Abstract
The role of policing in American society is more pervasive (and less visible) than many acknowledge. Police do not just patrol, arrest, and keep peace – they also gatekeep. Many and varied ostensibly non-criminal processes rely on police fact-finding to adjudicate claims, establish eligibility for resources, and take adverse action against individuals. This Article examines the phenomenon of police gatekeeping, both as a practical barrier to resources and remedies and as a hegemonic mechanism to construct the social conception of truth.
Recognizing the ways in which civil society relies upon police as gatekeepers of both practical resources and the social conception of truth is a first step toward reducing the role of the carceral state. The influence of police is hidden in the background of our daily lives. Shining a light on this influence – and questioning it – can allow us to rethink our ways of knowing and reimagine structures that promote autonomy, reduce hegemonic state control, and begin to take practical steps toward diminishing the supremacy of the carceral state in American civil society.
Recommended Citation
Emily M. Poor,
Police Gatekeeping,
30
Mich. J. Race & L.
49
(2025).
Available at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjrl/vol30/iss1/3
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Evidence Commons, Law and Race Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons