Book Review: Barbara Perry Policing Race and Place in American Indian Country: Over- and Under-enforcement Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006. 117pp. $50.00.ISBN 978-0-7391-1613-5 (cloth)

• Date: 01 December 2010
• Published date: 01 December 2010
• Author: Roy F. Janisch
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016810363886
• Subject Matter: Articles

can, in some cases, serve as a contributing factor to IPV, although there was not a single profile or a

single attribute from the Microsystem level that applied to all subjects.

The Mesosystem level speaks to issues typically associated with informal social control,

namely, current family and peer relationships. The organizing context of Manley’s analysis lies

in a gender-based ‘‘double bind’’ (p. 75). In essence, this is the tension that males experience while

attempting to balance societal (and, one might argue, biological) expectations of masculinity with

contrary expectations that value sensitivity, emotionality, and so on. Mansley found that all subjects

‘‘had problems with intimacy in their relationships’’ (p. 77) and that most reported having few

friends and desiring better bonds with their children. The results suggested that Mesosystem level

factors can serve to exacerbate violence by leading to conflict in relationships.

The Exosystem level focuses on the subjects’ relationships with social institutions. The

subjects’ neighborhoods were of profound importance. Throughout the book, Mansley compares

the pseudonymous ‘‘Highlands’’ and ‘‘Badlands’’ neighborhood structures, and in the chapter

focuses on the culture of (and desensitization to) violence in the ‘‘Badlands.’’ Mansley also

describes how sports cultures, military experience, and unemployment or unrewarding and stress-

ful work environments may contribute to IPV. In addition, a distrust with criminal justice institu-

tions was found to be a factor that impeded subjects’ receptiveness to treatment, and religion was

not found to play a significant role in the subjects’ lives.

The Macrosystem level considers ‘‘societal norms and cultural expectations’’ (p. 123). Here,

Mansley returns to an explicit consideration of masculinity by exploring social expectations to ‘‘man

up’’ and how excuses and justifications may be used to deny accountability for IPV. Interestingly,

younger subjects did not tend to engage in gender-role stereotyping; the implications of this finding

could be a potential topic for future research.

The eighth and final chapter provides a detailed summary of the previous chapters, as well

as Mansley’s recommendations for how the findings could inform ‘‘culturally sensitive

treatment’’ (p. 143). Throughout the book, Mansley notes differences based on race, social class,

neighborhood, and age. As Mansley recommends, treatment programming can (and should) take

into account not only how factors in each ENM level contribute to IPV but also how those factors

vary based on race and class—and how all of this information can be used to improve the efficacy of

treatment.

Overall, the content of the book was quite interesting. At times, the manuscript was not as tightly

organized as it could have been, in that there was sometimes unnecessary repetition both within and

between chapters. It also would have been interesting to compare the ENM results of this study with

those from other IPV research that has used the model and to more explicitly describe how the rec-

ommendations might be integrated in the context of current treatment modalities. Nonetheless, the

book provides value to scholars by exploring antecedents to IPV using a novel theoretical perspec-

tive (i.e., ENM) and it provides value to treatment providers by noting considerations that are poten-

tially significant for programs to consider when working with clients. As such, it is a useful

contribution to the literature, and one that has the potential to stimulate further research on the ante-

cedents to, and treatment programs for, IPV.

Barbara Perry

Policing Race and Place in American Indian Country: Over- and Under-enforcement Lanham,

MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006. 117pp. $50.00.ISBN 978-0-7391-1613-5 (cloth)

Reviewed by: Roy F. Janisch, Pittsburg State University, PA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016810363886

Book Reviews 545

545