Gotham's War within a War: Policing and the Birth of Law-and-Order Liberalism in World War II-Era New York City

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia prioritized liberal reform in New York City, focusing on low-level policing to control vice and preserve urban order. However, this approach met resistance from Black New Yorkers, youth, and working-class women, who were framed as perils to urban order and a threat to national security during World War II. Brooks recasts the evolution of urban policing by revealing that the rise of law-and-order liberalism was inseparable from the surveillance, militarism, and nationalism of war.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 258 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2023
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

Under Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a fascinating chapter in New York City's history unfolded during the New Deal and World War II eras. The New York Police Department (NYPD) had previously prioritized enforcing partisan political power rather than focusing on crime. However, that changed when La Guardia assumed office in 1934 and shifted the city's priorities toward liberal reform. La Guardia's approach to low-level policing anticipated later trends in law enforcement, such as the broken windows theory and the stop-and-frisk policy.

Police officers worked diligently to maintain urban order by controlling various forms of vice, including juvenile delinquency, prostitution, gambling, and disorderly establishments that were believed to harbor these activities. This approach to policing was integral to La Guardia's influential vision of urban governance, but it faced resistance from the Black New Yorkers, youth, and working-class women who were primarily targeted.

The mobilization for World War II brought about new opportunities for the NYPD to intensify its policing and criminalize these groups with federal support. In the 1930s, these communities were portrayed as threats to urban order. However, during the militarized war years, they were perceived as a potential threat to national security itself.

Brooks' work sheds light on the evolution of urban policing by revealing that the rise of law-and-order liberalism was closely intertwined with the surveillance, militarism, and nationalism of war. This period marked a significant shift in the way cities were governed, with law enforcement playing a more prominent role in maintaining social order and security.

Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781469676593