The Chicago School defines crime as the product of social disorganization, arising from the growth of secondary, anonymous ties. However in recent years, crime rates have declined in urban areas as a result of differing police tactics and social factors, such as the shrinkage of the teenage population. One factor that we discussed in class was “therapeutic policing”, which uses rehabilitation to help individuals avoid ending up in jail. Our reading on Skid Row in the book – “Down Out and Under Arrest” explores crime in this area in LA, and the social reasons behind it. In part two of this book, Forest Stuart uses ethnographic research to explore how the rise in therapeutic policing has forced the residents of Skid Row to find ways to avoid contact with the police in order to stay out of trouble, through using their “cop wise” knowledge. In the three chapters, Stuart researches three different groups: a group of men who create an insulated community through their weight pile, a group of street vendors, and finally an organisation called LACAN. All three groups are shown to have varying tactics to navigate the hyper control of the police.

My first question asked: “in order to improve the quality of living of those in Skid Row, is it more effective to work to avoid police interventions? Or instead to confront the police and try reform police policy as seen with the LACAN”. The men in the weight pile group avoided the police the most. However, their clean attire still attracted negative attention from the police, for example when one of the men was almost arrested after an officer assumed he was a drug dealer. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the LACAN were able to achieve legislative changes but often at the expense of their own safety. The definition of quality of living was brought up during the discussion. As members of the LACAN often jeopardise their own safety while filming police officers, questions can be raised regarding how their quality of living is affected in the short term, as they strive to create long lasting change. In class, we discussed that in light of neither tactic being perfect, both strategies need to happen together in order to maximise the benefits. As the LACAN had more long term benefits, the majority of those living in Skid Row would still need to use their “cop wise” knowledge in order to stay out of trouble in the short run.

My second question asked: “is it the social responsibility to those who are more knowledgeable to look out for others?”. I found it striking how the backgrounds of those living in Skid Row influenced how much they wanted to help those around them use tactics to avoid contact with the police. The differing reasons was also interesting. Although street vendors were very vigilant in telling groups to not loiter on their streets, this was more to take the “heat” off the streets, and minimise the vendors’ own interaction with the police. In connection to Robert Vargas’ book “Wounded City”, we see that it is very common for residents to share common knowledge within their community. In Little Village, the author writes how the “code of silence” prevents residents from calling the police in order to avoid retaliation from gangs. In both these areas, the police is perceived as the enemy and measures are taken to minimise contact with them. However, in Little Village, we see individuals looking out for each other less due to the mistrust created by the tensions between all the gangs in the area. It is clear that the sense of community makes people more inclined to look out for each other, particularly in areas where there are such clear divisions between the police and residents.