The purpose of this text is to analyze the everyday interactions between the police and minority communities as well as those incidents that come to public attention. The majority of chapters focus on the plight of racial minorities (e.g., African Americans) as opposed to ethnic minorities (e.g., Hispanics, Asians, or persons from the Middle East). An important focus of the book is how the perception of differentness affects the social interaction between the police and residents of various neighborhoods. It looks at the actions that have been taken to alleviate the negative interactions that occur in these neighborhoods and why they are or are not effective at changing the attitudes of the police and the communities involved. May also be used as a supplemental reader in Introduction to Criminal Justice courses.