by Jonathan Krall
The pro-bicycle, pro-walking, pro-transit, anti-car-congestion, War on Cars podcast has a really fascinating episode this week on the history of cars, and policing, in the USA. Basically, it says that back in the 1920s and 1930s, widespread use of cars put ordinary folks into the crosshairs of the police in a way that was fundamentally new. This began a tremendous expansion and professionalization of policing.
People familiar with the current civil rights movement (as informed, for example, by The New Jim Crow) may be familiar with the ongoing public debate over the scope of policing. The idea of specifically removing traffic enforcement from policing was, to me, new. It is worthy of serious consideration.
It’s a pretty good example of intersectionality. Worth a listen.