Why Would Feminists Trust the Police?:A tangled history of resistance and complicity

Cowan pulls no punches here. For those feminists who consider policing a useful weapon in the struggle, expect a thorough account of complicity in state violence that will have you questioning what you’ve long taken for granted. A revelatory and humbling read for anyone who holds out some extant belief that the police are, or could ever be, our comrades

This unflinching history of mainstream British feminism's entanglements with the police deserves to be read by all feminists. Cowan tackles crucial questions, from why some suffrage campaigners eventually became fascists, to why some feminists demanded more police power after Sarah Everard was murdered by a serving police officer. She also explores the still-marginalised history of working class, women of colour feminist organising which has sought transformation instead of control. This is essential reading to help us out of the quagmire in which gains for some women are still achieved at the expense of others.

Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? is the book we've been waiting for. Leah combines forensic research with a rare and generous clarity of thought. I learned so much about the history of policing and the pioneering attempts to build something different and better in the future. This should be required reading, especially for white women.

Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? illuminates the arguments taking place among radicals and liberals in a key flashpoint in feminist struggle: policing. Drawing on vivid accounts from the front lines of resistance to policing, Cowan provides clarity and vision in tackling one of the most urgent issues of our time.

There has always been an ideological struggle between feminisms from below, and feminisms of the status quo. While the former is about freeing us all, the latter only seeks to free some of us. Leah's vital intervention comes at a crucial time, where violence against women is once again being weaponised to legitimise violence against racialised others. Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? provides an essential antidote, and points us towards a real feminist revolution.

Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? meticulously deconstructs much feminist common sense about safety, opening the way to brilliant abolitionist horizons that might genuinely give the word meaning.

Leah writes urgently, persuasively and with a laser-like focus, using her expertise to carve open the limitations of carceral feminism in a British context, making it legible to those newly encountering it. 'Timely' barely does justice to the necessity of this book right now.

Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? is a brilliant and much-needed book, which offers vital analysis of how British feminism became entangled in policing and why we urgently need a different approach. Tracing the complex history of feminist alliances with law enforcement and providing powerful insights into the pitfalls of carceral feminism, this remarkable book offers important lessons for anyone seeking to end gender, racial, and economic violence. A beautifully written, carefully researched, and highly engaging read that interweaves historical analysis with cogent political insights, Leah Cowan builds a crucial vision for feminism that addresses gender-based violence without relying on harmful alliances with police. This is the book we all need to untangle ourselves from the traps of carceral politics and to envision a feminism that truly serves us all.

A persuasive call for feminists everywhere to reconsider how women's well-being is used to justify oppression