Book Review: The neighborhood has its own rules

• DOI: 10.1177/1057567717703159
• Published date: 01 June 2017
• Date: 01 June 2017
• Author: Matthew G. Yeager
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Martinez, C. G. (2016).

The neighborhood has its own rules.

New York: New York University Press, 257 pp. $28.00. ISBN 9780814770405

Reviewed by: Matthew G. Yeager, King’s University College, Western University, Canada

DOI: 10.1177/1057567717703159

This is a monograph in the famous tradition of the Chicago School of sociology, and before

addressing its main themes, some commentary on methodology is appropriate. Author Cid Martinez

elected to immerse himself in what is euphemistically described as the largest ghetto west of the

Mississippi (p. 229)—that being South Los Angeles (LA). It is an area of about 85 square miles and

boasts the highest rates of homicide, poverty, and Black and Latino residents in southern California

(Table 1.1). For almost 3 years (2003–2005), the author actually lived in South LA, volunteered at

one charter school for “youths kicked out of school for gang-related behavior,” (p. 5) actu ally

worked at another charter school, and attended numerous meetings of neighborhood councils. These

particular councils were an attempt to engender local community participation in the municipal

affairs of the City of LA. He further attended the local Catholic Church and was able to create a

snowball sample of local residents whom he first observed and then later interviewed.

This immersion in the community, an illustration of what can be accomplished by ethnography, is

one of the highlights of this monograph. The book ought to be recommended reading if only on the

basis of how to do ethnography.

Substantively, the main thesis put forward by Dr. Martinez is that the residents of South LA have

created an alternate government of sorts—characterized by the intervention of the Catholic Church,

a huge gang presence, a subeconomy that involves drug dealing and unlicensed trades, and cultural

prescriptions of avoidance between Latinos and urban Blacks in the community. Because so many of

the Latinos are individuals without U.S. citizenship and because so many of the residents distrust the

police and city agencies, there exists a cultural prescription not to inform authorities about crime.

Instead, alternative governance calls for South LA residents to address these issues informally and

through other community forums. Ironically, one of these “other” forums are gangs themselves,

which serve as a means of protecting members from the predations of neighborhood victimizers.

Hence, there are various forms of mediation and negotiation which function to suppress the already

high level of criminal violence in South LA.

Nevertheless, if Table 3.1 is correct, the homicide rate per square mile for South LA was

approximately 11.8 for 2003 and 2004, combined (n¼1,006 divided by 85.4). For the rest of

LA, that rate was 0.04 per square mile (n¼18 divided by 417.6). The ratio works out to a

startlingly 295:1.

One of the contributions by Martinez is his depiction of the Catholic Church, which provides a

sanctuary away from street violence and ever present immigration officers, educational instruction

up to middle school, and various programs to help residents survive in a high crime area. Notwith-

standing, a historical complaint from the church fathers is the lack of funds to help with job training,

employment, and violence suppression. Here, the LA Police Department, including probation and

state parole, is considered ineffectual and more of an occupation force (pp. 47, 191).

With respect to recommendations for reform, Martinez prefers to practice incremental policies

that fit a quasi-liberal framework. While recognizing that inequality is the elephant in the room, he

opts for training residents in civic participation and making the police more accountable to residents

by giving them advisory power to hire and fire city officials. Without specifying details, some

accommodation must also be made for noncitizens so that they can access municipal services

including the police. At the street level, these are very useful approaches which could be expanded

if there was a renewed War on Poverty, such as occurred during the President Johnson years.

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