Thin Blue Lie: The Failure of High-Tech Policing

by Matt Stroud

A wide-ranging investigation of how supposedly transformative technologies adopted by law enforcement have actually made policing worse ―lazier, more reckless, and more discriminatory

American law enforcement is a system in crisis. After explosive protests responding to police brutality and discrimination in Baltimore, Ferguson, and a long list of other cities, the vexing question of how to reform the police and curb misconduct stokes tempers and fears on both the right and left. In the midst of this fierce debate, however, most of us have taken for granted that innovative new technologies can only help.


During the early 90s, in the wake of the infamous Rodney King beating, police leaders began looking to corporations and new technologies for help. In the decades since, these technologies have―in theory―given police powerful, previously unthinkable the ability to incapacitate a suspect without firing a bullet (Tasers); the capacity to more efficiently assign officers to high-crime areas using computers (Compstat); and, with body cameras, a means of defending against accusations of misconduct.


But in this vivid, deeply-reported book, Matt Stroud shows that these tools are overhyped and, in many cases, ineffective. Instead of wrestling with tough fundamental questions about their work, police leaders have looked to technology as a silver bullet and stood by as corporate interests have insinuated themselves ever deeper into the public institution of law enforcement. With a sweeping history of these changes, Thin Blue Lie is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how policing became what it is today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology, History, Sociology, Politics

272 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2019

Reviews

[Tonstant Weader · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1967, the Johnson Administration’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice released a report called The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society. It represented an extensive investigation into best practices and nationwide input and ideas. There were more than two hundred recommendations. And we have followed almost none of them, except those in the section on how technology can help policing. In fact, police increasingly turn to technology as the answer to every problem.

In Thin Blue Lie, Matt Stroud provides a history of technological innovations from the introduction of supposedly nonlethal weapons to statistical analysis to CCTV. The history is often full of fabulous details. One example is the source of the word taser. Jack Cover, the inventor of the first taser was heavily influenced by the Tom Swift book series in which the hero Tom Swift and his friends were saved by Tom’s inventions. One of the books was called “Tom Swift and the Electric Rifle” which gave the taser inventor TSER, or taser. I loved that detail. It is a “did you know” kind of book full of fascinating information such as how CCTV was invented by a Nazi scientist to monitor testing of a new weapon from a safe distance. The weapon blew up, but CCTV is ubiquitous today.

Stroud tells the history of the development of criminology as a discipline, the taser, statistical analysis and mapping, the rebirth of the taser, intelligence gathering, facial recognition, surveillance cameras, cell-site simulators, body cams and more. What’s fascinating is how often technologies began with good intentions but in practice failed their purpose. The addition of nonlethal (not quite) tasers, for example, has not reduced police shootings of unarmed civilians. Rather it has been deployed more for punishment and compliance. It is also not non-lethal. The story of Taser International’s lies about research, stock manipulations, and general unethical duplicity is amazing. They lied to police about their equipment, guaranteed it would not kill people, and when they found it would, they said they would stand by the weapons in court – but they didn’t, leaving police departments to pay off millions in damages.


Thin Blue Lie is a history of many sincere attempts to improve policing. The title is much more hyperbolic than the book which is rich in detail. The author recognizes the good intentions behind many of these innovations while noting that again and again, they fail because good policing is about police, not technology. The many struggles and social forces that drive crime rates are better addressed through social policy than technology, but technology seems so much easier, cleaner, less messy than dealing with people, doesn’t it?

Technology is easily abused. Even technology designed to make police more transparent quickly is diverted from its original purpose to another as police and body cam manufacturers lobby to make the footage safe from public scrutiny. It becomes a one-way weapon to be used against the public but hidden away when the police do wrong, as with the murder of Laquan McDonald.

I found Thin Blue Lie to be fascinating. In particular, again and again, technology is sought as a solution in an honest attempt to do better. Again and again, manufacturers work to subvert reforms and transparency. Sadly, again and again, there seems a kind of entropy, a regression to the mean, that makes each new effort a promising failure.

