Policing a Class Society is an in-depth critical analysis of how ruling elites use the police institution in order to control communities. It is an urgent history of the creation of the police in the United States, focusing on the recently expanded cities of the industrial heartland. The book also provides a critical analysis of how ruling elites control communities. 'Policing a Class Society is a significant contribution to the literature on criminal justice history.' - Alexander W. Pisciotta, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology