This book gives a detailed analysis of official documents, and of the historical origins of racist violence. It uses the conclusions to analyse why the ideas and language of white supremacy and racial exclusion direct violence at 'non-white' individuals, and why the police response is so routinely ineffectual.

Preface ; General Editor's Foreword ; PART I: CONTEXT, CONCEPTS AND METHOD ; 1. The Emergence of Violent Racism as a Public Issue ; 2. Violent Racism and Policy Formulation (1981-1984) ; 3. The Evolution of the Multi-agency Approach to Violent Racism ; 4. Violence, Racism and Crime Surveys: Capturing the process of victimisation ; PART II: RACISM, VIOLENCE AND POLICING IN NORTH PLAISTOW: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ; 5. Racism and Victimization ; 6. Policing Violent Racism in ; 7. Conclusions ; Epilogue ; Appendices

`... undoubtedly the most rigorous and searching study of its kind, while also being readable and accessible.' Criminal Justice 1 (2) (no date) `What is particularly admirable about this most admirable of contributions to the literature on racism, is that Bowling succeeds in balancing commitment with scholarship. He eschews misleading simplification in favour of recognizing and seeking to understand the subtle complexities of the subject.' P.A.J. Waddington, Brit. Jnl. of Criminology, Vol.40, No.3., 2000. `His grasp of the subtle complexities of the issues posed by this topic are evident in the central theme that informs much of the analysis.' P.A.J. Waddington, Brit. Jnl. of Criminology, Vol.40, No.3., 2000. `a most excellent contribution to scholarship ... the editors of the Clarendon Studies in Criminology ... are rapidly establishing this series as pre-eminent in criminology.' P.A.J. Waddington, Brit. Jnl. of Criminology, Vol.40, No.3., 2000. `This is a comprehensive, well laid out, state of the art, survey of the police response to violent racist behaviour, set in context of the history and sociological literature of racism and policing in this country ... This brilliant study will become an essential text for anyone (and everyone should be) concerned with racism and policing.' Labour Campaign for Criminal Justice, no 47, Aug 99

This book is the only one in the field of criminology to analyse effectively the causes of, and responses to, racism in Britain The author has had practical experience of both working and teaching in this field and uses this experience to draw conclusions that are practical and helpful to all those who work in or study it The book brings together, in a balanced way, information that has not previously appeared in one volume, it should thus be a useful consultation tool for a considerable number of people working in this field The Preface to this paperback edition covers a detailed analysis of the Stephen Lawrence racist murder inquiry

Benjamin Bowling is a lecturer in Law at King's College London. He gained his doctorate from the London School of Economics whilst working as a senior research fellow in the Home Office. He was then a visiting professor at John Jay College, City University of New York.

This book is the only one in the field of criminology to analyse effectively the causes of, and responses to, racism in Britain The author has had practical experience of both working and teaching in this field and uses this experience to draw conclusions that are practical and helpful to all those who work in or study it The book brings together, in a balanced way, information that has not previously appeared in one volume, it should thus be a useful consultation tool for a considerable number of people working in this field The Preface to this paperback edition covers a detailed analysis of the Stephen Lawrence racist murder inquiry