I received an e-galley of Thin Blue Lie from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thin Blue Lie at Henry Holt & Co.
Matt Stroud on Twitter

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book at the same time as The Anatomy of Motive: The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals, and I will give them both 2 stars but for entirely different reasons.

This book was packed with data and statistics but written in a distant, insecure way that made it feel flimsy at best. The entire book was essentially the story of tasers and the family that made a lot of money on them. I was shocked and disappointed by how thin this book was on anything else. With everything we have seen in the past 40 years, this book should have been a wild, dense, overwhelming argument about the militarization of policing, the disgusting abuses of tech to harm citizens, and the money that is being funneled to continue what can only be described as a conspiracy to benefit police unions at the expense of everyone.

Yet this book was none of that. It was dry, it was gutless, and it accomplished nothing.

In the end, the only that one will walk away feeling is a slight dislike of tasers. What a wasted opportunity to say something important.

[Briayna Cuffie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this as an eARC via NetGalley in partnership with the publisher, for a fair and unbiased review.

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If you do work in racial and social justice spheres, most of the information included will not surprise you; if you don’t, you may find yourself shocked by all of the blatant white, male privilege and finessing of the “good ol’ boys” network. Even with the progression of technology, this book will make you “wonder” why patrol officers still have tasers on their hips.

The book could’ve had a more apt title, but it still fits, given the content. When I was reading, I was glued (and becoming increasingly angry). It definitely comes off a little biased in the beginning (arguably “anti police” by some I’m sure), but becomes more nuanced as you continue. I have quite a few questions swirling around in my head to talk with my local police departments about.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a lot more information from this book, but at least half of the chapters are about the making of, failure, and general market history of tasers with several references to Star Trek. There’s some interesting stuff in here, but it takes way too long to get through. A lot of time spent on the danger of tasers and the aggressive marketing tactics used to get them to police forces, yet somehow not enough time spent on the corruption of actual cops, directly and monetarily benefiting from their sale and use. A final quick chapter on body cams that could’ve been a lot longer considering its relevancy today. Also would’ve appreciated a lot more about facial recognition software because holy fuck is that a scary thought.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Thin Blue Lie, Matt Stroud provides a history of technological innovations from the introduction of supposedly nonlethal weapons, to statistical analysis to CCTV, dash cams and body cams. Each of these created just as many problems as they were supposed to solve. From shoddy Tasers that haphazardly can kill, to abusing data collection to the creation of the militarized law enforcement that seem to be outside of the communities they swore to protect. Technology has not been the silver bullet that fixes everything. What the police need to do, and what they clearly don't want to do, is change the policing culture from "control and command" to "protect and serve."

[Madalene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty thorough history of the development and marketing of tasers, as well as a history of how 9/11 led to heavy tactics for equipping police departments with more tech. The pieces don't fully tie together, but this could be a good companion piece with "A Colony in a Nation" by Christopher L. Hayes, who argues that policing would be better if it looked more like campus police at higher tier colleges - a lighter touch, with a lot of forgiveness and more community focus.

[Katie Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a class, lot of interesting facts throughout the entire thing which was interesting because I want to be an officer myself, but I had to listen to the audio book because I could not even keep myself focused on the book because it is non-fiction. Reading facts after facts just isn’t super interesting to me.

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 2 out of 5]

The major focus of the book was on tasers, especially the company that started it all. The book did touch on other tech items (facial recognition, body cameras). It includes a lot of data which causes the book to be a little dry. The opportunity to discuss the "lie" in the title fails as not much time is spent on the ethics of police work with high-tech equipment.

[Jordan Mazur · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important, thoughtful piece for understanding how we got to this point in the evolution of the surveillance state. Minor complaint: I wish it had been longer. Now I need to find further companion pieces!

[TomB312 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tazers bad. More of a libertarian book with a hint of liberal taste. Not too biased past the first chapter as most of the book is mainly just the history of high tech policing. Fundamentally tazers and cameras are good thing but when mixed with politics things tend to get grimy.

[Labibliotecaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of interesting. I wish they had spent less time on the financial history and failures of the Taser makers and more on ethics, etc.

[John Back · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish it had a tiny lil bit more punch