Out of Order? looks comparatively at lessons on the policing of black people from both Britain and the US. It critically investigates the policing of black communities over the last two decades, and examines what effect this has had on those communities and on the police force itself. Relationships between the police, crime and the ethnic communities have become mystified, particularly by the media. Out of Order? argues that the police have used the idea of a crime wave, especially when associated with blacks, to justify increases in their resources, and the extension of their legal and political power. This book should be of interest to teachers and students of race relations, criminology, social policy, sociology, and urban studies.