position in American politics, in offices with exceptional authority, enormous autonomy, and low visibility as elected law enforcement officials. Drawing on two surveys of sheriffs nearly a decade apart, election data, case studies, and law enforcement administrative data, we suggest that the design of the office - and the individuals who serve in it - challenge central tenets of democracy and equality under the law. In The Power of the Badge, Emily M. Farris and Mirya R. Holman argue that the autonomy and authority granted to sheriffs in the United States creates an environment where sheriffs rarely change, elections do not create meaningful accountability, employees, budgets, and jails can be used for political gains, marginalized populations can be punished, right-wing extremism flourishes, and reforms fail"--

About the author

Emily M. Farris is associate professor of political science and core faculty of comparative race and ethnic studies at Texas Christian University. She has been quoted or appeared in the New York Times, Vox, the Guardian, and the Atlantic. Mirya R. Holman is associate professor at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. She is the author of Women in Politics in the American City and coeditor of Good Reasons to Run. Her work has been discussed in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and NPR.

Product details

• Authors: Emily M. Farris, Emily M./ Holman Farris, Professor Emily M. Farris, Mirya R. Holman, Professor Mirya R. Holman
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 05.09.2024
• EAN: 9780226834498
• ISBN: 978-0-226-83449-8
• No. of pages: 304
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Law Enforcement, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Local, United States of America, USA, Human rights, civil rights, Police and security services, Regional, state and other local government