Book Review: Policing & Politics in Latin America: When Law Enforcement Breaks the Law by Esparza, D.

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10575677231161783
• Author: Paul Bleakley
• Date: 01 September 2023
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

in the city of Delhi. According to this article, sexual harassment as a topic in academic research in this

part of the world became popular after the incident referred to as The Nirbhaya (the fearless, who

tried to f‌ight off six offenders). The author analyzed the pattern of self-reporting in male offenders

and found that these kinds of behaviors occurred most often in the company of a friend.

Furthermore, 70% of the respondents reported not having an awareness of the existence of laws relat-

ing to sexual harassment and their effectiveness.

The paradoxes of the public space associated with publicness (i.e., who is eligible to use public

space) have been argued in the Study of urban park users: The case of Poznan

́, Poland by Emilia

Bogacka. Urban parks strongly impact the quality of life of the users and help in creating community

culture and cohesion in cities. The f‌indings highlight the time dependence of the perception of safety

(higher during the day and lower during the darker hours). Interestingly, respondents of this study felt

safe in the company of others, but less so in the presence of homeless people or those consuming

alcohol. Lighting and video surveillance were reported as important environmental design elements

in urban parks to promote feelings of safety.

One of the strengths of this book is its multidisciplinary approach to public space with case studies

from around the world. In general, the language and structure of the book are easy to follow, and the

text is divided into three to 10 subjects that are very easy to choose and study. Additionally, the book

has an open access availability that adds to the visibility of the topic and societal benef‌its at large. An

area that seeks improvement in this book is the confusion around the book’s themes and the division

of sections. In addition, the lack of strict demarcation of themes makes it diff‌icult to stick to one

theme or section. For instance, “transit safety”is not restricted to the theme of movement only. It

is one of the main themes available in almost every theme and section. Similarly, “perspective of

the users”appears throughout the book and not only in the assigned theme. However, the ‘perspec-

tive of the children’is absent from the user list. Furthermore, the last chapter on “perspective of the

planners”is unique with reference to all other chapters in the book.

Overall, this book is an outstanding contribution to the series of crime and society by Routledge

and is an excellent addition to a growing body of literature on the crime and safety discipline. This

book highlights fresh concepts and methodological approaches, as well as its connection to other

types of research. The ideas presented in this book are not new, but very well thought out and devel-

oped. The authors of this book offer alternative theoretical frameworks and practical case studies on

how to effectively understand the signif‌icance of users’relationships with space and navigate the

complexity of public spaces when dealing with the issue of fear of crime. It is recommended that

anyone creating inclusive and safe public spaces read this book.

ORCID iD

Asifa Iqbal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8525-3362

Esparza, D. (2022).

Policing & Politics in Latin America: When Law Enforcement Breaks the Law. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers,

pp. X, 173, $89.95, ISBN: 978-1-955055-50-5.

Reviewed by: Paul Bleakley ,Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, University of New

Haven

DOI: 10.1177/10575677231161783

From the outset of Policing & Politics in Latin America (2022), Diego Esparza is clear in his asser-

tion that “democracy and security are intimately linked …[and] democracy can only be as healthy as

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