"Graham Smith has grounded his powerful and masterfully researched history documenting the lack of police accountability in London's Metropolitan Police Service in the experiences of the people most impacted by police violence. His "complainant-centered" approach reveals three themes that have impeded police accountability, despite repeated government inquiries and gestures toward reform: (1) the marginalization of complainants including racism, (2) police resistance to independent oversight (3) power asymmetries between the complainants and the police. As a law professor in the U.S., I cannot help but note the striking similarities in the challenges facing our countries, when it comes to addressing the realities of police impunity vis-à-vis marginalized communities. On the Wrong Side of the Law has the potential to inform our policies and practices in the present to achieve a police force that is accountable to the public. I can't wait to read volume two!" (Craig B. Futterman, Clinical Professor of Law, The University of Chicago, US).
On the Wrong Side of the Law : Complaints Against Metropolitan Police, Volume I, 1829-1964